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Actually, adding front rise is now possible ... well, sort of.
None of my lens plates have the double hole, but except for the Pentax 645 plate all were purchased a few years ago. Rear rise/fall is adequate for my needs, but I don't do much architectural photography.Actually, adding front rise is now possible ... well, sort of.
At some point (I'm not certain when, but I believe it was in conjunction with the release of the DB version of the Actus), Cambo started machining a second mounting hole/recess into its lens panels, as shown below:
These two holes are spaced 8mm apart and the Actus normally uses the upper hole, which maximizes the contact area between the lens panel and front standard.
However, by using the bottom hole, it's possible to achieve a fixed 8mm of front rise, which might prove useful to some photographers, in some situations. The reduction in contact area between the lens panel and standard is presumably not an issue, either, because if it was, Cambo surely would have designed a second lens panel instead of adding a second hole to their existing lens panel ... am I right?
And if 8mm is too much rise, any competent machinist can add a third hole/recess in between the existing two to achieve a lesser amount of rise or even add a beveled slot between the two existing holes to achieve a variable amount of front rise between 0 and 8mm by using the clamp to hold the lens panel in place at the desired point.
Mind you, this rise movement won't be geared, so it might prove tricky to add small, precise amounts this way, but view cameras have successfully used non-geared, sliding movements for several generations without too much issue. Cambo must agree with this approach, too, at least in principle, because the Actus' rear shift movement isn't geared and works essentially the same way, except it slides laterally instead of vertically.
Of course, I can't vouch for how well the clamping screw will hold when used with a slot instead of a recess, but I can confirm that it clamps down quite securely on the lens panel in its original, unmodified form and unless the lens being used is extraordinarily heavy, I'll bet it will hold just fine.
If it doesn't, then it's not a big deal, because the lens panel will still work just fine with zero front rise applied, so one won't need to replace it and will only be out the cost of having it modified.
In fact, now that I've mentioned the possibility of adding a slot between the two existing holes out loud, I may just have to try it myself, if only because I can.
A four shot stitch from the same setup as above. Click for full size original.This is cross posted from the Sony B&W thread. A quick test shot using the Sony A6000M on the Cambo Actus with Cambo Actar 60/4 lens at f/11. This may be a nice setup for doing stitched B&W landscapes. The monochrome sensor in the A6000M gives excellent resolution and dynamic range.
If you have older lens panels, adding a second hole isn't a huge task. Not sure what to say about the Pentax plate, except maybe it wasn't recent production?
Me too. All of my Copal lens boards have the double holes and I've had the Actus DB/DB+ and Sony versions from when they first came out.
No second hole on these copal plates:Actually, adding front rise is now possible ... well, sort of.
At some point (I'm not certain when, but I believe it was in conjunction with the release of the DB version of the Actus), Cambo started machining a second mounting hole/recess into its lens panels, as shown below:
These two holes are spaced 8mm apart and the Actus normally uses the upper hole, which maximizes the contact area between the lens panel and front standard.
However, by using the bottom hole, it's possible to achieve a fixed 8mm of front rise, which might prove useful to some photographers, in some situations. The reduction in contact area between the lens panel and standard is presumably not an issue, either, because if it was, Cambo surely would have designed a second lens panel instead of adding a second hole to their existing lens panel ... am I right?
And if 8mm is too much rise, any competent machinist can add a third hole/recess in between the existing two to achieve a lesser amount of rise or even add a beveled slot between the two existing holes to achieve a variable amount of front rise between 0 and 8mm by using the clamp to hold the lens panel in place at the desired point.
Mind you, this rise movement won't be geared, so it might prove tricky to add small, precise amounts this way, but view cameras have successfully used non-geared, sliding movements for several generations without too much issue. Cambo must agree with this approach, too, at least in principle, because the Actus' rear shift movement isn't geared and works essentially the same way, except it slides laterally instead of vertically.
Of course, I can't vouch for how well the clamping screw will hold when used with a slot instead of a recess, but I can confirm that it clamps down quite securely on the lens panel in its original, unmodified form and unless the lens being used is extraordinarily heavy, I'll bet it will hold just fine.
If it doesn't, then it's not a big deal, because the lens panel will still work just fine with zero front rise applied, so one won't need to replace it and will only be out the cost of having it modified.
In fact, now that I've mentioned the possibility of adding a slot between the two existing holes out loud, I may just have to try it myself, if only because I can.
I believe it's now been clearly established by an official source that the second holes appear only on those lens panels (plates? boards?) that are also intended to be used with the Actus DB (and GFX?) versions.No second hole on these copal plates:
except 2 people have posted to the contrary, me and Graham both have double holes on copal boards, my actus was purchased very early on soon after release, there was no DB version available then, no W/A sony rear standard available either. things might be different with current inventory.
Same here. I purchased the original Actus right after release in 2014 with 2 Copal 0 plates and two more plates in 2015 - all with no second hole (?).
No ... the rear element of the lens is too large.
Very good article - thanks.
Tried doing some stitching with the Leica R 35-70 Vario-Elmar f/4 on the Cambo Actus with Sony A7R-FS (CC filter on lens). Two images below are composed of two shots each stitched with Photomerge in LR.
Barely enough room to shift inside the relatively small image circle of the 35-70 @ 35 mm. I'm going to try some of my Pentax 645 lenses next, particularly the Pentax 645 A 35/3.5.
I only use LF lenses with focal lengths greater than 40mm, so no problems reaching infinity focus.
Hi,
