*Written by Richard Lotte
Judged by today’s standards it may look like a bulky camera with a tiny screen. At its introduction in 2002 this 11 megapixel Canon 1Ds was the bee’s knees among DSLR cameras. Here it’s attached to a Cambo Ultima, a view camera introduced in the late 1990’s.
Although still available for analogue applications, the aforementioned Ultima was Cambo’s first view camera designed with professional digital photography in mind. At the time commercial photographers were gradually transferring to digital backs. Think of 6 megapixel devices, often multi shot and therefore limited to stills. Photographers who couldn’t justify this investment often decided on a “hybrid workflow”. They continued to shoot film but invested in a scanner – or outsourced the process – enabling them to offer their clients digital files.
The Ultima was a truly modular design. What made it stand out amongst its contemporaries was the ability to use it with DSLR cameras. Cambo offered versions for Canon and Nikon bodies. Or Kodak, which were basically digitised Canons or Nikons. This schematics shows one that must be built around a Nikon, according to the indicated Flange Focal Distance of 46.5mm. A number that matters to us. Compared to a digital back the lens choice is rather limited when you're using a DSLR with a view camera. For studio work this hardly matters though.
A view camera that uses a regular digital camera instead of a digital back makes digital studio photography a lot more accessible. Hence this announcement by our German partners at Calumet. Their description “eierlegende Wollmichsau” literally translates to egg laying wool milk pig. An animal that hasn’t seen the light of day yet, not even on German farms. A jack of all trades though and a very good one.
When we introduced the more affordable and compact X2-Pro view camera alongside the Ultima, control over the perspective and plane of focus became available to a larger group of photographers. Schneider Kreuznach offered an 28mm lens that was also suitable for the DSLR’s relatively long Flange Focal Distance. Combine that with a compact view camera and you may finally take it outside to shoot architecture.
The X2-Pro was a pretty innovative piece of equipment. Cambo patented its Cross Gearing Drives. The mechanism at the side incorporated Tilt and Shift, the one at the bottom Swing and Rise/Fall.
The camera was sometimes frowned upon because of its unusual design. It was however a very capable tool and for many commercial photographers exactly what they needed to take the plunge into digital photography. With a focal length range from 28 up to 150mm it covered the needs for real estate, food and retail photography, just to mention a few applications.
Here the X2-Pro is shown with the Schneider 2.8/28. Camera body attached in portrait orientation. It didn't have the nifty rotating bayonet that debuted with the Actus.
Enter the Mirrorless Camera. Especially the introduction of Sony’s first A7r – which made Full Frame Mirrorless affordable for many – urged us to develop a more compact view camera. The small and light Cambo Actus made the use of view cameras outside a studio environment a lot more appealing. Not only to pro’s, but to enthusiasts just as well.
Finally there’s a view camera that is easy to pack, affordable and doesn’t require a bulky camera body. The good live view in modern CMOS cameras makes it easy to use. What you see is what you get. Unlike the old days, when photographers needed to use Polaroids to check quality and had to wait at least a couple of hours to get their 4x5’’ transparencies back from the lab. Even if you're not a seasoned technical photographer the learning curve isn't that steep anymore. In a studio environment tethering the camera to a computer or laptop facilitates framing and playing with the plane of focus.
After its introduction in 2014 the Actus has evolved into a complete series of cameras. The version for use with Mirrorless and DSLR bodies was soon accompanied by the Actus-DB2 for digital backs. The introduction of Mirrorless Medium Format cameras by Hasselblad and Fujifilm required a redesign of the rear standard. This led to the Actus-G which has the distinction of a detachable bayonet holder and geared horizontal shift.
For every new Mirrorless systems entering the market we immediately introduced adapters to enable use with our view cameras. Like for the L-Mount shared by Leica, Panasonic and Sigma.
The Ultima we started with has also been adopted into the Actus system. It lives on as Actus-XL. In this guise it shares camera mounts and lens plates with the other Actus cameras, making it suitable for virtually every Digital Back, Mirrorless or DSLR around.
For those who prefer their full-size view camera a bit more travel friendly than the Actus-XL and easier to break down into segments, we’ve added the Actus-MV. It offers all camera movements a studio photographer may desire. Still it’s relatively small. Changing between camera bodies or backs is accomplished within a minute. A truly modular camera and a future proof investment which offers you maximum versatility.
