So both panels together have around 18mm, well below the 26 mm needed. I still don't understand. Maybe the metal rings on the bellow add so much thickness?
You didn't include any allowance for the thickness of the compressed bellows, which I just measured at ~8.5 mm between the metal mounting rings.
Now, in all fairness, a portion of the lens panel and camera mounting bracket thicknesses do end up inside the bellows, so just adding all these numbers together will double-count a portion them to some extent.
So to sidestep this, I just now measured the depth of my Actus camera mounting bracket, compressed bellows (as pushed firmly against my kitchen counter) and smart Actus lens panel, and I arrived at a total thickness of 23.8 mm.
In theory, this should just barely allow the lens to focus at infinity, but in reality, it's impossible to compress the bellows as fully as I did with it
off the camera when it's mounted
on the camera and the pressure to compress it is applied via the focusing knob and focusing rail, so this measurement will increase somewhat when the bellows is relaxed.
But as a practical matter, with the bellows compressed to this extent,
zero movements are possible -- no rise/fall/shift nor tilt or swing! -- which sort of makes a camera whose
raison d'être is its ability to provide movements rather pointless, eh?
2. What drives me crazy is the following link from the official Cambo website --
https://www.cambo.com/en/news/cambo-actus-canon-eos-lens-adapter/
Quote from that link:
"
This ACB-CA lens adapter is designed to work with most mirrorless camera bodies, such as the Sony A7 series, Fujifilm X series and Canon M series. Mounted on the Actus it allows for tilt, swing and shifts with any mounted Canon lens, be it within the limitations of the used lens' image circle."
Now I am not a native english speaker but that quote suggested me it should work even with the thicker smart Canon adapter.
There's also this disclaimer: "The practical use of lenses may be limited to those that can move freely in front of the bayonet of the used camera body, due to the recessed position of the chip in certain bodies."
Which I read as "the only movements available with some lenses focused at infinity will be those that are designed into the lens, because the Actus itself will be bound up so tightly that none of its movements can be used."
3. How was mr. Steve Hendrix been able to do this --
https://captureintegration.com/seeing-sideways-with-the-cambo-actus/
Quote from that link:
"
Challenge #1 is that thicker camera bodies prevent wider lenses from focusing because the built-in flange distance requires a greater buffer between the optic and the imaging plane. If you mount a Canon 35mm/1.4 lens to the front of a Cambo Actus with a Canon 5DS mounted to the back, the grand total of your focus will be about 3/4″ in front of the lens. It becomes the weirdest, most limited macro lens in history.
Yet with that same stingy lens, if you swap the Canon 5DS for the Sony A7R-II, you can focus to infinity. Just the (approximately) 25mm difference in camera depth results in an attainable focus of either 3/4″ or infinity. Amazing. That is why mirrorless cameras are the ideal snugglers for any wide angle photography with the Cambo Actus – the flange distance requirements are a limiting factor, depending on the camera body being used."
At the end he recommends Canon EF-TS lenses as an option for wide angle. But according to Cambo they should not work on the majority of the cameras.
He was using the dumb adapter, not the smart adapter. The ~5 mm difference in depth between them makes all the difference!
4. First image on this link shows a Canon EF lens mounted with a Sony E back. --
https://captureintegration.com/first-look-cambo-actus-ef-aperture-controller-for-canon/
5. Someone using exactly this combination Sony A7R + Canon 16-35 + Actus --
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1412676/0#13412640
Again, I have no problem using Canon lenses with my A7R on my Actus provided I use the dumb adapter or my custom-made one. And as coincidence would have it, I bought my Actus from cdavis324, along with the custom lens panel made by S.K. Grimes he mentioned.
And just to clarify, no camera is perfect, especially not the Actus. But for what it is and does, it's a very useful tool for many photographers and my grumblings aside (both in this and other threads) I've enjoyed using and have recommended it to several other photographers, who all seem quite happy with their Actuses (Actii?).
It's just frustrating at times when its quirks and shortcomings -- Yes, it has several of both! -- make their existence known and interfere with my photographic process, that's all. <shrug>
Which is why I've created several "FrankenKameras" over the past few years in an effort to come up with a better solution for me and my purposes. And while it's still under construction as I write this, I think I may have finally turned the corner with my many DIY solutions, as my latest effort is on track to weigh right at 1.5 lbs (
with both a lens board
and camera mount!) and will be both rigid and precise enough that it won't -- can't, even! -- drift out of alignment the way many Actuses do, resulting in various tilts and swings being applied unintentionally and photos being ruined accordingly.
But I digress and this really isn't the place for such a discussion in any event...