Friday 15th May; Cambo UK will be showing the Actus for Sony A7 and Actus-DB for Digital Backs. Pop in and see us, we will be in the Calumet store, Drummond Steet, London between 9am and 6pm.
As you can see there is the possibility of using medium format lenses from Pentax, as well as Hasselblad, Mamiya, Nikon, Leica, Canon (soon) and a wide range of digital lenses from Schneider and Rodenstock.
We look forward to seeing you.
Sign up to this blog to receive further events and product updates.
During our visit to the Royal Pavilion Gardens we demonstrated the Actus-DB with the Mamiya Leaf Credo 50 digital back. The Cambo Actus-DB camera platform is designed to work with digital back systems from Mamiya Leaf, Phase One and Hasselblad. Utilising the same Actus design and focus rail; the front and rear standard of the DB is higher to accommodate the combination of lenses and digital backs.
Equipment used for these captures; Cambo Actus-DB, Schneider Apo Digitar 43XL lens, Cambo CBH-6 Ball Head and Leaf Credo 50 Digital Back.
Capture Process We composed the image and checked the focus so that we would have the face of the gateway in focus down to the shrubbery in the foreground. Then by focussing on the Gateway first and applying enough tilt on the front of the camera; this was done 3 times to fine tune, the image is sharp from front to back. We captured at 1/125th and set the aperture at f11 as this is the best to obtain the ultimate quality from this lens. As in the previous images I wanted to enhance the gateway and also lift the shadows. To do this I adjusted the High Dynamic range in the RAW file. Capture One handles this information incredibly well and shows plenty of detail in the stone work and copper roof.
Additional sharpness is always required to the RAW file, I added the following; Amount 140, Radius 1.0 and Threshold 2.0. As you can see the final detail is excellent, and the overall result and sharpness is exactly what was required.
Focussing As we were using the Leaf Credo 50 we had a choice of focus methods. The first is by using the traditional groundglass with a flexible focussing hood or Cambo Shiftable Loupe with Schneider optics. This method is tried and tested and many photographers are use to using a groundglass.
The second option is by using the Live View focus of the Credo 50. I was very impressed with both the speed/refresh rate of live focus, as in the past digital systems were very slow and cumbersome. The Credo 50 employs a CMOS sensor which offers improved performance. Live View will work in most conditions so there is no need to add an ND filter before adjusting the focus. Simply click on 100%, check the focus point, click the foreground at 100% and adjust the tilt – job done!
Please bear in mind we are using screen captures or images downsized to the blog dimensions. The quality of the RAW files are extremely high and very large files sizes. If you wish to see the Cambo Actus DB in action then send us an email and we’ll discuss your requirements.
Next Blog… More Cambo ACTUS accessories on the way… sign up to get the latest information first…go to the top of this page and click Sign Me Up! Thanks for reading!
For more information about purchasing the Cambo ACTUS-DB System please contact us at Cambo UK email: cambouk@gmail.com Tel: +44 (0)7863 116150
During March we ventured down to Brighton to set up a shoot at the Royal Pavilion Gardens. The task was to show the Cambo range of cameras that are being used for landscape and architectural photography.
For many years Cambo have manufactured high quality camera systems and one of the leading products that we demonstrated was the Wide RS together with a Schneider 43XL TS lens and Leaf Credo 60 digital back.
The Wide RS version shown here is the 1250; the same as the 1200 but with hand carved ergonomic wooden handgrips. The 1200 series has a total shift of 40mm, rise of 25mm and fall of 15mm, again 40mm in total.
The Schneider 43XL TS lens is unique to Cambo. The lens is set in a helical focus mount and then the Wide RS camera mount fitted. Cambo over many years have engineered a unique TS system which is also fitted to the lens. The TS is the “Tilt Swing” enabling you to optimise sharpness, keep sharpness along the plane to the vanishing point or create unsharpness along the plane. This is adjustable +5 / -5 degrees tilt and +5 / -5 degrees swing in both directions.
Capture Process We composed the image and checked the focus so that we would have the face of the gateway in focus down to the base of the trees, the foreground would remain out of focus for this image. Focus was made on the gateway and a small amount of tilt used to achieve the result. We captured at 1/125th and set the aperture at f11 as this is the best to obtain the ultimate quality from this lens. As you can see the mid morning sunlight is hitting the face of the gateway and there is quite deep shadows under the trees. I wanted to enhance the gateway and also lift the shadows. To do this I adjusted the High Dynamic range in the RAW file. As you can see Capture One handles this information incredibly well and shows plenty of detail in the stone work and copper roof.
