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Swebo Tech Cam

rdeloe

Well-known member
I asked him about that and he didn't understand what I was asking. I rephrased and expanded the question, but he never responded. I think it's safe to assume that there are no indents.
Did you ask him about indents or detents? I can see why he'd be confused if you asked about "indents".
 

Abstraction

Well-known member
I think it's just one guy and he doesn't speak English and he doesn't quite know how to go about doing things, so he's trying different things to see what works. At least, that's the impression I get.
 

Audii-Dudii

Active member
Besides their low prices -- which, I'll concede, are quite low compared to their nominal competition -- I'm struggling to understand the appeal of these cameras.

They're not lightweight, they're not particularly compact, and (based on my experience building similar cameras by combining macro rails and pan heads) they're not likely to be very rigid or their movements geared appropriately, either.

Add to that the facts they're not particularly attractive (IMO, anyway ... YMMV!), aspects of their designs borrow heavily from the intellectual property of their competitors, which is something that makes me at least slightly uncomfortable (again, YMMV!) and there is apparently no English-speaking or non-China-based support for them.

What am I missing here? Educate me, please!
 

dchew

Well-known member
Well, it does have pretty unlimited movements. But other than that, I agree; I don't see the workflow attraction at all.

Dave
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Well, if either of you have an alternative under $1,000 that can mount both Fuji X and Pentax 645 cameras, please let me know. I am certainly interested. Sure, it is not perfect, but then what technical camera is? I am also grateful that a company is able to offer these kinds of cameras for those that don't have the type of budget for the more expensive competition.
 

rdeloe

Well-known member
Well, if either of you have an alternative under $1,000 that can mount both Fuji X and Pentax 645 cameras, please let me know. I am certainly interested. Sure, it is not perfect, but then what technical camera is? I am also grateful that a company is able to offer these kinds of cameras for those that don't have the type of budget for the more expensive competition.
I don't know about mounting a Pentax 645Z (is that what you meant?), but Audii-Dudii has done some really interesting things with parts from a Toyo VX23D. You can find those for under $1,000 all the time. He's posted lots of pictures in other threads.

If you want to use a VX23D unmodified, it would be tight, but with a bit of clever machining of mount parts you should be able to get a Fuji X camera on the back of one of them and medium format lenses on the front. I do it with a GFX 50R and Pentax 645 lenses (which is just about the perfect combination in my experience); I get the full range of movements without being cramped. It's a superb tool.

Rob
 

Shashin

Well-known member
I don't know about mounting a Pentax 645Z (is that what you meant?), but Audii-Dudii has done some really interesting things with parts from a Toyo VX23D. You can find those for under $1,000 all the time. He's posted lots of pictures in other threads.

If you want to use a VX23D unmodified, it would be tight, but with a bit of clever machining of mount parts you should be able to get a Fuji X camera on the back of one of them and medium format lenses on the front. I do it with a GFX 50R and Pentax 645 lenses (which is just about the perfect combination in my experience); I get the full range of movements without being cramped. It's a superb tool.

Rob
I don't have the tools available to me to hack a camera. I was really thinking of something that is available to use. The SWEBO concept look very modular, which would give me some options to reconfigure it--I do have a screw driver.

And yes, the SWEBO does have a Pentax 645 mount that can take a 645D/Z body.
 
Did you ask him about indents or detents? I can see why he'd be confused if you asked about "indents".
Ha! Yup, you are right, of course it a detent.....

Although, I don't think either would be initially clear and it needed further explanation to get the answer. As stated, it appears to be just the one guy and translation appears to be somewhat of an issue.

We did establish that there are no click stops at zero, which would of course be very helpful.

For me, this camera looks interesting as I was already looking at building a bit of a rough and ready ULF camera and some of these parts seem like they could be ideal for providing the front standard movements of such a camera.

Also, I would also be interested in attaching a 5x4 graflok back to it and using my existing 5x4 lenses. It seems like that might be possible? Would probably just need a longer rear rail?

Kind of like an extremely poor mans "Universalis" with optional film and digital backs...


