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Author Topic: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus  (Read 3917 times)

BobDavid

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Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« on: March 04, 2015, 10:19:47 pm »

I am about to pull the trigger on a Cambo Actus to use with an Oly EM-5 II. If anybody has experience with the Actus, please chime in. I am thinking about using it with Rodenstock Rodagon enlarger lenses.
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geesbert

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2015, 03:00:17 pm »

I am using the actus with a Sony A7r and a Canon 5dmk3 with apo-rodagons, Digitars and Apo-componon HM lenses.

The system is amazing, it is very welll built and the layout is very logic. my single gripe would be, that it doesn't extend a lot, you can rotate the front standart to gain some 5cm, but still with a 120mm lens the magnetic bellow tends to pop off, especially when you use movements.

one thing you should really consider with it is a geared tripod head.

as it only allows front tilt and swings, one has to readjust the framing everytime you bend the lens, a geared head makes this very simple. It is brilliant, that the rail is Arca compatible, this allows to add things to the camera like a flag, as you can see in mey picture. I am using it on a Foba Studio stand with a Cube head.

Lenses: any rather modern enlarger lens will do, probably the best bang for the buck is the Apo Rodagon N. I own both the Apo and the non-Apo 80mm, the difference it minor, both are unbelievable lenses, I bought my non Apo for 50€, the Apo for €250.

with the Sony I can use down to 45mm lenses, shorter restricts movement quite a bit, so that would be a 90 equiv. on M43.
With the canon 60mm is just about workable, 80mm is ideal.

I used or owned more or les any available T/S solution for SLRs (canon tse, Mirex, Hartblei, Zörk, Lensbaby, adapted to a Linhof 679, Cambo X-Pro2) and nothing ever came close to the usability of the Actus.

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BobDavid

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2015, 03:51:57 am »

Thanks for the great info. I've been leaning towards an 80mm Rodagon Apo. I've heard it's possible to use a 50mm enlarger lens. I've got a clean EL-Nikkor in storage. I'll give that a try.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2015, 11:19:08 am by BobDavid »
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geesbert

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2015, 03:15:51 pm »

One more Picture, now with the SOny and a Linhof 679 compendium shade mounted via a small articulated arm attached via an arca clamp to the main rail. The Apo Rodagon N 80mm sports a polarizer.


Live view via HDMI screen, tethered to an iMac.

Works just great.

I do have one gripe with the Actus: The front swing doesn't have a center detend and the scale is not very precise, so it is a bit of a guessing game to have the front centered.
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BobDavid

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2015, 06:43:43 pm »

Sweet!
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BradSmith

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2015, 11:00:31 pm »

One more Picture, now with the SOny and a Linhof 679 compendium shade mounted via a small articulated arm attached via an arca clamp to the main rail. The Apo Rodagon N 80mm sports a polarizer.


Live view via HDMI screen, tethered to an iMac.

Works just great.

I do have one gripe with the Actus: The front swing doesn't have a center detend and the scale is not very precise, so it is a bit of a guessing game to have the front centered.

Wow!  How many separate pieces of equipment go together (somehow) to make up this rig?  And what is the approximate cost of the whole rig?

Brad
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geesbert

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Re: Oly EM-5 II and Cambo Actus
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2015, 06:15:30 am »

not too bad actually

Sony A7r: 1600€
Cambo Actus: 1800€
Rodenstock Apo N 80mm: 250€ on Ebay
Linhof Compendium: can be had for about 200€ on Ebay
Articulated arm: 100€

So for roughly 4000€ you get a superb system which I use to shoot 12x4 meter billboards

I charge 500€ digital fee for it, so it's paid within a month.

So what's comparable out there for 4000€?

Nikon D810 with 85mm PCe:  4600€
Canon 5dmk3 with 90tse: 3600€
Phase one iq250 on a Rail Camera of your choice: 25-30.000€

I am happy.
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