In the 1950’s water management and water works became big issues in The Netherlands. This required facilities to test scale models of new infrastructural projects. And we are not talking about kitchen-table-size scale models. Therefore an open air laboratorium was founded. It provided enough space to build huge models of coast lines, harbours and planned tunnels and expose these to artificially created tides and waves.

In this lab the effects of many national and international infrastructural projects were simulated. Here the ports of IJmuiden and Marsha-el-Brega, to name a few, were built to scale before the first stone was actually laid. Although The Netherlands still have testing facilities like this, computer simulation made this lab obsolete. In 1996 it was abandoned. Nowadays it’s called Waterloopbos and open for visitors.

The beautifully decayed scale models are surrounded by woods and moss-covered. A nice site to take the WRS-1600 with IQ3 back and Phase One 35mm for a walk.

This is Phase One’s 3.5/35 Blue Ring lens attached to a Cambo WRS-1600. It makes the tech cam look small.

The 35mm Blue Ring – a Schneider Kreuznach design – is a great lens. Designed and optimised for use on the Phase One XF cameras, it’s not intended for use on a tech cam. But we do have this adapter so why shouldn’t we give it a try.

Shooting straight ahead the lens’ quality is superb. Although not necessarily designed to cover more than the digital back’s sensor, it does offer some room to shift. Technically there’s 8mm in it before the corners show vignetting. However, to maintain optimum quality it’s better not to exceed a few mm.

Detached from the XF body, there’s no way to trigger the lens’ leaf shutter. So you’ll need to rely on the digital back’s ES. It does support the use of strobes, albeit limited to longer exposure times.

WRS-M645 enables the use of all Mamiya 645 and Phase One XF lenses on Cambo WRS and Phase One XT bodies. There’s no electronic connection between digital back and lens. Before attaching it to the tech cam, the lens needs to be stopped down to its working aperture.