Gateway Before
Gateway Detail After
Additional sharpness is always required to the RAW file, I added the following; Amount 140, Radius 1.0 and Threshold 2.0. As you can see the final detail is excellent, and the overall result and sharpness is exactly what was required.
Gateway – Final Detail
George IV Gateway – Final Image
The shoot would not be complete without showing the lens swing function. Turning to the Royal Pavilion building I focused on the front of the building and by using the lens swing pulled the windows at the far point into focus. Again this enabled me to use f11, the best aperture for this lens.
Royal Pavilion 1
Pavilion – Left
Pavilion – Centre
Pavilion – Right
Pavilion Building – Final Image
As we are showing the use of tilt and swing the colour has not been totally corrected. The light was quite harsh at this time of day and the green from the grass certainly kicks into the building colour. This can be corrected in post production, which I will do when we blog about colour workflow at a later date. Thankfully by using the Cambo flexible lenshade, there is no glare or lens flare and the end result is nice and crisp.
Focussing You may be asking “how do you focus the image when using a technical camera with a digital back?” For this exercise I chose the Leaf Credo 60 which has the functionality of live view but you need to use an ND filter to view this on the screen. In this case my preference was to use the Cambo flexible focus hood and ground glass. Simply focus on the subject and use the tilt or swing depending on the subject to bring in the focus plane. Check the focus points 3 times and you will get sharp results.
Please bear in mind we are using screen captures or images downsized to the blog dimensions. The quality of the RAW files are extremely high and very large files sizes. If you wish to see the Wide RS in action then send us an email and we’ll discuss your requirements.
Next Blog… Cambo ACTUS-DB Shoot, Brighton results… sign up to get the latest information first…go to the top of this page and click Sign Me Up!
Thanks for reading!
For more information about purchasing the Cambo Wide RS System please contact us at Cambo UK email: cambouk@gmail.com Tel: +44 (0)7863 116150
Capturing objects and fine art requires a high quality engineered reprographic copy stand, a flexible camera system, a high resolution digital camera back, plus lenses to resolve the detail and good lighting.
RPS Repro System
The Cambo RPS System is a modular copy stand solution designed for maximum flexibility for high-end digital capture. A heavy duty reinforced aluminium column with anti-vibration, automatic end-stops, a fine adjustable camera arm can be mounted to the wall or used as a stand-alone solution fitted to a rigid steel base.
Fluid and easy to use the column is fully motorised with high/low and variable speed controls to prevent any operational movement.
The RPS can be used with a wide range of cameras utilising the fine adjustable camera arm. The arm is adjusted across the baseboard to compensate the depth of camera to the centre of the capture area.
Cambo REPRO Cameras & Digital lenses
WRC-400 REPRO features a fixed body with rear shift movements, both sides are without any swing and tilt options, to offer maximum precision in parallel position.
Lenspanels can be designed for precise Ratio or Magnification with Rodenstock or Schneider, in combination with a helical focussing mount. Lenses will be fitted with a Copal or Schneider Electronic Shutter (SES) system on request. The SES is controlled via a USB box to allow instant control and capture via a manually operated switch or Apple Mac. The Lenspanels are interchangeable and there are a range macro-adaptors which make it possible to adapt several magnification ratio’s in one system.
Digital SLW Interface plates are available for Mamiya Leaf, Phase One and Hasselblad digital camera backs; with Hasselblad-V, Hasselblad-H, Mamiya, Phase One and Contax 645 fittings.
45REPRO-D features a monorail with a front and rear standard, without swing and tilt options, to offer maximum precision in parallel position. Lateral shift option is available upon request. The camera has two monorail clamps for a sturdy fixed position, a standard bellows and open interface options. The WDS-504 ground glass back accepts 4×5 Anagram, Betterlight and Phase One scanning backs.
Digital Lenses are supplied with the camera from Schneider and Rodenstock, will be fitted with a Copal or Schneider Electronic Shutter (SES) system on request. The SES is controlled via a USB box to allow instant control and capture via a manually operated switch or Apple Mac.
Digital SLW Interface plates are available for Mamiya Leaf, Phase One and Hasselblad digital camera backs; with Hasselblad-V, Hasselblad-H, Mamiya, and Contax 645 fittings. The SLW can be connected to a Direct Adaptor Plate, Sliding back or Stitching Back. The UL-168 ground glass back accepts 4×5 Anagram, Betterlight and Phase One scanning backs.
