lenses for cambo

[Tinus]

Tinus is still searching..alpa and and now also looking at the cambo 1200 .. nice and simple - less precise then the alpa ? it doesn't seem to me.. and the lenses ? I do like the teles like 90, 120 or 150 - is there someone how shoots with this lenses ? I read some comments that its a bit more difficult with the combination longer lenses/tech camera - you agree or not ? Is Alpa better or is it just a personal thing ?
Tinus

 

[Paul2660]

I choose the Arca system for several reasons, one being control of focus.

True if you have a CMOS back, focus can be controlled very easily via Live View as Guy's Credo 50 review showed.

I also learned early on, that the wider lenses, 28, 35 and 40 have such a great hyperfocal range, especially with a bit of tilt, that you can map out the hyperfocal range and in many cases use that. At least it works very well for me.

As you move longer, exacting focus is much more demanding and you DOF gets even smaller.

I personally love the Arca card which gives you a great starting point, once you have measured in your distance. This is very critical with the 60, 90 and especially the 120 APO. You can then fine tune the focus, and if you shoot tethered, this is so much easier.

Many seem to feel the Arca solution is too "tech", and it's a very personal thing for sure. For me, it's a huge time saver, and get the job done. I have great confidence when moving to the longer glass, which is where you seem to want to start.

Cambo and Alpa can use the detailed focus rings on the lenses, which can also help to fine tune your focus.

Quickly back to your lenses:

The 90 HR Rodenstock, has a 120mm or 125mm image circle, and is a fine optic. It will ghost flare at times and this can totally ruin the shot. The Ghosting can come with a hood and the sun at your back. You just have to watch for it and try to find an angle/hood combination that prevents it. The lens is a nice size and weight and easy to carry in the field. I have an older HR and it's a bit softer on full shifts on a full frame 60MP back.

The 120 APO, is an excellent optic, again with a huge IC. This lens easily will shift to 30mm on my rig, (when I rotate it so rise fall are shift). It will focus pretty close also, in around 6 feet. As it's a Schneider, the ghosting flare is not an issue and it actually does very well when shot at the sun, as all the Schneiders seem to do. Great lens, tiny in size and weight.

Paul

 

[Don Libby]

Zero experience with Alpa but I do have 6-years with the Cambo WRS. Speaking to lenses - I brought Schneider 35XL, 72 and the short barrel 120 at the same time I picked up the body. I still use the 72 and 120 however recently moved from the 35XL to the 40HR due to a planned change in backs. The 120 is a great lens with a huge image circle and from what I hear the 150 is just as good. The trade off to a short barrel is that it comes in 2-pieces; the lens fits up front while an adaptor is used in the rear which means the back must be removed first - not your normal switching of lenses. The upside is the image circle is huge - almost to the stops huge. I've learned a long time ago there's no such thing as a perfect system however after 6-years of use this is damn close.

Don

 

[jlm]

See my fs ad for cambo body and T/S lenses

 

[kdphotography]

John Milich is a rather shy and humble guy----so I'm going to help him out here.

Technical camera systems do not often come up for sale---and this one is from a known and respected GetDPI family member.

See, http://www.getdpi.com/forum/gear-fs-wtb/52588-fs-cambo-wrs-lenses-iq-160-a.html

ken

 

[Tinus]

yes, i see .. T/S lensens: I didn't see a significant need for them so far, also now I found the thread from Jack where he describes the tilt..
for wide angle I can see it now, but is it as useful for a 120 ?

 

[jlm]

shift is valuable both ways: L/R and Up/Down, independent of focal length. with wider lenses that typically pick up too much foreground shift is essential if you want to keep the film plane vertical. also for stitching and basic framing changes

tilt/swing to control focus is more important with longer focal length lenses that have shallower depth of field, though all lenses can make use of it

 

[Steve Hendrix]

yes, i see .. T/S lensens: I didn't see a significant need for them so far, also now I found the thread from Jack where he describes the tilt..
for wide angle I can see it now, but is it as useful for a 120 ?

To me, the tilt is just as useful, if not more so, for longer lenses. With many wide lenses, you already have a vast perceptual depth of field. When isolating and magnifying subjects with longer lenses, depth of field can suffer, so tilt can be very helpful.


Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration

 

[Don Libby]

At one point I too had thought the same question regarding t/s on a longer lens than the 40HR. After using the 40HR for well over a years now I can see the advantages and plan on getting my 72 and 120 retrofitted.

Again subjective thoughts however what anyone who is thinking of buying a lens, any lens should try it first to make certain it's a good fit for you.

