Tech Cam advice please !!

[RodK]

Seriously I have done 19 workshops now and all with hobbyist with lets be honest better gear than me but the underlying factor for them is photography is all about having fun and getting away from there real life. Believe me i totally get that thinking, i get on a golf course and Im on another planet. Photography is fun and it should be with something that makes you happy , feels good in your hand and more important free's you from gear thoughts and focus on enjoying your art. Whatever makes you do those things than that is what you should buy. Nothing worse in golf than looking down at a golf head and its ugly as ****, I guarantee you the shot will be too. LOL

Not a lot of difference. For you The Alpa STC or Cambo WRS would be my suggestion. They both are small and compact do what you need and for a hobby outside of Graham here should not be carrying a 40 pound backpack.



Let me add something because i do want to compliment him. He is crazy and carries a lot of gear but more importantly he truly is a dedicated hobbyist looking to enjoy himself and his life through photography. I can't respect him enough for that desire and heres the kicker he is damn freaking good at it too. Great shooter and love his work.

Hey guys,
You know you missed the lighter and smaller Arca-Swiss factum which has tilt or swing built into the body, and rise fall or lateral shift. You can use accessories or not. But as is, with the addition of only a lens, back adapter plate and perhaps an L bracket, you have a smaller, lighter and more precise camera, with many options that are unique and very helpful. You should look at that before making up your mind completely.
Rod

 

[JRBERNSTEIN]

Just to add my 2-cents here, I went with the Arca-Swiss Rm3di for pretty much one reason alone - the e-module Cloud.

Being able to achieve 100% accurate focus without a laser finder (not practical when shooting models) or a sliding back was what made the decision for me.

That said, no system is perfect for everything. Sometimes the A-S feels clunky...a complaint I've never heard about an Alpa. I have actually yet to use my Rm3di hand-held, which is a bit of a disappointment. I hope to come up with a better hand-grip with cable release that will help this be more practical.

If ever any of these companies comes out with a rangefinder-coupled camera, I'd happily trade in what I've got.

 

[dchew]

ok. this came as a surprise....
my original plan: was to buy an alpa stc with 40 and 90 rodies....
I have now tried both systems: the STC at a friend's place a few days ago and a Cambo wrs 1200 today,
I went in fully expecting the STC to floor the WRS ( at least on perception alone with some prejudice that I picked up reading up on the internet ) but on the contrary, I thought the controls on the cambo were actually much easier, the knobs more accesible from the rear, and frankly, I did not find a great deal of a difference in the "finish" and "precision" that warranted an approximately 7000 K difference for a 2 lens and accessory kit for the alpa... especially with the back and lenses being the same.

Not sure if shimming (an alpa exclusivity ) makes a difference for infinity focus..
and yes, the 32 HR is pure gold.

That's awesome news Saty! So glad you are finding this stuff out. Told you it would be fun

Hey guys,
You know you missed the lighter and smaller Arca-Swiss factum which has tilt or swing built into the body, and rise fall or lateral shift. You can use accessories or not. But as is, with the addition of only a lens, back adapter plate and perhaps an L bracket, you have a smaller, lighter and more precise camera, with many options that are unique and very helpful. You should look at that before making up your mind completely.
Rod

+1 to the Factum. I wish it was available when I was in the market; I think it would have also been an excellent fit for my needs.

Dave

 

[jlm]

factum looks interesting but i'm having difficulty understanding how it differs from the RM;
it has the same tilt (one axis, is it rotatable to swing? but not both) in the body function and accepts the same lenses withe the arca bayonet.
does it have rise and fall and shift, at the same time?

in my usage, i use tilt way more than swing, rise/fall in most images, shift not quite as often, but usually with fall

 

[kdphotography]

ok. this came as a surprise....
my original plan: was to buy an alpa stc with 40 and 90 rodies....
I have now tried both systems: the STC at a friend's place a few days ago and a Cambo wrs 1200 today,
I went in fully expecting the STC to floor the WRS ( at least on perception alone with some prejudice that I picked up reading up on the internet ) but on the contrary, I thought the controls on the cambo were actually much easier, the knobs more accesible from the rear, and frankly, I did not find a great deal of a difference in the "finish" and "precision" that warranted an approximately 7000 K difference for a 2 lens and accessory kit for the alpa... especially with the back and lenses being the same.

....

After this----my money is on Saty hooking up with a Cambo WRS 5000 with Rodenstock HR40 t/s.