RPS Product Parts
RPS-100 Column; 1.8m column including camera arm and motorised movement
RPS-120 Column; (as RPS-100) with column base
RPS-150 Column; (as RPS-120) with Baseboard
RPS-170 Wall mounting brackets for RPS-100
RPS-222 Set of height adjusters for RPS-150 Baseboard
CLH-533 Panoramic Level Head with QR plate (incl. CLH-510)
For more information about purchasing the Cambo RPS Copystand systems please contact Cambo UK email: cambouk@gmail.com Tel: +44 (0)7863 116150
Don’t forget to register on the Cambo UK blog and be the first to receive updates cambouk.wordpress.com
Just arrived in Brighton and had a quick look at where we will be shooting tomorow.
Here are a few shots taken with the iPhone and lens calculator. It gives us an idea of which lenses to use and an approximation of where we will position the tripod. Its a useful bit of software and saves me taking the cameras and setting up the kit.
There is still time to register and come along to see what we are showing. Mamiya Leaf will be here with some more goodies to show.
Weather report for tomorrow says it will be clear, warm spells, will cool off around 4pm – let’s hope we’ll miss the rain. If we get the chance we can make a quick stop at Brighton Pier.
When: 12th March 2015
Time: 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 – times may vary depending on attendance and as this is an outdoor shoot is dependent on the weather.
Where: Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1EE – We have been granted permission to shoot the King William IV Gateway and the North face of the Royal Pavillion The entrance is on Church Street by the Museum and Art Gallery – call us when you arrive – 07863 116150.
As part of our on-going activity we are pleased to announce that Cambo will be showing 3 camera systems; ACTUS, ACTUS-DB and Wide RS, along with the latest sensor technology from Mamiya Leaf and Sony.
Cambo ACTUS – the new mini view camera is designed for mirrorless systems such as the Sony A7R, Fuji X and Olympus. With lens plates for Mamiya RB/RZ, Mamiya 645Pro, Hasselblad V, Nikon, Pentax 645, Copal #0 and #1 – a truly versatile and modular system.
** NEW PRODUCT** The much anticipated Cambo ACTUS-DB will be available with the New Leaf Credo 50 digital back. The DB has the same functionality as the ACTUS however it is designed to accept Mamiya Leaf, Phase One and Hasselblad digital backs.
Cambo Wide RS – a well established architectural and landscape camera. More recently
the WRS has been a huge hit with car photographers – come and try out the kit with the Schneider 43mm TS – this lens has Tilt and Swing built into the lens mount – and we will be shooting with the Leaf Credo 60.
When: 12th March 2015
Time: 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 – times may vary depending on attendance and as this is an outdoor shoot is dependent on the weather.
Where: Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1EE – We have been granted permission to shoot the King William IV Gateway and the North face of the Royal Pavillion The entrance is on Church Street by the Museum and Art Gallery – call us when you arrive – 07863 116150.
Yuri Afanasiev is an award winning photographer and regularly teaches masterclass photography with SBF Moscow, Russia. We met at Photokina 2014, where he discovered the Cambo ACTUS mini view camera.
Yuri’s latest masterclass “Shooting with Fire” was captured using the Cambo ACTUS, Sony A7R camera and Schneider Super-Angulon 65mm 5.6 lens. Here is a video clip showing his lighting skills, producing a great effect and super sharp images.
For enquiries in the UK please contact Cambo UK email: cambouk@gmail.com Tel: +44 (0)7863 116150
Don’t forget to register on the Cambo UK blog and be the first to receive updates cambouk.wordpress.com
Cambo UK will be showing the ACTUS system in London on 24-25th February.
We will have the ACTUS, Sony A7R, Schneider 80 and 120 macro lenses and lens plates for Mamiya RB/RZ, Mamiya 645Ppro, Hasselblad V, Nikon, Pentax 645, Copal #0 and #1.
Camera mounts for Canon, Nikon, Fuji-X and 4/3rd will be available. If you wish to try your own camera and lenses please let us know in advance.
You’re welcome to take images away with you captured with the A7R, please bring storage cards: ideally SanDisk Ultra SD 15MB/s and above.
When: 24-25th February 2015
Time: 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 – times may vary depending on attendance and as this is an outdoor shoot is dependent on the weather!
Where: Royal Victoria Square. The square sits between the bank of Victoria Dock, is adjacent to the ExCel Exhibition Centre and close by to the IBIS Hotel.
Address:9 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1AB (this is the IBIS address where there is outdoor parking) the square is before you get the ExCel Exhibition Centre.
Nearest Train Station: Royal Victoria DLR
Other Interests: BVE (Broadcast Video Exhibition) 24-26th February.
Cambo Blog 