Cambo Actus + GFX 100S + Canon 90 TS/E and Rodenstock 105 Digaron HR Macro

I'm new to The MF world. I just got a Fuji GFX100S and the GF110 f2.0 and the GF23 f4 lens. This will be used in a small home studio. In the little research I have done, I'm looking for a system that I can utilize my system with a Tilt-Shift.

I'm looking at this system has anyone used this and what was their experience with it.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256....pic_13&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US

I'm not interested in any of the cambo stuff, it's way overpriced for me.
I'm not sure about how this would actually work with the camera and lenses I have.
Any input would be appreciated.
How much tilt-shift you need and at what focal lengths?
Not sure how much tilt-shift I will need never used a tilt-shift lens. This is the first time for MFormat and a tilt-shift system. I think the GH110mm F2 lens is what I will be using the most as I'm going to be shooting Still-Life, Products, and Food Images.
Get Canon 90mm TSE-II. Works with any adapter.
 
I guess I'm confused about How a FF lens circle would fill the MF Sensor?
If it's a T/S FF lens, its image circle is bigger than 43.3mm. Probably bigger than 55mm, but probably not a lot left over for movements on a 33x44mm sensor, which has a 55mm diagonal.
+/-10mm no issues, haven't tried +/-12mm. When GF TSE comes it going to be +/-16mm.
 
And tilt is handy when you need to change the focus plane. Test shot at f4. Without tilt, front, back cookies will be lot more OOF.

49725936346_0bb332bd73_k.jpg
 
Second test with the Rodenstock 105mm, this time magnification 1:1

Cambo says 82mm image circle and 16mm horizontal shift and 18mm vertical shift are possible on GFX. As you can see they are pretty conservative. IMHO lens is razor sharp across the image and even you can go more than the declared shifts.

Shot with Cambo Actus-XL with focus driven by Cognisys stepper motor.
Magnification is 1:1. Rodenstock 105 HR Macro is set at F/5.6 and the ring used to drive the internal floating element is set at B=1

9 movements were shot combining horizontal shift 20mm and vertical shift 20mm.
Every movement was focus stacked to avoid user error on focus. Stacking is done with RAW-in-DNG-out in Helicon Focus. The resulting 9 DNG files are merged in Lightroom into a final DNG. DNG is exported as TIFF with default sharpening in LR (40). Guidelines are done in Photoshop and the result is exported as JPG maximum quality, sRGB.

All small errors on image (small blurred areas,halos, missing parts) are due to focus stacking procedure and were not painted out because I am only concerned with checking sharpness and vignetting.

The JPG is best seen in Photoshop to verify sharpness.
If you want to have a final verdict you can download the DNG file and play with it.

LINK -----> >> LINK <<
 
For the moment I am using

Dist/Rev = 16.00mm

Backlash = 0

Seems to be working quite precisely, if I will change them I will post it here.

Are you not satisfied with the Cognisys on the Actus rear standard?

Do you think there are advantages on the Sweebo compared to Actus (except the price)?
 
For the moment I am using

Dist/Rev = 16.00mm

Backlash = 0

Seems to be working quite precisely, if I will change them I will post it here.

Are you not satisfied with the Cognisys on the Actus rear standard?
I never tried it. It wasn’t obvious to me how to make it work, and I decided I wanted to do stacking on a camera with symmetric movements. My Actus is not symmetric.
Do you think there are advantages on the Sweebo compared to Actus (except the price)?
I like it because it’s kind of an Erector Set, you can mix and match pieces to get what you want.
 
It's quite straitforward with the Cognisys controller. Let me know if I can help. Actually I am quite amazed, it works better then I expected.

What do you mean by Actus not being symmetric?

Do you feel the Sweebo has the same precision as the Actus?
 
It's quite straitforward with the Cognisys controller. Let me know if I can help. Actually I am quite amazed, it works better than I expected.
Thanks.
What do you mean by Actus not being symmetric?
My Actus doesn’t have the same movements at the front and back standards.
Do you feel the Sweebo has the same precision as the Actus?
The TC-1 is if anything more precise.
 
I am not sure what you mean with the Actus-XL. It has the exact same movements on both standards, maybe I am missing something...
 
