bit by bit:
as soon as i can get my hands on a lens with arca mount i'll figure out an Actus board for it.
no, the actus does not have a vertical shift scale; i'm working on that, don't want to just put on a paper sticker though.
the bellows is fairly thick leather and quite substantial. my only gripe is that it is larger than it needs to be, partially due to the construction method so it can close down to 3/8" (9mm): it will extend 6" (150mm). the camera only extends about 4-1/2" (115mm). a traditional accordion bellows would work but not compress as much. i found the alpa 72mm lens with extension in the front needs the bellows to compress all the way to get to inf focus and in fact had to make my lensboard thinner to get it to work. the cambo 28 was not so fussy.
main advantages over any other tech camera: full movements with any mounted lens, cost is low, construction quality is high, lenses will be cheaper (no fussy shimming or helicoids)
note: you will need live view on your back; there is no other way to focus
recessed lensboards are a pia, as the lens controls, including the sync cable are considerably harder to reach.
the imaging process is: fit lens and back (quick and easy), connect sync cord, open shutter and aperture, put back in live view, rough focus with slide, then fine focus using magnify (i use a shaded 6cm x 6 cm 3x power loupe as well) (rail precision is fine enough); movements, etc. close shutter, set aperture, take back out of live view, cock and fire. at least you don't have to remember to remove the dark slide (and reverse it, remember that?)
at the tahoe gig we can try all sorts of standard mount alpa and cambo lenses