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Cambo Actus, Quick Tip

Actus Quick Tip – Shooting Longer Focal Lengths without Additional Monorails

Heres a quick tip for all of our Actus users. Recently we received an email asking for us to perform a “science experiment”.

One of our users wanted to take his Actus hiking while carrying the least amount of gear possible. He also wanted to use longer focal length lenses without the need to change monorails in the field.

He asked whether or not the rear standard of his Actus-DB2 would support the use of the macro adapters designed for our WRS line of cameras. After some experimentation and many calls back to Cambo HQ in The Netherlands, I was reminded of a more elegant (and often overlooked) solution.

 


The front standard of the Actus is designed in such a way where it can be rotated 180º and a standard Actus lens board can be re-mounted. The magnetic bellows even still connect and effortlessly lock into place.

This allows for the standard 175mm monorail of the Actus DB-2 (150mm of the Actus Mini) to effectively be extended by 45mm. The photo above is taken from the Actus manual itself, and even though it shows the Actus-Mini, you get the same movements on the Actus DB2 as well.

All you need is the right length of bellows and you are back in action with as little extra equipment as possible!

 

October 5, 2017by CamboUSA
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Actar, Cambo Actus, Cambo Studio, Cambo Wide RS, Cambo X2-Pro, Dealer, MBX Studio Stand, News, WRS

Cambo Products Now Available at Fotocare.

We are happy to announce that Cambo products are available for order and purchase at Fotocare in New York City!

Please reach out to your sales contact for more information, or to be paired with a salesperson please contact Cambo USA at info@Cambousa.com

 

41 W 22nd St,
New York, NY 10010
(212) 741-2991
www.fotocare.com

September 12, 2017by CamboUSA
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Cambo Actus, Quick Tip

Actus Quick Tip – How to Change to a longer Monorail.

The Actus series of cameras is a modular unit that allows for an almost unlimited potential for customization. The standard Actus configuration comes included with a 150mm monorail (175mm for Actus DB/Actus GFX), but has the ability to be used with extended rails for longer focal length lenses or for macro purposes.

The AC-330 monorail extends to 300mm of length and allows for 1:1 focus with a 120mm macro lens. The AC-345 extends to 450mm which is good for 1:1 with 180mm lenses.

You Will Need:

A Cambo Actus.
(Mini, DB-2, or GFX).
Extended Monorail.
(AC-330 or AC-345).
1.5mm Allen Hex Key.
(included with every Actus model)
T6 Torx Screwdriver.
Actus Extended Bellows.
(If full length of extended monorail is to be used)

Step by Step:

1) With the rear bayonet facing you, begin by loosening both silver tension screws on lower left and right of the Body.

2) Use the focus knob to move the rear standard into the farthest back position (60mm)

3) Extend the rear standard until the silver set screw appears in the guide hole

4) Remove this screw and retain it for re-assembly. The rear standard can now be freely removed.

5) Turn the body over to reveal four T6 screws. Remove those screws and retain for re-assembly. Please note if you have an Actus-DB or Actus GFX the front standard is comprised of two pieces. Both pieces will need to be re-installed in order to complete the swap.

6) Re-assemble your Actus by following the same steps in reverse with the longer monorail of your choice.

 

And there you have it. Customizing your Actus camera for your needs is incredibly simple and something anyone can do.

For any additional questions or to purchase Actus cameras or accessories please contact your closest Cambo dealer at Cambousa.com/dealers.

 

August 9, 2017by CamboUSA
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Actar, Cambo Actus, Cambo DSLR, Cambo Studio, Cambo Wide RS, Dealer, MBX Studio Stand, News, Uncategorized, Video Products

Cambo Products Now Available at Samy’s Camera & Samy’s Cinema Works.

We are very excited to announce that Cambo products are now available for purchase at Samy’s Camera and Samy’s Cinema Works locations.

A big welcome from all of us at Cambo USA to everyone who is a part of the Samy’s team!

For more information or to place your order contact your Samy’s salesperson or Cambo USA.