I am not sure what you mean with the Actus-XL. It has the exact same movements on both standards, maybe I am missing something...
I must have a different Actus.
 
I have a Cambo Ultima D + Upgrade kit ACXL-365 to Actus-XL.

What movements are not symmetrical in your case?

Are you reffering to the fact it can do only 20mm vertical although horizontally it can do 25mm?

BTW, just found out today when testing the Rodie 105 that you cannot do higher magnifications than 1:1 with the standard 300mm rail. More money to sink with extensions and the macro bellows.....
 
I have a Cambo Ultima D + Upgrade kit ACXL-365 to Actus-XL.
I have a Cambo Ultima II with the Actus upgrade kit. That is symmetrical.

I also have a Cambo Actus-GFX. That is not symmetrical. Front tilt & swing, rear shift. I have added the fine focus gear to that camera. I much prefer the focusing on the TC-1, but with the fine focus gear, the Actus is easy enough to focus precisely.
What movements are not symmetrical in your case?

Are you reffering to the fact it can do only 20mm vertical although horizontally it can do 25mm?

BTW, just found out today when testing the Rodie 105 that you cannot do higher magnifications than 1:1 with the standard 300mm rail. More money to sink with extensions and the macro bellows.....
I am using a macro bellows on my film scanning setup. I need it to fill the 33x44 frame with a 24x36 mm negative. I'm using the Ultima extension rail.

--
https://blog.kasson.com
 
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I have a Cambo Ultima D + Upgrade kit ACXL-365 to Actus-XL.
I have a Cambo Ultima II with the Actus upgrade kit. That is symmetrical.

I also have a Cambo Actus-GFX. That is not symmetrical. Front tilt & swing, rear shift. I have added the fine focus gear to that camera. I much prefer the focusing on the TC-1, but with the fine focus gear, the Actus is easy enough to focus precisely.
Yes, Cambo Actus GFX is not symmetrical. I thought you were referring to the Actus-XL and I didn't understand. Now it is clear. But I will have to chase one of these Cambo GFX cameras, testing the Actus-XL in field work made me understand it is not a solution outside of a studio (which I knew but I thought I can have a workaround. But it is tooooo heavy)

Yeah, I have big trouble understanding how to focus single shots with the Actus-XL. I ruined quite a lot of shots in the field. I don't use the camera yet for paid jobs because of that. I have to understand what I am doing wrong.

Focus stacking it is a different story. I quite like how it behaves, better than my expectations.
What movements are not symmetrical in your case?

Are you reffering to the fact it can do only 20mm vertical although horizontally it can do 25mm?

BTW, just found out today when testing the Rodie 105 that you cannot do higher magnifications than 1:1 with the standard 300mm rail. More money to sink with extensions and the macro bellows.....
I am using a macro bellows on my film scanning setup. I need it to fill the 33x44 frame with a 24x36 mm negative.
Cool. If it is possible can you tell me what extension rail are you using and what magnification can you go with the Rodie 105? Sorry to ask so many questions, people with this setup are 1 in a million :)

Later edit: Although filling 33x44 frame with a 24x36 is lower than 1:1, it is around 1:1.2 magnification. I can go 1:1 with the standard bellows (AC-214) and 300mm rail on the Rodie 105
 
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I have a Cambo Ultima D + Upgrade kit ACXL-365 to Actus-XL.
I have a Cambo Ultima II with the Actus upgrade kit. That is symmetrical.

I also have a Cambo Actus-GFX. That is not symmetrical. Front tilt & swing, rear shift. I have added the fine focus gear to that camera. I much prefer the focusing on the TC-1, but with the fine focus gear, the Actus is easy enough to focus precisely.
Yes, Cambo Actus GFX is not symmetrical. I thought you were referring to the Actus-XL and I didn't understand. Now it is clear. But I will have to chase one of these Cambo GFX cameras, testing the Actus-XL in field work made me understand it is not a solution outside of a studio (which I knew but I thought I can have a workaround. But it is tooooo heavy)

Yeah, I have big trouble understanding how to focus single shots with the Actus-XL. I ruined quite a lot of shots in the field. I don't use the camera yet for paid jobs because of that. I have to understand what I am doing wrong.