On that note, does anybody know if you could possibly attach either the Cambo Canon electronic lensboard or the Arca Swiss Canon electronic lensboard and have them work? They run on independent power right?

It probably costs as much as the camera itself but I would like to have aperture control on my Canon 24mm TS-E lens.
 
Just looked at the picture again and the rails seem weird to me, in that "0" does not even seem centred.

Seems to be 9 on the left and then 7 on the right (from zero).

Also, "60" seems to be missing its "6".

Very strange...
 

Audii-Dudii

Active member
Well, if either of you have an alternative under $1,000 that can mount both Fuji X and Pentax 645 cameras, please let me know. I am certainly interested.
Well, if your budget is that tight (or like me, you can afford to spend more but are a frugalitarian who hates to spend money unless it's absolutely necessary), the low prices of the Swebo range of cameras obviously have considerable appeal, as I noted up front in my post.

If so, that's cool, because almost any camera having movements -- even one where the design is heavily compromised in several respects -- will be a better performer when movements are required than a camera that doesn't have them! <He writes, ducking!>

But if not, there are some very real workflow and performance benefits to be had from spending more money, which isn't always and automatically the case with camera gear.

And that's the angle I was hoping to explore here, because I'm not seeing the Swebo cameras as being anything but the lowest-cost options available, with all that that entails.

(To be clear, there is a market niche for low-priced cameras and given their low prices, the Swebo cameras may even be a good value. I don't know one way or the other, except I'm fairly certain they would not be a good fit for me, with my tastes and preferences.)

As for other alternatives available for less than $1,000, I'm not aware of any new, commercially made cameras that fall into this category. And even used cameras from Swebo's competitors will likely cost you a bit more than that, except for scruffy, well-used samples.

It's definitely possible to come up with a better DIY camera for less than $1,000, though, depending on which lenses will be used and what skills and resources you have available to you. (As an aside, designing / fabricating a tech camera that will accommodate both a Fuji X and Pentax 645 body is not that difficult, but using both bodies with the same set of lenses will be quite a challenge in many respects.)

Sure, it is not perfect, but then what technical camera is? I am also grateful that a company is able to offer these kinds of cameras for those that don't have the type of budget for the more expensive competition.
Of course, no technical camera is perfect. (This is especially true of my DIY FrankenKameras, which meet my needs quite well, as you would expect, but are far from being an all-around, optimal solution for every photographer!)

But the reality is that sometimes it's not possible to get there from here, no matter how much we wish otherwise.

I have suspicions about where the Swebo cameras will fall along the price-to-performance continuum, at least from my point of view, but I try to keep an open mind, so was hoping others would share their thoughts so I might broaden my perspective. <shrug>
 

itsdoable

Member
Just looked at the picture again and the rails seem weird to me, in that "0" does not even seem centred.

Seems to be 9 on the left and then 7 on the right (from zero).

Also, "60" seems to be missing its "6".

Very strange...
Zero is on the left of both scales, the center position is 100 horizontally, and 60 vertically, as denoted by the "0".

There are precedents using this system (which has no negative numbers) for use in technical applications where you record and repeat the same settings. Errors are common when you have +ve and -ve numbers that you need to set, which is removed by not having any -ve numbers. Note however the rotation should have 10 and 350 next to "0" if you are following the same principle. These human factors are probably not an issue for most photography workflows, and errors in setup are typically not life threatening (as it is in medicine).
 

P. Chong

Well-known member
They released a new flagship model called TC1. The price in China on Taobao site is RMB 12,800. About usd 2k. it still looks like a it’s made up of rails, cube heads…but this version looks really full fledged.

E86192F9-1CF5-4740-8CAB-B9C31B8E8D65.jpeg
 

Makten

Well-known member
Ohhhh, I'd want one of those but with only tilt at the front and only rise/fall at the back. Would be smaller and lighter and still more capable than the expensive and seemingly crappy T/S adapters around.

I wonder why they don't simply sell you the separate bits and pieces to put together whatever kit you want. :rolleyes:
 
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