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New Cambo Actus dedicated for the Fuji GFX.

Shashin

Well-known member
Has anyone experience of the Actus with older MF lenses? I'm wondering how they handle something along the lines of a Hasselblad 40mm or something similar from the V system or another older MF system, can they handle the weight ok? I have the idea that the GFX with a 40mm or 50mm of some kind would be perfect on an Actus, allowing movements, a 3 image stitch would be equivalent to a reasonable wide angle view on 35mm presuming the image quality allows, I don't need to go as wide as a 17mm t/s for my work. Any comments on handling these older lenses from people with experience? Do these lenses even hold up to the 50mp sensor ok?

Many thanks

Mat
The short answer is old lenses work well--just look at the film-era optics for the Pentax 645Z. Even the Pentax 67 lenses work well. The long answer is, well, long. Some lenses do work better than others. The Pentax 45mm prime is not great, but the 35mm is. The wild card is the view camera movements. And that might be just as much the sensor as the optics.
 
M

mjr

Guest
Hi Will

Yup, I completely expect it to be a very selective process, there are some legendary lenses that I am sure would perform excellently and are reasonably priced when compared with tech lenses and even some 35mm glass, I have no doubt that a lot of lenses will be average at best. Having used a tech cam quite a lot, I really like the idea of rise/fall/shift within the image circle, so much easier to work like that for me, high quality lenses designed to cover 6x6 or 6x7 should work perfectly presuming as you rightly say, that the sensor deals with the shifts adequately. Without having ever seen an Actus or Universalis, I wonder about the weight of the lenses on the front standard and whether they hold ok, probably not an issue at all but thought I'd ask!

Cheers

Mat
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
At this time I have not been made aware of any other adaptor options on the horizon. Many companies aren't exactly forthcoming with their protocols which is a HUGE factor to what is possible.

But I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. If I hear different, ya'll will be the first to know...Just don't get your hopes up yet.
Great product. One question - does it allow focusing of the "fly by wire" lenses such as the 85/1.2 and 40mm pancake?

Kind regards,

Gerald
 

chrismuc

Member
I would wait for the fringer solution. He is working on a Contax 645 - Fuji GFX (earlier release) and Canon EF - Fuji GFX (later release) solution that allows auto-aperture, auto-focus and exif transmission with real communication between lens and cam and no external power supply required.
 

marc aurel

Active member
I would wait for the fringer solution. He is working on a Contax 645 - Fuji GFX (earlier release) and Canon EF - Fuji GFX (later release) solution that allows auto-aperture, auto-focus and exif transmission with real communication between lens and cam and no external power supply required.
I only knew about Fringers plan for Contax 645 to Fuji GFX.
Did not know about Canon EF to Fuji GFX. Where did you here that?
Would be even better than the Cambo solution.
 

CAMBOUSA

Member
Great product. One question - does it allow focusing of the "fly by wire" lenses such as the 85/1.2 and 40mm pancake?

Kind regards,

Gerald


Sadly, the best that I can determine, no. It will work similarly to the previous two Electronic Canon Adaptors in that regard. They are all based on the same system.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I would wait for the fringer solution. He is working on a Contax 645 - Fuji GFX (earlier release) and Canon EF - Fuji GFX (later release) solution that allows auto-aperture, auto-focus and exif transmission with real communication between lens and cam and no external power supply required.
+1

The Cambo one looks unwieldy and crippled.
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
This is all great, but the GFX 50S has only just been released and delivered to the first customers, and already a confusing array of adapters are emerging with different qualities. I cannot at this stage work out which is better, Cambo, Actus, Fringer, others... I had never heard of Fringer until Vivek posted a link! (for which many thanks).

It was all so much easier when you just went out and bought a roll of Velvia...
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Quentin,

The evolution of smart adapters began with the Contax N lenses modified to work on Canon EOS bodies with AF.

With the advent of mirrorless (especially Sony), real smart adapters for Canon EOS
Lenses were made by Metabones (it came from the Contax N back ground). Over the years it has gotten excellent.

If you want real smart adapters, look at the manfacturers from China. There is simply no competition to speak of.

If you want bellows and mechanical precision, there is Cambo and Arca.
 

CAMBOUSA

Member
I can't say what is going to be best in every situation, because what is best for one may not be best for another.

But I'm always here to be an advocate and answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to reach out any time!
 

