New Cambo Offerings - Late 2018 Edition

Thanks, Blake!

And for those of you old (as in former) Hasselblad shooters who are now using the Cambo, here's what the 250mm Superachromat can do on the IQ3100 with the Cambo WRS-V adapter (1200x1200 pixel crop, shot at f/8). Perhaps not surprisingly, the build quality of the adapter is simply exquisite. Very sweet indeed...



John

And here’s how my wallet looks, again, after ordering the ACDB-987.

The Actus products have always intrigued me, and if anyone can give me some thoughts, I’d be very appreciative .....I currently use 5x4 film (mainly for the benefits of front rise), and Leicas (M240, M246 Monochrom, SL).

I’m curious about using the Leicas as a “digital back” on an Actus, mainly for front rise for architecture photos. I’d assume I’d need to use the Actar lenses for infinity focus?

What are the typical “problems” that can be encountered with this type of set-up?....I’m thinking colour cast? .....do the sensor’s microlenses play well with front rise? ....can this be fixed? .....Etc etc

I guess this question could be answered with peoples’ experience of the Actus with other cameras like the X1D, GFX etc.

The Actus seems amazingly useful (almost too good to be true), so I’m wondering what I’m missing in terms of any practical problems?

The worst case, if your camera is supported, is that you’ll need to create a LCC (lens cast correction) shot using a white LCC card. If you use Capture One, or LR/PS with their LCC correction tools, that’ll correct any color/exposure abherations perfectly.

The range of movements make almost any camera a view camera and that is very liberating.

(That said, yes, I AM an Actus / Actus DB fan boy). I had the original Actus for my Sony until some scumbags stole both it and my Alpa MF system. In the end, I decided to replace them all with the Actus DB2 and then Actus G system which supports both my MFDB system and GFX (and if I really wanted to my Nikon Df). It worked great with my Sony A7RII too. Just be aware that there are some limitations in terms of lens support with 35mm systems but if 40-60mm onwards are your goal with LF lenses then it’s a great system. (For MF the lenses supported are wider).

I consider myself one of the power users for the Cambo Actus. I have enough parts for three separate cameras. The system is very light and extremely flexible. I can't comment much about the Leica's as I have no experience with those cameras on an Actus but I have used both a digital back and a Fuji GFX with my Actus. The ability to change from a DB to a GFX quickly is a welcome upgrade and the weight savings of not having to carry around two complete cameras is welcome. Cambo will bend over backwards to keep you happy..... Don't be afraid of making the plunge.

Victor

Jon Warwick said:

The Actus products have always intrigued me, and if anyone can give me some thoughts, I’d be very appreciative

Click to expand...

Jon, I'm always happy to answer any questions I can. Needless to say I'm a little biased on my opinions, but I always am painfully straight with my recommendations.

Jon Warwick said:

I’m curious about using the Leicas as a “digital back” on an Actus, mainly for front rise for architecture photos. I’d assume I’d need to use the Actar lenses for infinity focus?

Click to expand...

I believe Graham answered this to a point, but I'll chime in as well. The Actar lenses are designed in such a way to have the widest compatibility across as many camera brands and ranges as possible. So they are great options to consider. Some of them even (at least in my opinion) rival some of the more expensive Rodenstock optics...but your results may vary.

Jon Warwick said:

What are the typical “problems” that can be encountered with this type of set-up?....I’m thinking colour cast? .....do the sensor’s microlenses play well with front rise? ....can this be fixed? .....Etc etc

Click to expand...

Typical problems are going to be wide angle lenses. Outside of the Actar options, because of the flange distance of say the SL, I wouldn't be surprised if the widest large format lens that allows for infinity would be in the 60mm range. I haven't been given those technical details yet, but I hope to find out within the coming weeks.

Hey folks,

Last week at Photokina I had a chance to meet a lot of interesting people and see a lot of interesting things (I also have a lot of interesting jet-lag).

During the show I was given a brief look at the 2019+ Cambo roadmap. I can tell you a lot of cool things are coming!

I was asked specifically if there were any products that the users were asking for and I wanted to see if I can get some input as to what items you guys would like to see priority on. So I guess its open forum time, what would you all like to see coming soon? I can't give any details on upcoming projects, but your input will help the guys at Cambo HQ know what items to prioritize.

Hi Blake,

Rear tilt built into the WRS body so it can be used with all lenses :grin:

A revised hood with more than one filter slot, just two would be great. And built slightly different so the filters doesn't get scratched when you put them in. As it is now the filters can get scratched if there's grit on the circle where the hood itself is attached. I shoot a lot in rather sandy conditions so it tends to be a problem for me but I'm sure that for a lot of users it isn't a problem.

CAMBOUSA said:

View attachment 136239
AC-791​

The AC-791 Bayonet Holder, is an optional accessory for the ACTUS-G series and allows the mounting of a LEICA SL mirrorless camera body to the interchangeable top part of the rear standard of the ACTUS-G base.​

Click to expand...

For anyone that was curious as to "Why L-Mount?" should now have that answer. We are fully prepared for the upcoming L-mount cameras (probably not too exciting for the Medium Format Subforum as a whole, but either way we will have Actus support!)

Been pondering future camera lens options and just had a thought.
Would it be possible to mount a Fuji GFX lens on an Actus, be able to stop down the lens manually and capture with a Sony A7 body?