Burbank

148 S Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
(818)-562-1960
www.samyscinemaworks.com

(Video Products)
(Video Products)

Culver City

Los Angeles

4411 Sepulveda Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
310-450-4551
www.samys.com
431 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-938-2420
www.samys.com

Pasadena

San Francisco

1759 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
626-796-3300
www.samys.com
1090 Bryant Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-621-8400
www.samys.com

Santa Ana

Santa Barbara

3309b S. Bristol St.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
714-557-9400
www.samys.com
530 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805)963-7269
www.samys.com
June 15, 2017by CamboUSA
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Actar, Cambo Actus, Guest Post

Guest Post: Bryan Minear – A Week With The Actus Mini.

Recently we reached out to Bryan Minear, Fuji X-Photographer, to offer a test of the Cambo Actus-Mini for the Fuji-X platform. Here are his thoughts. 

Photos and text by Bryan Minear. Shared here with his permission.

I don’t write as often as I’d like to. So when Cambo USA reached out to tell me about the Actus Mini with Fujifilm X compatibility, I instantly knew that if I could get it in my hands, I would want to write about it. This isn’t really going to be a “review” because I really hate writing a typical review. This will be more or less my thoughts on a really cool photography tool that I feel more people should know about.

After some back and forth with Cambo, we nailed down a week that I could try out the system. I planned a cool weekend trip to take it on that unfortunately ended up getting cancelled due to weather, but more on that later.

For those that aren’t familiar with a traditional “view” camera. Think old school 8×10 photographer under the sheet with a huge camera that looks like an accordion. The bellows are light sealed and allow the lens to move back and forth from the film plane which acts as your focus wheel. The lens can also move side to side and up and down as well allowing for “tilt” and “shift” to correct for perspective or to give that artsy blur effect.

Well the Actus Mini basically functions in the same way. The back of the Actus has a mount for your camera system body and the front has a lens mount. They offer a few different camera mounts but Fujifilm is the only one that I care about for the sake of this writing.

Cambo themselves make a few lenses, but they also have adaptors for other lens manufacturers which is really cool. An APSC system like Fujifilm X allows for the use of Nikon, Leica, Mamiya 645 and RZ/RB, Pentax 645, and Hasselblad lenses. And large format lenses 55mm and longer. For my testing they sent me the Actar 24mm f/3.5 which ended up being the perfect all around focal length, especially with how much i was shooting panoramas. All sample images below were shot with an X-Pro2 attached to the Actus Mini. If the shot is a panorama, I made a note of it, otherwise its just a single exposure.

Because the lenses are designed to resolve at such a larger size, it allows you to shift the sensor around within the frame. Not only can you tilt and shift the lens on the front, but the rear camera mount moves side to side and up and down independently as well. This allows you to capture panoramas with NO distortion whatsoever. You are essentially moving the sensor around the lens area shot by shot so you can combine them into perfectly stitched panoramas in post. I know that photoshop has come a long was with perspective correction tools, but there is no software that allows you to create panoramas like this. I have to say that ending up with super high resolution panoramas is perfect for printing.

5 image panorama

One of the coolest things about the Actus Mini is the size. I’m a huge fan of shooting on tripods. I love to slow down and add filters and do things very methodically. The bottom of the Actus is totally Arca-Swiss compatible so it is ready to be mounted without any sort of added plate. But it’s size also allows you to hand hold the entire system. It gets a little tough if you are wanting to do a lot of tilt and shift movements, but it’s totally possible. The build quality of this thing is incredible. It just feels very solid and well engineered. The whole system breaks down very quickly. The bellows are attached the the front and back by a genius magnetic connection that locks you into place, and it folds down completely flat for storage.

I was in constant communication with Cambo the week that I was testing. They wanted to make sure to answer any questions that I had. I asked them what kinds of fields they saw this being most useful in. Knowing that in my world of landscape and architecture the perspective adjustments and panorama capabilities are a huge deal. But they also informed me that this system would be great for product and portrait photographers because it allows for such intricate depth of field plane control.


