Cambo - New and Upcoming - 2019

[CAMBOUSA]

Hello GetDPI members,

I wanted to take a moment and start a new thread about some new and upcoming products from Cambo. Some of these I have already talked about already, so forgive me in advance if there are any overlaps.



First the Rodenstock Aperture Only Mount. Now to be fair this is not a Cambo exclusive as other manufacturers will (likely) be using this same product on their lenses. The new "AO" mounting is similarly sized to the previous Copal-0 opening, so it can be used with existing Copal-0 lens boards. When mounted for a WRS camera the new panels will be called the WRA-XXX (In the case of the 23mm shown it is the WRA-2023).

Aperture size #0
Aperture control manually
Aperture range 6 f/stops, increments stepless
Aperture has 9 leaves
No Flash synchronisation

These newly mounted lenses are making their way into the Cambo factory and will begin shipping stateside very soon. All of the Cambo dealers have the ability to pre-order (and possibly deliver) these lenses now.



This is the WRE-138 (and soon available in AO mount as the WRA-138). This is the highly anticipated Rodenstock 138 6.5 lens that has been discussed at length across this forum. I should be getting my demo unit on Monday and will be putting it through its paces. The unit I am receiving I have been told is still partly a prototype, and that some minor changes will be happening between now and the formal launch.

That being said this lens is also available for pre-order, and will be mounted in a WRS Non-Tilt-Swing panel only due to the unique design of the rear helical. I will be releasing a blog post at Cambousa.com soon that has some more details about this product.



This is a rendering of the soon to be delivered AC-380 and AC-381. These are an optional, newly designed knob assembly that will offer a 5:1 gearing reduction (and I'm told will aid in "locking" movements of the Actus). Depending on your current model of Actus depends on which knobs you would use, and they are being offered separately as to fully customize the individual Actus for its user.

These were being machined while I was at the factory a few weeks back on the Cambo USA Workshop and Factory Tour, and are awaiting their final anodization and assembly. I'm hoping to have some of the first batches of these within the next 3 weeks for sale. The prototype unit I was able to get my hands on was SUPER smooth in its gearing and movements. I can't wait to get my personal set installed so I can further play with them.

I've got two (two and a half really) more products that I know will be coming and have some details on. I'd like to wait until I get some more images of them that I can share before going any further.

As always let me know what questions you all have. Happy to answer with as much info as I can give!

 

[vjbelle]

Hello GetDPI members,

View attachment 141565

This is a rendering of the soon to be delivered AC-380 and AC-381. These are an optional, newly designed knob assembly that will offer a 5:1 gearing reduction (and I'm told will aid in "locking" movements of the Actus). Depending on your current model of Actus depends on which knobs you would use, and they are being offered separately as to fully customize the individual Actus for its user.

These were being machined while I was at the factory a few weeks back on the Cambo USA Workshop and Factory Tour, and are awaiting their final anodization and assembly. I'm hoping to have some of the first batches of these within the next 3 weeks for sale. The prototype unit I was able to get my hands on was SUPER smooth in its gearing and movements. I can't wait to get my personal set installed so I can further play with them.

I've got two (two and a half really) more products that I know will be coming and have some details on. I'd like to wait until I get some more images of them that I can share before going any further.

As always let me know what questions you all have. Happy to answer with as much info as I can give!

Blake...... What is the price of these knob assemblies? Why is there an assembly for tilt but not swing? Are they user installable?

Victor

 

[Phase V]

Puh, the WRE-138 looks like an awful amount of money to spend
any info on pricing yet?
I thought they are working on a dedicated control for the ES-shutter too,
some sort of Alpa-Silex control, what´s up with that?

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Blake...... What is the price of these knob assemblies? Why is there an assembly for tilt but not swing? Are they user installable?

Victor

Victor,

1) Please contact your dealer for pricing information.

2) My understanding is that you can replace both if you would wish. I am in the process of confirming this and hope to have an answer later today or tomorrow.

3) I have been told that users with some technical knowledge should be able to perform the installation themselves. I'm waiting on mine to come in so I can walk myself through the installation process. If I can do it, I know that anyone else should be able to.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Puh, the WRE-138 looks like an awful amount of money to spend
any info on pricing yet?
I thought they are working on a dedicated control for the ES-shutter too,
some sort of Alpa-Silex control, what´s up with that?

Yes, the WRE/WRA-138 is certainly not an inexpensive lens. To give a vague idea it takes the cake as the most expensive of the Rodenstock offerings right now. I should be getting mine today and hope to run some testing to see if the juice is worth the squeeze as it were.

From looking at the charts and from what I have been told, its absurdly sharp, and has a 110mm Image Circle.

Regarding an E-shutter solution, nothing on the radar that I am aware of. But as always to be fair, I am just the US distributor and am not part of the factory team. I only get to learn about things right before launch, rarely about items on the drawing board.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Yes, the WRE/WRA-138 is certainly not an inexpensive lens. To give a vague idea it takes the cake as the most expensive of the Rodenstock offerings right now. I should be getting mine today and hope to run some testing to see if the juice is worth the squeeze as it were.

From looking at the charts and from what I have been told, its absurdly sharp, and has a 110mm Image Circle.

Now is as good of a time as ever to release the blog post about this lens.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

I was just provided with some updated photos of the WRA-2138 (Aperture Only Mount). Also I need to correct a mistake, I have previously referred to the 138 mounted as the WRE/WRA-138. It actually is 2138.



These photos really don't do it justice as to how large it is.

 

[drunkenspyder]

Now is as good of a time as ever to release the blog post about this lens.

Um, wow!

 

[CAMBOUSA]

2) My understanding is that you can replace both if you would wish. I am in the process of confirming this and hope to have an answer later today or tomorrow.

I'm not sure if I answered this publicly or not. Many apologies if I didn't. The swing mechanism is already a fine geared one, so this solution is not needed.

3) I have been told that users with some technical knowledge should be able to perform the installation themselves. I'm waiting on mine to come in so I can walk myself through the installation process. If I can do it, I know that anyone else should be able to.

After installing my set yesterday here are my initial reactions. The instructions are very clear, but it took me a but to figure out what the diagram was showing me. The allen key just blended into the rest of the diagram (which is likely more on me than anything else).

Before installing I felt that the gear unit for focus felt a little "gritty" but once I actually had it in place it became as smooth as I wanted it to be.

Make sure that you put pressure on the new knob assembly as you are tightening it into place, otherwise the teeth may not seat properly.

I REALLY like it, and so far everyone else who has seen it has felt the same. I consider it an improvement over the stock knobs for sure.

**Edit** I should be getting the official photos next week sometime, and between now and then I am in the process of working up a brief writeup as well. I'll make sure to link that here once its available.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Oh hey ya'll, its me again. I have a couple more new products (as promised) to talk about:

Firstly the upcoming (very soon, they were being anodized last week) AC-795



This unit was already posed about by Steve Hendrix last week, but more information can be found at the CamboUSA blog

https://cambousa.com/ac-795

This unit will allow for the new GFX-100 to be used in a landscape orientation on the Actus-GFX. The GFX-100 already can fit on the existing Actus-GFX without any modifications, but ONLY when used in Portrait orientation. Also something to consider that you may notice is that this unit does extend the mounting flange slightly to accommodate the larger grip on the GFX-100. This unfortunately will limit some of the lens options when using large format lenses. I'll know more as soon as I have units in hand (hopefully within the next 2 weeks).

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Next up are two new members of the Cambo PC family of heads.

The Cambo PCM and PCF


The Cambo PCF is the ultimate in Precision Control. It takes the existing PCH tripod head, and adds additional gearing to the 360º platform at the top of the unit. Previously this platform was only detent-ed every 90º


The Cambo PCM is an "entry level" unit with the same stability of its more advanced siblings. This unit removes the geared adjustments all together, for a slightly lighter overall unit that still has a lot of control over camera placements.

Both of these units launch along side of the QR-8 which is an optional tripod plate (I know, so very exciting) that has a 3/8th's mounting point instead of the 1/4 20 on the previous QR-7.



Isn't this a wonderful family portrait that is Dante approved?

More info can be found here:
https://cambousa.com/pcm-pcf

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Lets go for a Turkey shall we?

I don't think I ever made the post talking officially and in more detail about the AC-380 and AC-381 geared replacement knobs.

