Actus DB/DB+ Rear Standard

[vjbelle]

For those of you who own an Actus DB/DB+ please read on. I had to replace or repair my rear standard for my Actus DB+ due to a mishap. This rear standard was part of a complete camera sent to me by Actus (hand picked) after I reported that there was some slight tilt due to the weight of the DB and its impact on the wire frame. The wire frame was/is very susceptible to slight movement due to its design and I suggested at the time that they should consider a new design.

Dave at CI put me in touch with the US office and they in turn supplied Dave with a price for a new rear standard. Dave emailed me with what he said was a better solution….. and it sure was. He happened to have in stock a conversion kit (mini to DB+) and gave me a very favorable price. The deal was struck.

I got the package today and when opening noticed that the wire frame had been completely re-designed. It is now much beefier and appears to be an extruded design. I am no expert in this area but the previous wire frame appeared to be stamped. Again…… I’m no expert. Regardless the new design is rock solid with no give when pressure is applied to the top of the wire frame. The old design showed movement when the same pressure was applied. This, to me, is a major improvement for the Actus. There should be absolutely no movement of the wire frame after a DB is attached. When using a loupe with my 180mm lens (live view 100%) the ability to focus is much improved with extremely little to no movement of the wire frame when slight pressure is applied which means the image is much more stable. This, to me, is a big deal. My old rear standard is going back to Cambo for a replacement of the wire frame. This should be relatively easy for them and hopefully not too costly for me.

Hats off to Dave for the solution, pricing and timely processing.

Cheers……

Victor

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Thanks for the kind words! Happy to have been a part of getting this taken care of for you.

For some more information, all Cambo products are never really "final", they are constantly revised based on the feedback from users like yourself.

I can't speak directly as to when things were made "Beefier" (it was before my time). But I do know that small changes are made all the time to these product lines.
I've been lucky to have been invited onto the factory floor where these parts are CNC milled, and I can tell you its a wonderful thing to witness (aside from the welding smell of hot metal in the air but some folks may like that).


Anyone who has any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly or to your closest Cambo dealer. Any of us would be happy to help any time!

 

[vjbelle]

To any interested here are some images of the rear standard - old and new. The new design comes at the expense of 72 grams which to me is nothing with regards to weight. Cannot stress how important this design change is for the practical use of the Actus.

Victor

 

[TimoK]

Anyone who has any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly or to your closest Cambo dealer. Any of us would be happy to help any time!

There is people like me who has no direct question to Cambo or reason to contact a dealer but are interested of everything about Actus.
This is interesting news for us Actus mini users who are dreaming of trading some day to DB or GFX.
Thank You for sharing your experience vjbelle !

 

[CAMBOUSA]

There is people like me who has no direct question to Cambo or reason to contact a dealer but are interested of everything about Actus.
This is interesting news for us Actus mini users who are dreaming of trading some day to DB or GFX.
Thank You for sharing your experience vjbelle !

When the time comes let us know. This year we just released a solution that would allow for a use such as yourself to use all three (DSLR/Mirrorless, Digital Back, AND Mirrorless Medium Format) without having to worry too much about changing standards in the field.

It's a little more of an investment up front, but it removes a lot of the questioning of which is the best camera for the day...just bring them all!

 

[vjbelle]

You should be aware that the rear standard bayonet holders for a GFX/XD1/etc are of a different design than the DB wire frame. They are stronger and not as susceptible to stress as the wire frame used on the old DB rear standard. That wire frame design was the weak link in the Actus camera and many times I had toyed with moving on to an Arca Swiss. However the new design for the wire frame on the DB rear standard is so well thought out and so damn strong at almost no weight expense that I think its Arca Swiss that needs to take a look at how well Cambo has moved on engineering/design wise and listened to customers concerns - at least mine. There is also a quick conversion for the GFX Cambo to DB with a rear bayonet type adaptor for DB that I'm sure is of the same design as the newer wire frame - IOW damn strong and light!! I am impressed.....

Victor

 

[GrahamWelland]

Thanks Victor for this info. I have two Actus DB+/DB2 cameras with different rails but the way I pack them in the bag always gives me the same concern that they may get stressed and bend.

Time to send at least one in for replacement. The new standard looks much sturdier.

 

[vjbelle]

Graham..... the wire frame is 'Rock' solid compared to the previous design. They have fixed the weak link...... When using the old wire frame back removal was a two step process.... first remove back with plate and then replace plate. This new design is so strong that I can remove the back 'alone' from the wire frame without having to worry about forward pressure causing some misalignment.

Victor

 

[zachary_goulko]

When the time comes let us know. This year we just released a solution that would allow for a use such as yourself to use all three (DSLR/Mirrorless, Digital Back, AND Mirrorless Medium Format) without having to worry too much about changing standards in the field.

It's a little more of an investment up front, but it removes a lot of the questioning of which is the best camera for the day...just bring them all!

I also own the new DB2 and must say that it is rock solid, and the addition of the geared shifting is very nice. There are a couple of things that I would love to see as options in the future.
1) A new rear standard that allows easy rotation similar to my Actus mini with the Sony E mount.
2) An option to connect the Phase One XF body to the rear standard, so the DB can be used with the FPS of the camera in combination with any lens and movements.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

I also own the new DB2 and must say that it is rock solid, and the addition of the geared shifting is very nice. There are a couple of things that I would love to see as options in the future.
1) A new rear standard that allows easy rotation similar to my Actus mini with the Sony E mount.
2) An option to connect the Phase One XF body to the rear standard, so the DB can be used with the FPS of the camera in combination with any lens and movements.

No promises except to say that the R&D team in The Netherlands do monitor these forums for customer input. I can assure you that if they find it possible, it's being looked at.