Focus stacking it is a different story. I quite like how it behaves, better than my expectations.
What movements are not symmetrical in your case?

Are you reffering to the fact it can do only 20mm vertical although horizontally it can do 25mm?

BTW, just found out today when testing the Rodie 105 that you cannot do higher magnifications than 1:1 with the standard 300mm rail. More money to sink with extensions and the macro bellows.....
I am using a macro bellows on my film scanning setup. I need it to fill the 33x44 frame with a 24x36 mm negative.
Cool. If it is possible can you tell me what extension rail are you using
I think it's this one:

and what magnification can you go with the Rodie 105?
I haven't tried, but I'm not using anywhere near the bellows and rail extension I have.
Sorry to ask so many questions, people with this setup are 1 in a million :)

Later edit: Although filling 33x44 frame with a 24x36 is lower than 1:1, it is around 1:1.2 magnification. I can go 1:1 with the standard bellows (AC-214) on the Rodie 105
Maybe I could, too, but I thought the bellows was getting pretty taut and I swapped it out for a longer one.
 
I have a Cambo Ultima D + Upgrade kit ACXL-365 to Actus-XL.
I have a Cambo Ultima II with the Actus upgrade kit. That is symmetrical.

I also have a Cambo Actus-GFX. That is not symmetrical. Front tilt & swing, rear shift. I have added the fine focus gear to that camera. I much prefer the focusing on the TC-1, but with the fine focus gear, the Actus is easy enough to focus precisely.
Yes, Cambo Actus GFX is not symmetrical. I thought you were referring to the Actus-XL and I didn't understand. Now it is clear. But I will have to chase one of these Cambo GFX cameras, testing the Actus-XL in field work made me understand it is not a solution outside of a studio (which I knew but I thought I can have a workaround. But it is tooooo heavy)

Yeah, I have big trouble understanding how to focus single shots with the Actus-XL. I ruined quite a lot of shots in the field. I don't use the camera yet for paid jobs because of that. I have to understand what I am doing wrong.

Focus stacking it is a different story. I quite like how it behaves, better than my expectations.
What movements are not symmetrical in your case?

Are you reffering to the fact it can do only 20mm vertical although horizontally it can do 25mm?

BTW, just found out today when testing the Rodie 105 that you cannot do higher magnifications than 1:1 with the standard 300mm rail. More money to sink with extensions and the macro bellows.....
I am using a macro bellows on my film scanning setup. I need it to fill the 33x44 frame with a 24x36 mm negative.
Cool. If it is possible can you tell me what extension rail are you using
I think it's this one:

https://digitalback.com/products/cambo-lm-65-monorail-extension-65cm
and what magnification can you go with the Rodie 105?
I haven't tried, but I'm not using anywhere near the bellows and rail extension I have.
Sorry to ask so many questions, people with this setup are 1 in a million :)

Later edit: Although filling 33x44 frame with a 24x36 is lower than 1:1,
It's about 1.22:1. 36mm on the subject is 44 mm on the camera sensor.
it is around 1:1.2 magnification. I can go 1:1 with the standard bellows (AC-214) on the Rodie 105
Maybe I could, too, but I thought the bellows was getting pretty taut and I swapped it out for a longer one.
 
It's about 1.22:1. 36mm on the subject is 44 mm on the camera sensor.
I thought 36mm on the subject and 44 mm sensor is magnification 1:1.22 ?? Maybe I am wrong?

I thought that before the colon it is the size of the subject and after the colon it is the size of the sensor ????
 
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It's about 1.22:1. 36mm on the subject is 44 mm on the camera sensor.
I thought 36mm on the subject and 44 mm sensor is magnification 1:1.22 ??
The convention is that the image side comes before the colon, and the object side after the colon. So 1:2 is 0.5x magnification, and 2:1 is 2x magnification.
 
Yes, you are correct. It is the other way around. My brain was not working last night:-(

BTW, I thought about it and you cannot use the Cognisys motor on the Actus GFX. Actually I talked to someone at Cambo and he told me they might make the adapter for the Actus-MV if they see enough demand for it.

Anyway with the Actus-XL and the adapter for Cognisys (>>LINK<< ) which probably you are aware of you can have a symmetrical camera with rear standard focus stacking. It works quite well.
 

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