My week looked like this: I hit a few of my local hotspots after work just totally in “play” mode to get a feel for the controls and how it would fit into “my style” of work. Knowing that I had a trip planned for the weekend where I was REALLY going to put it through its paces in the field I really just wanted to get better acquainted with the functions so i knew what to do when i had a real subject to shoot. As is my luck, the weather for the weekend soured last minute and we ended up canceling our trip. Just know that I HATE reading online reviews and seeing mediocre sample images that do nothing to show off the product being reviewed. I shot what I could in the time I had, but Michigan had other plans and the entire weekend was a bust. I just have to beg you, the reader, for forgiveness because my final images aren’t as good as the could be. C’est la vie. Hopefully you get an idea of what the system can really do. I hope to get my hands back on one of these for a New York or Chicago trip to really put it to work in the architectural realm.

     

If you have any specific questions about the system, please feel free to comment below or shoot me a message on twitter or instagram

Or reach out to them directly at Cambousa.com | info@cambousa.com or by phone 404-859-5809.

And hopefully I can talk my wife into letting me buy one. ?

Until next time!

5-Shot Panorama

Go to top

Bryan Minear is an Official Fujifilm X-Photographer & Vanguard Professional based in the Midwest.
Follow his photographic journey on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

June 5, 2017by CamboUSA
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Cambo Actus, Coming Soon, News

Cambo ACXL-366

The Actus GFX announced earlier this year is a portable solution with geared shifts designed with the GFX user in mind.  For those of you who prefer a full-size view camera for in studio use Cambo is happy to announce that the Actus-XL is now available with GFX bayonet.

ACXL-366 is the conversion kit from Ultima to Actus-XL/GFX. It is the same as the upgrade from Ultima to Actus-XL35, but with a dedicated GFX bayonet holder.

This is the upgrade for existing Ultima owners. It gives them the possibility to add Actus versatility to their Ultima cameras. The main advantage is the way the body flips from horizontal to portrait around the bayonet. 

GFX-Actus-XL

Now the Actus XL can join the rest of the Actus family with compatibility with standard DSLR/Mirrorless cameras, digital backs, and now mirrorless medium format options.

Pricing and availability coming soon.

April 24, 2017by CamboUSA
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News

Cambo USA at the Society for Photographic Education’s 2017 National Confrence.

Cambo invites you to visit us at the Society for Photographic Education 2017 SPE National Conference March 9th-12th, 2017 in Orlando Florida.
spe

Cambo will show MBX series of stands released last year, the new lineup of Actar lenses, as well as, the entire range of Actus cameras, including the new specially designed for the needs of educators, Actus EDU.

mbx-1_w
MBX Stand.
The new classed Mid-range studio stand will suit many photographers shooting with medium format camera systems. It is placed between the entry level Monostand and the heavier duty UST/UBS stand series.

The MBX stand combines several advantages of the various Cambo stands, such as a ball bearing movement for effortless vertical adjustment as well as rotation of the crossarm independently of vertical adjustments, all in a lighter, easier to assemble format.

15585112_1329301730465670_6196953203435077411_o
Actus EDU. 

The Actus EDU features an interchangeable bayonet holder for various system cameras. The top part holding the camera mount can easily be replaced. A locking lever secures it firmly in place.

Having the ability of rapidly changing this AC-78E holder makes it possible to always have a fitting solution within seconds when students bring their own camera bodies.

actar-lenses_serie01_w
Actar Lenses.

A lens system dedicated to the Cambo Actus for use in combination with a mirrorless camera, mounted to the Actus. This lens is permanently attached to an Actus lens panel, with manual aperture control. No electronic connections are needed.

Come by booths 43-44 to see everything for yourself.   screen-shot-2017-01-04-at-2-21-40-pm

 

 

March 8, 2017by CamboUSA
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Cambo Actus, News

NEW ACTAR 80/90/120 Lenses

actar-lenses_serie01_w

The ACTAR series now consists of 5 lenses!  Joining the existing ACTAR-24 and ACTAR-60 we now are pleased to announce the addition of the ACTAR-80, ACTAR-90 and ACTAR-120.

Designed exclusively for use with the ACTUS camera system, these lenses come pre-mounted to an ACTUS Lens Board and ready to use.

