Cambo RS 1000 & the Schneider 24mm

I felt that I had blotched the first test in as much I failed to ensure the body was set at zero movements thus creating a small amount of vignette. I also felt this failure gave the wrong impression not only of the RS 1000 but the lens as well. While I didn't beat myself up over this I did want to show what this combination was capable of so decided to go out once again and prove there merits; and I think I did...

I can readily tell this lens will be used quite often in the near future!

Hope this clears up any misconception my other images may have given..

Don

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Cambo RS-1000 Part III

I placed my order (or "Santa list") with Chris Lawery my Phase One Dealer at Capture Integration shortly after I wrote Part II. The order consisted of a Schneider 24 and 120mm lens, a centerfilter for the 24mm, the new Cambo WDS-619 groundglass with the Cambo WDS-616 flexible focusing hood. Everything arrived here last Friday and I went out Saturday to run some test and get used to the lens.

While there were no really surprises I did encounter one slight problem which turned out to be user-error. The 24mm lens is very wide (think the equivalent of 15mm in 35mm format) thus there's not much room for movements or in this case user-error. The first images I shot all showed a very slight case of vignetting in the upper left corner. This turned out to be my fault as I hadn't ensured the camera was set to zero movements (no rise or fall or side shifting).

What I did find was a superior lens for landscape work one which I am looking forward to using (a lot).

Okay I fussed up on the 24mm however the 120mm posed no problems at all. I tested the lens with movements out to 15mm (left and right) and still came up with a great image. The 120mm lens I have is the WDS-574; a short barrel lens-panel. This version has a split back focal length, existing of a shorter lensplate and a rear extension unit. Cambo's website state "This combination allows for optimized shift without vignetting from the lensboard." I've taken this out as far as 15mm without any problems and plan on testing it at 20mm very shortly.

This is what the 120 looks like attached to the RS-1000


Samples of individual images shot at 15mm shifts:

Panorama using the two images:

Here's a couple images shot with the 24mm lens:

I had some fun processing this image then trying a different crop

I also want to include some information on the groundglass and focusing hood.

I used the combination to achieve the following

100% crop

While the groundglass does make it easier to properly frame the image as well as assist in focusing and movements and I'm glad to have these I don't yet know just how much they will be used in my daily workflow.

My original thought was to use the groundglass to help me using filters such as Sing Ray Blue-N-Gold however I found it useful in the field to compose a shot. It now appears that I'll be using this combination much more than I had thought.

I now have four lens to choose from, 24mm, 35mm, 72mm and the 120mm all of which are capable of capturing stunning images so long as I keep my part of the bargain. There's no doubt that I have the best combination camera, digital back and lens for my work.

Sandy and I are off to Sedona in a couple weeks where I plan to use this kit to its fullest so stay tuned for more information and images.

Thanks for allowing me to share and as always please feel free to leave a comment.

Don

Spring in the desert

We went into the desert a couple days ago in search of Spring wildflowers only to find we were either too early or too late. We had some warm weather early this year that had brought out the flowers and that may have confused them. We'll see.

Anyway Don has been hogging the blog the past couple issues with a lot of technical stuff so we thought that this issue will have less talk and more images so enjoy!

The other side of the desert...

We hope you enjoyed the images and as always we welcome your comments. Just click on the word "comments" below and follow the instructions.

Sandy & Don

Cambo RS1000 Part II

I wrote what is now Part 1 exactly one week ago today. The intent was to share my thoughts and feelings on my use of the Cambo RS1000 and the Phase One P45+ and somewhere along the line I came to a decision. That decision was to sell every piece of medium format equipment that didn't fit on the RS meaning all my Mamiya lens as well as the Phase One AFD III body. Now don't take this the wrong way as this is not an indictment in any way against the equipment which is some of the very best in the world. I simply wasn't using it any longer. I realized I had used my Mamiya lens exactly twice in six months.

I woke Monday morning and placed an ad on line on two separate websites and within a matter of a couple hours everything was sold. I took this as a clue that I had done the correct thing. The next move is to add additional lens to the Cambo and off I go.

I still have some money coming in and some items to ship however as soon as this is done I'll be calling Chris Lawrey my Phase One dealer at Capture Integration to order Schneider 24mm and 120mm lens along with the new groundglass for the RS. Sandy and I are going to Sedona in mid June for a couple days and I hope to have my new revised kit to shoot the beautiful landscape there so stay tuned for further developments.

There are many aspects that I like shooting a with a technical camera however the major one that comes to mind is the pure quality of the images I get. Using a technical camera such as the Cambo RS 1000 is unlike any camera I've used before; on one hand it's very simple and on the other very technical (how's that for a contradiction). It makes me slow down and think through the image to the point I almost can see the image before I take it. Okay that sounds Zen like but it's the truth.

I'll write more later one once everyone stops laughing!

Thanks for letting me share.

Don

Your comments as always are welcome. Just follow the instruction after clicking the word "Comments" below.