Quentin_Bargate

Well-known member
I currently use Leitax adaptors with Nikon fit Zeiss lenses on a Pentax K1, but essentially the slightly nerdy world of adapted lenses has otherwise held little appeal. With the Pentax K1 it has become something of a necessity given the paucity of good K mount glass, with Sigma also not producing full frame lenses in the K mount, other than the 35mm F1.4

There is more of an incentive to use adapted lenses on the GFX because there are more adapter choices than Fuji lenses! Im quite keen on Chinese adapters if they are smarter, but for real wide angle stuff, a great mechanical adapter option would be my first choice, if top quality. Autofocus is irrelevant to me for landscape work. If the Canon EF 17mm tilt shift works well optically on the GFX with an adapter, count me in, I'm a buyer.



Quentin,

The evolution of smart adapters began with the Contax N lenses modified to work on Canon EOS bodies with AF.

With the advent of mirrorless (especially Sony), real smart adapters for Canon EOS
Lenses were made by Metabones (it came from the Contax N back ground). Over the years it has gotten excellent.

If you want real smart adapters, look at the manfacturers from China. There is simply no competition to speak of.

If you want bellows and mechanical precision, there is Cambo and Arca.
 

chrismuc

Member
Im quite keen on Chinese adapters if they are smarter, but for real wide angle stuff, a great mechanical adapter option would be my first choice, if top quality. Autofocus is irrelevant to me for landscape work. If the Canon EF 17mm tilt shift works well optically on the GFX with an adapter, count me in, I'm a buyer.
I will attend a GFX presentation tomorrow in Guangzhou. I already prepared my TSE 17 and TSE 24 (stopped down to f11), mounted the Fotodiox Canon - Fuji adapter (which fits very well on the Canon side). I hope to have the opportunity to test the cam - adapter - lens combinations (on tripod with full shift, I hope I am allowed to do pics in raw on my own card), I will report.
 

Hausen

Active member
Is anybody using the Actus-GFX yet? Haven't been able to find anything online. I am trialling the GFX tomorrow for my LE work (Not on Actus) to see if I like the files. My favourite lens with my Actus-A7rII combination is my Nikkor 65/4 SW large format lens and if I read the info in this thread right it should perform OK on the Actus-GFX platform? Being in NZ I would have to buy the GFX conversion kit ex-Australia just to trial it on my Actus. Not a perfect solution so if anyone is using I would love to know your thoughts.
 
I was pleased – no, even excited – to read here about the Fringer adapter for Contax 645 lenses on GFX. I've collected some Zeiss C/Y mount lenses for A7RII, I like their '3D' image quality, and so I'd like to try the Zeiss 645s on GFX.

But when I looked on the Fringeradapter site I encountered a hitch:

To activate the adapter, you have to begin by installing – he says owning or borrowing – a Fuji 63mm lens. No way around that. It probably means owning, because he mentions at the end that you might sometime need to reinstall. So while the adapter is only $650, I'd need a $1500 lens just to mount it. :thumbdown:

My intent would have been to skip owning any Fuji lenses and move directly to the ones I want – starting with 645 55mm, which would be ideal for my landscapes (1 file, or often 2-3 stitches). And there's not much point in owning focal lengths as close as 55 and 63.

So far it looks like nobody offers a plain-vanilla manual-focus Contax 645 to GFX adapter? I didn't see one on the Kipon list or on eBay among the Asian adapter sellers.

If not Contax, then I guess closest 2d choice would be Hasselblad CF/FLE 50.

Kirk
 

CAMBOUSA

Member
Is anybody using the Actus-GFX yet? Haven't been able to find anything online. I am trialling the GFX tomorrow for my LE work (Not on Actus) to see if I like the files. My favourite lens with my Actus-A7rII combination is my Nikkor 65/4 SW large format lens and if I read the info in this thread right it should perform OK on the Actus-GFX platform? Being in NZ I would have to buy the GFX conversion kit ex-Australia just to trial it on my Actus. Not a perfect solution so if anyone is using I would love to know your thoughts.
We have a demo unit right now in the hands of a photographer who is a big part of Team Fuji. I'll make sure I let you know when the blog post goes live very soon.
 

Hausen

Active member
We have a demo unit right now in the hands of a photographer who is a big part of Team Fuji. I'll make sure I let you know when the blog post goes live very soon.
Thanks Blake, that will be great. Going to try GFX this morning and then I will likely be hooked:)
 
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