Hi guys,
I have Sony A7RII, Leica M (file and digital), Nikon, Hasselblad SWC and 501cm and RolleiFlex 2.8F, and now seriouly thinking to get an Alpa STC.
I also have Hasselblad CFV50 digital back.
I am not a professional, and shot around 50/50 on landscape and portrait.
My questions on Alpa are:
-- I see many people saying Alpa lens cost much higher then the same Cambo mount with the same lens, e.g the HR 40, but as I check today both Apla and Cambo HR40 are roughly the same price, is it still valid Apla lens cost much higher then others with same spec?
-- I dont see many portrait sample of Alpa, those HR lens are targeting landscape with relatively small aperture, so I should use those Hasselbald portrait lens (e.g 150mm) on Apla with an adaptor? Would it looks silly I could just use an 501cm otherwise?
Thanks
Typically, Alpa and Cambo lenses are in a similar ballpark price-wise. Although at this point, a Rodenstock 40HR in Alpa LB mount is about $400 less than the equivalent Cambo lens panel. The Alpa bodies do cost more than the Cambo bodies, and the accessories (interface adapters, etc.) are also more expensive.
But surely the features of the camera are more important than the price difference! Cambo and Alpa bodies differ in this manner - the Alpa cameras have a release lock for their gearing. The Alpa gearing is very very precise, and for some, this means it is too slow to move from one position to another. In this case, with light changing quickly, you can release the gear and then freely move the digital back to any position you need quickly. There are also short barrel options for lens mounts that provide the ability to create tilt and/or swing capability for each lens.
The Cambo, in contrast, has gearing that moves at a reasonable clip. It is more like the Goldilocks porridge that is just right, not too fast and not too slow. And the Cambo has - optionally - tilt and swing spacers directly on the lens.
You could also include Arca Swiss in this conversation, who provide a large focusing ring on their R series bodies, which helps make the lens pricing a bit lower than it would otherwise be since the lenses don't require individual helicals.
There's many feature differences between each system that IMO are more important than the price differences.
Regarding the use of a tech camera for portraiture, there are those who do use them in this way. Having the ability to manipulate the frame from a given viewpoint is beneficial, but even if not taking advantage of the movements, I suspect that those who do shoot portraiture with an Alpa system do so because they prefer the Rodenstock/Schneider lenses that are utilized within that system.
Below is a list of portfolios from Alpa users. Granted, most are landscape, but there are some portraits sprinkled in.
https://www.alpa.swiss/pages/photographersHere is one example:
https://www.alpa.swiss/galleries/zaika-inna-churikova-for-tatler-russiaSteve Hendrix/CI
