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
The design of this lens is build of 8 elements in 4 groups.
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focal length
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105mm
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aperture range
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f 5,6 – 16 (manual)
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lens construction
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8 elements/ 4 groups – 1 floating group
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coating
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multi coating
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front filter thread
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m40.5
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size L x W x H
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75 x 98 x 130 (includes Actus mount)
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weight
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548 gram
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image circle
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82 mm
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build for
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Cambo Actus (non DB)
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works in combination with Actus for
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Canon, Nikon, Canon M, Sony A7, Fuji X, Panasonic, Leica M, Olympus OMD, Fuji GFX
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availability
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November 2017
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Available November 2017, get your first look at Photo Plus Expo 2017.
Words and Photos by Lee Varis of Varis Photomedia
This 2nd part of my examination of the Cambo Actus GFX system focuses (literally) on the lens tilting functionality. The tilting lens stage allows the photographer to alter the plane of focus, usually to match the plane of focus with the subject, to achieve better depth of focus with near-to-far subjects, or with macro focus situations.
The Cambo Actus technical camera system allows the front lens stage to tilt, altering the plane of focus to match the subject.
This lens tilt takes advantage of the Scheimpflug principle, a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system (such as a camera) when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane.
Tilting the lens such that the desired plane of focus intersects the plane of the lens, and the image plane at one point, known as the Scheimflug intersection, is the core function of the Scheimpflug principle.
Arranging the lens tilt so that the desired plane of focus intersects with the image plane, and the lens plane, at the same point, allows for enhanced focus along that focus plane without resorting to extra small ƒ-stops, and in most cases achieves sharper focus in the desired area. The following image illustrates how this works in practice. The first image has the lens plane parallel to the camera back, and the result is a limited depth of field that is particularly troublesome for near-to-far subjects…
Here the back of the camera and the lens plane are parallel in a normal orientation—the focus is on the guitar pick which is very close to the lens—the focus falls off into the distance.
The second image has the lens tilted forward so that the lens plane intersects the plane of the face of the guitar, and the back of the camera—the result is an illusion of infinite focus or extended depth of field, even at a wide open ƒ-stop…
Here the lens has been tilted forward enough that the plane of focus matches the face of the guitar, and we have perfect focus along the whole length of the guitar, near-to-far.
The beauty of the medium format, mirrorless FUJIFILM GFX is that focus peaking in the electronic viewfinder makes the chore of determining the best angle for the lens easy—just tilt the lens until the red highlights show up along the edges in the image!
Besides the obvious application here in the still life above, subtle lens tilts can work wonders in ultra-close-up macro photography. This is something the Cambo Actus system excels at…
The Cambo Actus GFX with the 90mm Actar lens is ideal for extreme macro work. Small lens tilts can greatly enhance the apparent depth of focus at closer than 1:1 magnification distances.
Here the lens has been tilted to place the focus across the plane of the flower center. Closing down the ƒ-stop just a bit extends the depth enough that all of the petals are also tack sharp!
There is nothing quite so luxurious as a view camera for macro photography, and the Cambo Actus GFX is a joy to use with extremely precise geared focus movements along the extended rail—the focus peaking of the FUJIFILM GFX is fantastic for nailing the focus.
The Scheimpflug principle also has application in landscape photography…
Here I’m setting up a shot with foreground rocks leading up to the lighthouse—an extreme near-to-far composition.
The foreground rocks are only 24 inches from the front of the lens with the light house over one hundred feet away.
There is no way to achieve this level of depth of focus in a single capture without the use of a tilting lens stage.
While it is possible to capture several shots with differing focus depths, and merge them using focus stacking, the look of the Scheimpflug capture achieves a subtle “standing in the scene” kind of feel that just works better for this type of image!
Here is a short video showing another shot from the same day of shooting…
The Cambo Actus with the FUJIFILM GFX is truly the ultimate technical camera for demanding photography in architecture, still life, and landscape applications. While the system is not cheap… roughly $2,795.00 for the Cambo Actus, another $1000 – 1700 or so for a large coverage view camera prime lens, and you’d still need to purchase the FUJIFILM GFX body ($6499.95 from B&H) , if you are looking for the ultimate technical system, this is it!