Don

 

[Pemihan]

I have all my three lenses, Rodie 40HR, SK 60XL, SK 120 Aspheric, in T/S mount and use tilt pretty much all the time on all the lenses. Makes a big difference IMO.

Peter

 

[Tinus]

Thank you for the helpful responses -
(unfortunately..) it looks like the tilt is quite a plus for alpa and acra, since on this systems it's build in - and for each cambo lens you pay 1'400 CHF (about equal US) plus, thats not nice

 

[Pemihan]

Tilt is not built in on the Alpa system. You need to ourchase Tilt/Swing adapters which also is quite pricey. Don't know if one is enough for all lenses or you need several depending on which lenses you get.

Peter

 

[jlm]

the combo T/S solution also has both tilt and swing at the same time; arca only has one axis, not sure about alpa.

 

[GrahamWelland]

Tilts on Alpa can be delivered using the 17mm T/S adapter (and 17mm spacer for longer lenses). The standard 17mm T/S adapter has 0-5 degrees of tilt. The large 34mm T/S adapter has a longer 6 degree tilt range. You need to use SB17 or SB34 lens mounts for this.

The adapter can be fitted to the body in either vertical or horizontal orientation, dependent also on the body type and whether or not you have a handgrip fitted.

Once you start adding tilt per lens the overall costs of the systems start to get closer to each other although the Cambo still wins out for pure value.

 

[Tinus]

some points for acra.. it's just a camera that looks so technical to me..(I know we speak from tech cameras here ;-) but I don't get warm with her . what is your experience with finding the DoF using tilt: as far as I can see no system, (except the live view capable backs and the ground glass) can help you there - but I like to stay simple and I imagine after a while you can find the DoF quite well or would you disagree ?

 

[Jacob CHP]

With a lens in an Alpa SB34 mount (here the HRW50) one can use two Alpa 17mm T/S-adapters in almost any combination (It's not possible to mount the two adapters on the same side of the body AND with the same tilt/swing at the same time).
One can even obtain a little shift (just under 1.5mm with the adapters on same side of the body and unfortunately not much more if they are mounted one each side). A small token of Dantes appreciation I guess.

 

[jlm]

you can get the hang of tilt for landscape use pretty quickly; for example, typically tilt down will be 1-3 degrees only, depending on the lens and tripod height, if set for distant focus. take the shot, then examine the image using the focus peaking aid. tethered to a surface pro is a huge aid

if you are shooting tabletop, it is usually fussier tethering is the way to go

 

[Paul2660]

The ability to tether to a surface pro is a huge advantage for the IQ backs. After reading Ken Doo's article I tried tethering and now shoot everything that way. I would rather leave a lens behind instead of the Surface Pro.

The review of the image is much faster and so much easier to determine focus. It makes using tilt much easier also as Jim mentioned.

Paul

 

[Tinus]

you can get the hang of tilt for landscape use pretty quickly; for example, typically tilt down will be 1-3 degrees only, depending on the lens and tripod height, if set for distant focus. take the shot, then examine the image using the focus peaking aid. tethered to a surface pro is a huge aid

if you are shooting tabletop, it is usually fussier tethering is the way to go

say if i shot with a 70 mm, focus ideal 50 meters away, tilt down 2 degrees, i imaging this would be not too difficult to handle.. and not much different without tilt (?) and a shot with a 120 mm lens, 30 meters away the main focus, 2 deg. tilt starts to be more difficult, but as you said you can use then the focus peaking aid.

thetering is maybe less fussier but if it comes to philosophy I prefer to be a photographer not a technician.. and in the field you have one more difficult thing to take care of - if it's not working properly out in the field, you have additional problems, and the idea to run around with a laptop around in the mountains makes me smiling long..

 

[GrahamWelland]

Tilt actually can be relatively simple if the plane of focus is for landscapes & maximum DoF. There are only a few variables that need to considered for the best starting point and they are the hinge line height and near/far points & max height. Using these alone you can dial in the numbers to an app like Tilt Calculator (Tilt Calculator v3.5) to get the best starting focus point & f-stop to cover your image.

However, as John mentioned, you can start from some simple rules of thumb such as ~1 degree per 30 mm of focal length for a normal (5ft or so) tripod height and start with focus at the hyper-focal & then shoot / adjust which will work great for a scene needing toes - infinity. As a worked example, say 40mm lens @ 5ft high, needing foreground to infinity, you would use ~1.5 degrees of tilt and focus at 11ft or thereabouts. Lower heights & longer focal lengths typically increase the tilt angle.

For focus encompassing planes up/down from level, or swings, things are far more heuristic and it's more into adjust/shoot/review cycles. On a view camera it's easier to use the GG assess near/far points but tethering with a back to review focus in C1 is very effective in the field too.