Actar 90/Actar 90

Cambo’s ACTAR-80 and ACTAR-90 are 80mm and 90mm standard lenses, dedicated to the Cambo Actus series. Both will focus at infinity in combination with mirrorless camera bodies as well as DSLR bodies. Both ACTAR-80/90 lenses are ideal for product photography, including fashion, food and jewelry.

An extensive image circle of 85 to 90mm, allows for horizontal shifts over more than 20mm each side when using a full frame (24×36) sensor in either landscape or portrait mode. The optical design of this lens is a 7 element, of which all lenses are multicoated to achieve the best contrast.

actar-80s

Actar 80
-focal length: 80mm
-aperture range: f 4 – 22
-filter thread: m40.5
-lens design: 7 elements
-image circle: 85mm
-built for: Cambo Actus (non DB)

actar-90s

Actar 90
-focal length: 90mm
-aperture range: f 4. – 22
-filter thread: m40.5
-lens design: 7 elements
-image circle: 90mm
-built for: Cambo Actus (non DB)

Actar 120

Cambo’s ACTAR-120 is a macro lens with a focal length of 120mm, dedicated to the Cambo Actus series. It will focus until infinity in combination with all mirrorless and DSLR camera bodies. The ACTAR-120 is a lens which is primarily designed for an optimal performance at close-up range, between 1:1 and 1:10. Nevertheless, this lens can also be used for general purpose photography. The design of this lens is build of 6 elements, of which all lenses are multicoated to achieve the best contrast.

actar-120_2s

Actar 120
-focal length: 120mm
-aperture range: f 5.6 – 32
-filter thread: m40.5
-lens design: 6 elements
-image circle: 100mm
-built for: Cambo Actus (non DB)

 

All of these are available now.

A dedicated Lens hood for the ACTAR-24 is in the works and will be announced soon

January 18, 2017by CamboUSA
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Cambo Actus

Stitching images with Actar Lenses and the Cambo Actus-Mini

Our partners over at the Cambo official blog just shared a few tests of the Actar 24 and Actar 60 lenses when used for image stitching. I know a lot of you have been wondering about the possibilities of what can be created using these two brand new lens options, and I couldn’t just let this pass by un-noticed! 

Cambo has built a reputation for designing and manufacturing technical cameras and more recently the Actus system has been proven a favorite choice for many landscape and architectural photographer.

During the recent On Landscape Conference “A Meeting of Minds” the Actus was on show along with the Actar 24mm and 60mm lenses.

The weather was horrendous and once the storms disappeared we ventured out to test the current Actar lens offerings.

charles1

 

The Actar 24mm is specifically designed for use with the Actus. It comes complete with a lens plate that locks direct into the front standard.

Although photographers are adopting mirrorless camera systems a majority of users still have DSLR systems from Canon and Nikon and require a wide-angle lens that will focus at the extra distance required to compensate for the mirror box. This is the reason why there is a large rear element on this lens.

screen-shot-2016-11-30-at-2-47-52-pm

When using a mirrorless camera the focus is racked back a little more away from the lens than a DSLR with mirror box. The lens is inserted into the front standard and locked in place by a lever. Before you shoot any images it is important to find the lens infinity point. Your dealer can show you how to do this, although we will cover this in another blog.

For this test we used the following; Cambo Actus Mini View Camera, Sony A7R, Actar 24mm lens, Standard bellows, CBH-6 ball and socket head and Manfrotto 055 CF tripod.

Using the Sony to meter the exposure at ISO50 was 1/8 sec at F16. The RAW file was captured with generic Sony profile and 2-second self-timer to avoid camera shake.

actar24mmmid1

The lens image circle is quite large, 60mm, so the Actus can be shifted horizontally 12mm left and 12mm right. For this shot we shifted 10mm left and 10mm right.

Once the RAW files were captured we imported the files into Capture One Sony Express and processed them using the Sony Generic profile and saved as a TIFF file to preserve the data.

Capture One pre-set sharpening was used, as shown below, but there was no need to increase this. The handrail and window detail is sharp.

actar24mmrail

actar24mmwin

The auto merge in Photoshop CC2015 is extremely good. We had a slight edge to the left and bottom of the file when merging, probably due to the positioning of my tripod on the cobbled paving!