Would be a great way to use shift on the wide-semi wide Fuji lenses.
Possible or wishful thinking?

MrSmith said:

Been pondering future camera lens options and just had a thought.
Would it be possible to mount a Fuji GFX lens on an Actus, be able to stop down the lens manually and capture with a Sony A7 body?

Would be a great way to use shift on the wide-semi wide Fuji lenses.
Possible or wishful thinking?

Click to expand...

You would never reach infinity focus.

Presuming that’s due to lens flange distances not quite giving enough room.
I don’t actually need infinity focus as it would be for tabletop/product.
I guess Cambo are unlikely to make a gfx lens plate if it’s not going to work though.

MrSmith said:

Presuming that’s due to lens flange distances not quite giving enough room.
I don’t actually need infinity focus as it would be for tabletop/product.
I guess Cambo are unlikely to make a gfx lens plate if it’s not going to work though.

Click to expand...

What focal length are you trying to get? I also do tabletop / product photography and I use tech cam lenses Rodenstock / schneider very sharp. I also use cambo actus / ultima 23d.

I’m sorted down to 60 (digitar) and use a 24 ts-e for the odd very wide but it’s around 35-40 I don’t have movements with.
A 45 rodenstock will not focus. This is with a Sony body. There is the Hblad/zeiss IF 40mm but it’s very expensive or the Cambo adapted contax 35mm which I have no idea if it’s up to the standard of the digitars.
Truth is i rarely need to go wide but need the option, just don’t want it be the most expensive lens in the bag but the least used.

MrSmith said:

Presuming that’s due to lens flange distances not quite giving enough room.
I don’t actually need infinity focus as it would be for tabletop/product.
I guess Cambo are unlikely to make a gfx lens plate if it’s not going to work though.

Click to expand...

FYI, the Fuji's flange-focal distance is 26.7 mm and the Sony's is 18 mm, which leaves only 8.7 mm for a lens adapter between them.

The absolute minimum thickness of the Actus is around 18 mm, IIRC, which is more than 9 mm too thick to focus a GFX at infinity and probably too thick to focus it for anything other than macro photography.

The only way to mount a GFX lens on a Sony A7 series body (for the moment, ignoring the need to control its aperture electronically) is to include an optical element in the adapter and so far, at least, none of these exist.

In short, you can't get there from here.

MrSmith said:

I’m sorted down to 60 (digitar) and use a 24 ts-e for the odd very wide but it’s around 35-40 I don’t have movements with.
A 45 rodenstock will not focus. This is with a Sony body. There is the Hblad/zeiss IF 40mm but it’s very expensive or the Cambo adapted contax 35mm which I have no idea if it’s up to the standard of the digitars.
Truth is i rarely need to go wide but need the option, just don’t want it be the most expensive lens in the bag but the least used.

Click to expand...

How much movement / how large of an image circle do you need in the 40 mm focal range?

Although I still have a few details to sort out to get its electronic aperture working, just this morning I successfully mounted my Contax N 17-35/f2.8 lens on my Actus (albeit only temporarily, but I'll finalize the mounting over the weekend):



and at 17 mm, it projects an image circle large enough for 4-5 mm of rise / fall movement, increasing to 10-12 mm at 35 mm, both of which are generally plenty for my purposes. (I love the way this lens renders, hence my willingness to figure out workarounds so I can use it ... YMMV!)

Now, I'm not necessarily recommending this particular lens to anybody else -- I'm a bit of an outlier in terms of both my needs, as well as my preferences, plus I already owned it, so I only had to consider the cost of fabricating the necessary adapters rather than buying one outright -- but my point is that if you are willing to think outside the box, there are some 35 mm-format lenses that project oversize image circles and this is especially true of zooms. If you don't need a lot of movement, these might be an option you may wish to consider.

For example, there is the Canon 40/f2.8 STM pancake lens, which is quite modestly priced and reported to project an image circle that's large enough to cover a Fuji GFX's 44x33 sensor, which works out to an image circle diameter of approx. 55 mm.

That said, if the 50 mm focal length will work for you and you're already able to work with the electronic apertures of Canon's TS-E lenses, then you should definitely try the new-ish 50/f2.8 lens. A friend has generously left his with me for the past few weeks and although I'm not a big fan of the 50 mm focal length or the rendering of Canon lenses generally, I've nevertheless found it to be a remarkable performer, my inherent biases against it notwithstanding.

Does the electronic Canon adapter for the Actus work any better with the GFX R model?

Or is the grip still an issue with this setup as well?

Thanks!

wallpaperviking said:

Does the electronic Canon adapter for the Actus work any better with the GFX R model?

Or is the grip still an issue with this setup as well?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

TBH the Cambo adapters are the same on GFX and Actus. They work fine but you have to set aperture manually on the adapter.

On my GFX I went with the Techart. On the Actus I have the Cambo adapter to drive my 17/24 TSE lenses. For that, it works just fine.

How much movement / how large of an image circle do you need in the 40 mm focal range?

Click to expand...

I’ll take whatever is on offer, but 8-10 minimum.
50mm is too close to 60 so ideally 35-40mm focal length.
I’m after sharpness and no fuzzy corners to match the 60-80-100-120 digitars.
But without spending £3.5k
If canon had released a 35 of 40 T-SE then I would have bought that.

The obvious answer is a S/H gfx when everyone upgrades to a 100mp version and then every lens I have gets wider :ROTFL: