Chris Barrett
Member
Just received my Canon mount lens board from SK Grimes. So Awesome! I can't believe how much movement is available on the Contax 35mm PC. I'm getting roughly 20mm on that!
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A7r / Arca Universalis / Canon Lenses
- Thread starter Chris Barrett
- Start date
Chris Barrett
Member
No, the mount is purely mechanical. I set the apertures using my Metabones adapter and leave the at f/11 on the Canon electronic lenses. It's workable for now.
How does this set up compare to the Cambo Actus ? The are supposed to come out with a Canon adapter that allows to set the aperture though I am wondering if a 17TSE could still be focused to infinity on a Sony 7
What made you go that route compared to the smaller Actus set up? Movements seem more or less identical.
Chris Barrett
Member
Grischa, it was a tough call. I think the Actus looks quite good. An initial comparison I read online stated that the Cambo didn't have as nice of build quality as the Arca, which didn't surprise me. The Arca has +20 / -20 mm of rise front and back. This provides substantially more vertical displacement than the Cambo. Also, horizontal shift on the Cambo is not geared. I think geared movements are essential with little sensors. I also own an Arca M-Line 2 and having modularity between the two was a nice bonus.
I could have just stuck with the M-Line 2, as I'd already been using it with the Sony, but I really liked the idea of a more compact and lighter setup. I think I'll hold on to the M for studio work as it is more robust, precise and has a longer rail.
-CB
I could have just stuck with the M-Line 2, as I'd already been using it with the Sony, but I really liked the idea of a more compact and lighter setup. I think I'll hold on to the M for studio work as it is more robust, precise and has a longer rail.
-CB
Thanks Chris
It would be nice to hear from somebody who has used both in real life situations. I agree geared movements are definitely a bonus. What's interesting though about the Cambo is the new Canon adapter. I wrote to Cambo and they confirmed that it will focus the 11-24, the 17TSE and 24 TSE to infinity maintaining aperture control and Exif data transmission . Unfortunately in this part of the world it's not as easy to see demos especially when it comes to Arca.
I also noticed that you got a 35mm contax lens that's different from my own one. I bought the exquisite Carl Zeiss Distagon 3.5 35 mm for Contax. Mirex in Munich made a Canon adapter since Alpa is not coming around with their own adapter. What's missing is a 28 mm with large image circle on a Canon or Sony mount. I find the between 35mm and 24mm it's really needs another decent focal length to fill the gap. Would the Sony 28 have a large enough image circle? Probably not?!
G.
Chris Barrett
Member
Jim, firstly, we're talking about view cameras and you seem to be talking about technical cameras? Also, I don't know where you got "sub-standard" from. I said I thought the Actus looked quite good, but not as nice as the Arca. I've made my living with view cameras and tech cameras for the last 20 years and I stand by my opinion that Cambos are not as nice as Arcas. Still, nobody said they were "sub-standard."
Grischa, I got the Contax 35mm PC. I would have loved to use the 645 lenses but didn't find an aperture control solution. Is there a Mirex that gives electronic aperture control? You're right, too... the jump is a drag. I'd be much happier with 24...32..40 but the only 32 is the Rodie HR which is more than I wanted to spend.
I don't see how the Cambo lens adapter would provide EXIF transmission since the camera mount has no electronic contacts???
This has all definitely been an adventure. One thing I've loved, though, is exploring new shift options on all kinds of lenses. My Canon 70-200 2.8 SM II actually has movements available. Zoom lenses on a view camera are crazy!
-CB
from time to time, there are comments on this forum about the build qualitiy of Cambo not being up to Alpa standards, and i think that does cambo a disservice, however subtexted it might be.
What you said was:
" An initial comparison I read online stated that the Cambo didn't have as nice of build quality as the Arca, which didn't surprise me."
so i suppose you are referencing to someone else's "online" comment. sorry if I attributed it to you
What you said was:
" An initial comparison I read online stated that the Cambo didn't have as nice of build quality as the Arca, which didn't surprise me."
so i suppose you are referencing to someone else's "online" comment. sorry if I attributed it to you
Chris, you may be past the need for or interest in this, but there is an electronic adapter for Contax 645 lenses to EOS that controls both iris and autofocus. It's made by a guy in China. I have not used it myself because I shoot Nikons, but I know of one guy in Japan who is using it successfully on a Red Epic with Canon mount. Contact info for the maker is in this post: Contax 645 to Nikon DSLR adapter... Will the JAS adapter ever be available?
My adapter is from Mirex a special order apparently there are only a few of those floating around. In terms of aperture: I used a contax camera body from some random camera shop to set the aperture to 11 pressed the depth of field button and took the lens off. Same as you did with the Canons.
So the lems stays always at 11. Not ideal but very workable this lens is a real gem . I tested it against the new and amazing Phase one 35mm yesterday and it's holding up its weight in sharpness and CA. It replaces my 32HR and on interior work where I don't need a lot of shift, the Distagon got up to 6 mm vertical shift on the IQ260 in landscape orientation I assume one gets easily to 20mm on the Sony though I have not tested it since I am waiting for the Sony to arrive.
The JAL adapter sounds promising too but does not have a shift mechanism built in which the Mirex does so that makes it much more interesting to me since I use it on the FPS. The Copal shutters start to get on my nerves.
Grischa