Select Content Aware when using auto merge and this will calculate the edge fill. Photoshop does a great job of this and as you can see from the image you can’t tell this adjustment has been made. The ant trail is shown on the image, select the Content aware tool and click on the ant trail to complete the fill.

contentawareblog

The Photoshop layered file to be stitched is 938.6MB layered file, 322MB (flattened.) The TIFF file is 1.59GB. The pixel dimension of the capture is 11456 x 4912 at 300dpi / Print output 38.18” x 16.37” 300dpi.

The images we use for the blog are 1080 wide at 72dpi, reduced to manage on the blog. The cropped imaged was taken from the middle of the panorama at 100% zoom. The file is 15.7MB, 2528 x 1087 at 300 dpi with a print output of 8.42” x 3.6” at 300dpi.

actar24mm_panorama21

The day started and ended with mist. The image was captured around 2:30 pm and there was still a small amount of mist across the distant Elizabethan building.

actar24mm_pancrop2

Following on from our shoot with the Actar 24mm, we were in a good location to capture images with the recently launched Actar 60mm f4 lens.

Within half an hour of shooting with the 24mm the light turned golden and although it looked warmer, trust me it was much colder!

charles2

The Actar 60mm is supplied fitted with a lens plate that slots directly in the front standard of the Cambo Actus camera platform. It is compatible with Mirrorless cameras. The large image circle of 75mm enables you to shift the camera body 19mm left and 19mm right, a huge 38mm shift producing an effective 66mm x 54mm stitched sensor capture – as its a longer lens there is not the distortion effect you obtain from a wide angle lens.

actar60lens

Again you need to find the infinity of the lens but this is easier to achieve, as it’s a longer lens. For this test we used the following; Cambo Actus Mini View Camera, Sony A7R, Actar 60mm lens, Standard bellows, CBH-6 ball and socket head and Manfrotto 055 CF tripod.

Using the Sony to meter the exposure at ISO50 was 1.0 sec at F16. The RAW file was captured with the generic Sony profile and a 2 second self-timer was used to avoid camera shake.

actar60mmmain

As already mentioned the lens image circle is quite large, 75mm, so can be shifted horizontally 19mm left and 19mm right. For this test we shifted 10mm left and 10mm right.

Once the RAW files were captured we imported the files into Capture One Sony Express and processed them using the Sony Generic profile, 16Bit and saved as a TIFF file to preserve the data. Capture One pre-set sharpening was used, as shown below; there was no need to increase this.

actar60mm3up

The only real change was the warmer natural light, so we enhanced the contrast to keep as much detail in the image. I prefer the warm light, its much more pleasing to the eye.

The Photoshop layered file to be stitched is 929.8MB layered file, 322MB (flattened.) The TIFF file is 1.24GB. The pixel dimension of the capture is 11456 x 4912 at 300dpi / Print output 38.18” x 16.37” 300dpi.

actar60mmpanorama

The Photoshop CC2015 auto merge, content aware and edge fill process was the same as when we processed the Actar 24mm files.

The images we use for the blog are 1080 wide at 72dpi, reduced to manage on the blog. The cropped imaged was taken from the middle of the panorama at 100% (approx.) zoom. The file is 8.8MB, 1893 x 812 at 300 dpi with a print output of 6.31” x 2.7” at 300dpi. I have been too generous with the crop produced by the Actar 24mm, as the size of these files should be the same.

actar60mmpancrop

The Actar 60mm is a better lens for this type of work. Of course longer lenses will suffer less with distortion and lens aberrations, we are also cropping into the image area, which is far more effective when shooting a panoramic image.

 

For further information about Cambo products contact your nearest dealer– Dealer Search.

 

November 30, 2016by CamboUSA
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“Cambo BV was founded in The Netherlands in 1946 and has the distinction of being the first studio camera manufacturer to produce an all-metal large format camera. Based in the town of Kampen in the East of the Netherlands, Cambo has since built a reputation for high quality, precision engineered cameras, stands and other studio equipment.”

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