Last time we spoke I only had this to share:


Since then we have taken delivery of our first production batches of the geared knobs.





Both work exactly the same way, and are installed in a similar fashion. But depending on which Actus model you have depends on which combination of the knobs you will need. I'm really excited about how well these turned out and I'm so impressed with how smooth they feel.



The blog post below has more information as well as an assembly video from Cambo HQ.
https://cambousa.com/ac-380-381

 

[vjbelle]

Blake..... does the 30mm riser installed on the Front Standard limit the GFX for use 'only' with the newer adapter? Can other adapters, such as the ACDB-989, be used with the riser in place without having height differences between the front and rear standards? If not then the Actus G becomes a dedicated camera for only the Fuji.

Victor

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Blake..... does the 30mm riser installed on the Front Standard limit the GFX for use 'only' with the newer adapter? Can other adapters, such as the ACDB-989, be used with the riser in place without having height differences between the front and rear standards? If not then the Actus G becomes a dedicated camera for only the Fuji.

Victor

The 30mm raiser is specifically designed for use with the GFX-100 when used in the landscape orientation. There is nothing stopping the use of the ACB-989 (Digital Back adaptor for Actus G for those not in the know) and other adapters, however because of that additional rise on the front standard it may limit the use of some movements (rise and fall). Depending on your workflow this will be a factor to consider.

However, please be aware that the additional raiser is not a permanent piece. It can be easily removed if a customer wished to use the ACB-989 as it works today.

 

[vjbelle]

Its not just the 30mm riser but also the new adapter which also sits higher - it has to otherwise the camera wouldn't be able to match the height of the front standard. The additional height also allows for all rear standard movements (rise/fall).

I don't think my ACB-989 will match the height of the front standard with the riser in place. Even with maximum fall (raising the rear standard to maximum height) the heights won't match - at least according to my calculations.

I'll know soon enough.....

Victor

 

[CAMBOUSA]

Its not just the 30mm riser but also the new adapter which also sits higher - it has to otherwise the camera wouldn't be able to match the height of the front standard. The additional height also allows for all rear standard movements (rise/fall).

I don't think my ACB-989 will match the height of the front standard with the riser in place. Even with maximum fall (raising the rear standard to maximum height) the heights won't match - at least according to my calculations.

I'll know soon enough.....

Victor

I actually specifically asked about this during my call with Cambo HQ today. I was told that with the 30mm raiser in place that the 989 would sit "more naturally centered" with the lens plane. But would still be about 5mm off (as it is with the current design), but in a bit of a better position.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

I just got word of the MOST IMPORTANT NEW PRODUCT EVER TO BE RELEASED IN 2019!!!!!



Ok, maybe I got a little ahead of myself there. What you are looking at are photos of the WRS-1100, which is an injection molded rear lens cap for WRS lens panels.

Best used with lenses that have tiny or hard to reach rear protective caps.

We first saw a version of this on our prototype 138 lens, and I immediately asked when it would be available, and here we are!

If you are dying to have one, pricing and availability will be coming to me in the next few days.

 

[Abstraction]

I actually specifically asked about this during my call with Cambo HQ today. I was told that with the 30mm raiser in place that the 989 would sit "more naturally centered" with the lens plane. But would still be about 5mm off (as it is with the current design), but in a bit of a better position.

I don't understand what that means.

 

[CAMBOUSA]

I don't understand what that means.

As it stands right now, when using an Actus-G and the ACDB-989 (Digital Back) adapter (which basically turns the Actus-G into an Actus-DB) you lose about 5mm of movements on the rear standard. This is due to the design of the unit and how both pieces interface.

With the 30mm raiser in place, you still lose those 5mm of movements, but because the front standard is raised things "balance out" a little bit better.

Does this make more sense?

 

[Abstraction]

As it stands right now, when using an Actus-G and the ACDB-989 (Digital Back) adapter (which basically turns the Actus-G into an Actus-DB) you lose about 5mm of movements on the rear standard. This is due to the design of the unit and how both pieces interface.

With the 30mm raiser in place, you still lose those 5mm of movements, but because the front standard is raised things "balance out" a little bit better.

Does this make more sense?

I had to re-read that a few times, but I think I understand what you mean.