I was able to borrow the system for a only a week, and had limited time to work with it, but I really enjoyed working with the system. This camera inspired many ideas for photographs that I would like to pursue at some point in the near future. In the meantime, here is a gallery of images from my testing—click on the thumbnails below to see larger images! You can find out more about the Cambo Actus system of cameras, available with adapters for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fuji-X, from their website here: https://www.cambo.com/en/actus-mini/cambo-actus-mini-view-camera/
Words and Photos by Lee Varis – Source: Cambo Actus + FUJIFILM GFX
Once again a huge thank you to Lee for his very in depth review. To purchase a Cambo Actus GFX or any of the many other Cambo products, please visit Cambousa.com/dealers to find the Cambo dealer nearest you.!
Words and Photos by Lee Varis of Varis Photomedia
I recently had the opportunity to test the Cambo Actus technical camera with the FUJIFILM GFX—this was very exciting for me because I could renew my experience with view cameras in a new digital configuration! The Cambo Actus is essentially a view camera front end to just about any digital camera that gives the serious photographer the ability to use full lens tilt & shift with back shift.
The Cambo Actus consists of a front lens board with tilt/shift on a rail system with a bag bellows that connects the front lens to the back board using a clever magnetic attachment.
The Cambo Actus system uses large image circle view camera or enlarger lenses connected to a digital camera body through a bag bellows and a body adapter back standard. Basically replacing a view camera film holder with a digital camera body. I had the system set up for the amazing FUJIFILM GFX, a medium format 50 megapixel camera, and had an Actor 24mm & 90mm lens to test the full tilt/shift capabilities of the system.
The shifting function of this type of camera system is primarily used in architectural photography to control perspective convergence. This was how we had to work before the days of Photoshop and Lightroom lens corrections. The idea is to keep the camera back perfectly vertical and use the shifting back to get the top of a building in the shot. A carpenter’s bubble level is very useful to square up the camera…
Here is a short video where I show the process with the Cambo Actus and FUJIFILM GFX…
I was using the Actar 24mm with is fairly wide angle for the GFX medium format camera.
Here you can see the perspective convergence in the building behind me. It was actually much more severe in the un shifted GFX shot—it makes the building look like its leaning backward!
Sometimes when the image is perfectly corrected with all the lines parallel, it can look a little off, like its over corrected. You might have to deliberately under-correct (allow for slight convergence) to make it look right…
The shape of this building still looks a little strange, even though it is technically correct.
The shifting back of the Cambo Actus is also extremely helpful when stitching multiple shots together to get undistorted wide angle shots! I took advantage of the horizontal shift to capture a shot of the Ames Free Library in Easton Massachusetts when the best vantage point for the building was too close to show enough of the scene.
Instead of panning the camera, I shifted the back left to right to get 3 shots of the scene.
Shifting the back of the Cambo Actus allows for perfect alignment with the building, so all the lines are parallel, and multiple shots blend together seamlessly with no effort. The image below shows the individual shots shifted to the extremes of the extra large image circle…
This sequence shows the extreme shift inside the image circle of the lens!
The result after merging in Lightroom/Photoshop…
I added a better sky into the merged scene in Photoshop, but the panorama merge was done in Lightroom.
The Cambo Actus system is definitely the big boy way to shoot architecture, but the camera has many other applications that take advantage of a tilting lens! Stay tuned for part two of my exploration of the Cambo Actus GFX where I look at achieving infinite depth of field effects with a tilting lens!
Words and Photos by Lee Varis – Source: Cambo Actus & FUJIFILM GFX
Please take the time to visit Lee’s website varis.com for more great reviews, tutorials, and stellar images.
Thank you Lee for taking the time to test and share the Actus GFX. For more information or to purchase one of your own please visit Cambousa.com/dealers to find the dealer nearest you.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Lee’s review coming soon!
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 |
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 |
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
The ACTAR-24 is, like most wide-angle lenses, relatively sensitive for environmental light, direct as well as indirect light. For this, Cambo has developed a compendium lens hood, dedicated to this wide-angle lens.
The hood is flexible and self-supporting. It can be pulled out to 80mm extension and folded backward enough to clear the edges from vignetting when using movements.
The hood slips over the 100mm diameter of the front of the lens and attaches with one synthetic thumbscrew.
Basically, this lens hood is compatible with any lens with a front diameter of 100mm, which also includes the Rodenstock HR-W 32mm, as used in several combinations with other Cambo products.