Then, HR70 t/s or new HR90...

ken

 

[Guy Mancuso]

factum looks interesting but i'm having difficulty understanding how it differs from the RM;
it has the same tilt (one axis, is it rotatable to swing? but not both) in the body function and accepts the same lenses withe the arca bayonet.
does it have rise and fall and shift, at the same time?

in my usage, i use tilt way more than swing, rise/fall in most images, shift not quite as often, but usually with fall

I believe it's more like the Alpa STC . Rise and fall or shift, not both at the same time. Same with tilt and swing . You rotate the body. Need to check specs on it but I think the movements are smaller also. Again that's what I heard so please check specs.

I wish it was around when I bought in too as another option to consider.

 

[dougpeterson]

factum looks interesting but i'm having difficulty understanding how it differs from the RM;
it has the same tilt (one axis, is it rotatable to swing? but not both) in the body function and accepts the same lenses withe the arca bayonet.
does it have rise and fall and shift, at the same time?

I believe it's more like the Alpa STC . Rise and fall or shift, not both at the same time. Same with tilt and swing . You rotate the body. Need to check specs on it but I think the movements are smaller also. Again that's what I heard so please check specs.

I wish it was around when I bought in too as another option to consider.

The Factum is smaller than an RM3Di, but cannot do Rise/Fall and Shift simultaneously and does not have the full range of movement from the larger RM3Di.

Factum can do Tilt OR Swing (but not both at the same time)
Factum can do Rise/Fall or Shfit Left/Right (but not both at the same time).

The L-bracket makes the switch between rise/fall and shift seamless. The switch between tilt and rise/fall is done by rotating the "Tum" module (like with the other R bodies).

There are two handles available for the Factum which increase it's handhold-ability. But I'd still say the RC400 or STC are more elegant if you are doing mostly hand-held work. On a tripod the design of the optional L bracket for the Factum really sings.

As covered in our Arca Swiss R page.

The one major downside in my opinion is it's limited to +/-15mm compared to +/-18mm for the STC and +/-20mm for the RC400. But it includes tilt without need for adapter (even more important IMO on the small bodies where an adapter represents a larger proportion of the final package size) and is very inexpensive to add to an RM3Di kit (since the Factum uses the "tum" from an RM3Di - also purchasable separately.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Smaller movements Doug?

I have yet to see one.

 

[dougpeterson]

Smaller movements Doug?

I have yet to see one.

Yes, smaller movements. Reference the movement comparison (for all major tech cameras) here:
Tech Camera Overview

Visual comparison of the Arcas:

Note the above image is without the L bracket, and without the optional handle for the factum. It's also shown with the Variofinder, which in my experience most Factum owners omit (in order to have a smaller total size). Some users also carry the Variofinder on their belt or pocket for scouting/visualization before pulling the camera out for a shot.

 

[Dogs857]

ok. this came as a surprise....
my original plan: was to buy an alpa stc with 40 and 90 rodies....
I have now tried both systems: the STC at a friend's place a few days ago and a Cambo wrs 1200 today,
I went in fully expecting the STC to floor the WRS ( at least on perception alone with some prejudice that I picked up reading up on the internet ) but on the contrary, I thought the controls on the cambo were actually much easier, the knobs more accesible from the rear, and frankly, I did not find a great deal of a difference in the "finish" and "precision" that warranted an approximately 7000 K difference for a 2 lens and accessory kit for the alpa... especially with the back and lenses being the same.

Not sure if shimming (an alpa exclusivity ) makes a difference for infinity focus..
and yes, the 32 HR is pure gold.

Oh yeah I remember that one

When I started looking I was sold on Alpa STC. I was really only checking out the other brands to say I had. After handling all three I was completely unsold on the STC. Since having a tech camera I find that movements in both rise/fall and shift are really handy.

The Cambo was my number two choice by a whisker. If I could have gotten a positive response on one of the titanium anniversary editions then I would probably have a Cambo now. That 5000 model is awesome as well and worth a hard look.

Shimming is easy on all three models, don't get sold by the Alpa press. They can all do it. The Arca is probably easiest as you don't need to adjust anything but your base focus point. Even with Alpa after you have shimmed the back to a lens you need to then adjust the other lenses to suit, the same way you adjust the Cambo lenses.

Short notice but I will be in Sydney on Sunday if you would like to check out an Arca system as well.

Remember it is the back and the glass that makes the photos. Don't get too hung up on the body in the middle.

 

[ibear88]

Hi, very informative thread.

Background.
I used to own a 4x5 (arca f-metric) and I'm headed toward an Arca or an Alpa. I found shift and rise/fall to be very, very important (for me).

Q: In general, it looks like a tech camera couple to a digital back offer much less in shift and rise/fall when compared to a 4x5. Does the small size of the sensor, when compared to 4x5 make up for the reduction in shift and rise/fall?

Q: I'd love to hear from somebody who used shift and rise/fall on both the Arca and the Alpa. Mechanically, they function a little different from one another. Which did you prefer?

Thanks, Jeff L