{"id":20118,"date":"2017-09-05T08:24:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/?p=20118"},"modified":"2017-09-05T08:24:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:24:48","slug":"review-of-the-actus-mini-view-camera-for-fujifilm-x-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/review-of-the-actus-mini-view-camera-for-fujifilm-x-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of the Actus Mini View Camera for Fujifilm X Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Earlier this summer, I had the chance to try out the\u00a0Actus Mini View Camera For Fujfilm X Series<\/a>, manufactured by Cambo Photo<\/a>. This innovative and well-crafted device turns your mirrorless Fuji into a high quality, and highly portable\u00a0view camera, and allows you to shoot highly stylized\u00a0photos that would otherwise be impossible to capture.<\/p>\n

Consisting\u00a0of a monorail base, a camera mount plate and a\u00a0flexible bellow, and an add-on lens mount and lens, the Actus Mini\u00a0allows you attach\u00a0any X Series camera as a digital back. This lets you perform\u00a0traditional tilt, shift and swing motions and add an enormous amount of creative and professional quality options to your photography.<\/p>\n

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Exact configurations vary depending on which lens you use. At this point, you cannot use your own Fuji lenses with the Actus, however you can order optional\u00a0lens plates\u00a0which allow you to use the\u00a0Actus with Hassleblad, Mamiya, Pentax 645, Leica R, Nikon-F and Canon-EOS lenses. So, for example you could use your X-T2 or X-E1 on the Actus with a Hassleblad or Nikon lens if you so choose.<\/p>\n

Currently, Cambo has three of their own\u00a0lenses designed for their Actus mirrorless camera system, a 24mm<\/a>, a 60mm lens <\/a>and an 80mm<\/a>. The unit I used\u00a0shipped with the German made ACTAR 24mm f\/3.5 lens<\/a>. It\u2019s bigger than any Fujinon lens, but it\u2019s an incredible piece of glass.<\/p>\n

Constructed with 6 multi-coated elements in 11 groups, the ACTUS 24mm is an exceptional architecture and landscape lens<\/a> that produces almost no distortion. I was extremely pleased with how it performed when shooting a wide variety of landscapes, nature and even a few people photos.<\/p>\n

Before we get into all that, though I need to tell you how it works.\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Setup and Operation<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Actus rig came packed into small Pelican Case as three pieces: the monorail, the lens and the bellows. Don\u2019t tell the Cambo guys this, but I didn\u2019t use the Peli case all week, I just stuffed\u00a0the gear into one of my LowePro packs. It actually fit perfectly, which illustrates just how portable is rig really is.<\/p>\n

Once on location, it\u2019s extremely easy to assemble. You place the monorail onto your tripod, remove rear lens cap and slide the lens onto the lens mounting plate, attach your camera to the rear camera mounting plate and slip\u00a0the bellows in between. The bellows have magnetic plates on both sides, so they simply snap right to both sides\u00a0and create your light seal.<\/p>\n

From start to finish, we\u2019re talking less than five minutes. Probably three if you\u2019re methodical and careful. Once its all put together, the fun begins.<\/p>\n

The all-metal monorail is extremely well crafted with a high level of precision engineering. It feels very substantial, like you\u2019re using a truly professional piece of equipment. The four large knobs control your tilt, shift, swing and focus controls. There\u2019s also a small knob that locks your focus so it doesn\u2019t accidentally drift or get bumped.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also highly modular. You can order different lens plates, different lenses and a variety of bayonet plates \u00a0for using the Actus Mini with other camera brands as well, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Tilt, Shift and Swing<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019ve never used a real view camera before, (I hadn\u2019t) it can be a little intimidating at first. However, it\u2019s a simple matter of trial and error to figure out how it all works.<\/p>\n

Basically, with a view camera you can\u00a0tilt<\/b> the lens up and down,\u00a0swing<\/b> it from side to side, and\u00a0shift<\/b> the body up and down behind the lens, or side to side. This allows you to get those special \u201ctilt shift\u201d effects, where your plane of sharp focus can vary\u00a0from very wide through entire picture,\u00a0to narrow slices of focus that run up and down, across, or even diagonally through your frame.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re familiar with\u00a0the ADV Miniature Mode on the Fuji cameras<\/a>, it\u2019s like that, only with way more control. Depending on your lens aperture, camera orientation and how you control the knobs you can create a wide or very narrow focus slice anywhere in the frame. You can make it run vertically or horizontally across the frame, and you can fine tune exactly where your point of sharp focus will be.<\/p>\n

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Focus\u00a0control\u00a0is accomplished by turning the focus dial on the back of the ACTUS. As with a traditional view camera, you\u00a0gauge your focus by looking at the camera\u2019s LCD screen, or through the viewfinder. Only you don\u2019t need a big piece of cloth over your head to gauge your precision, you have a much more powerful tool.<\/p>\n

Setting your X Series camera\u2019s Manual Focus Assist setting to Focus Peaking<\/b> (I use red peaking) allows you to easily see exactly what\u2019s in focus. This is perhaps the most beneficial aspect of having a mirrorless view camera. You can turn the focus knob and watch the field of red highlights move back and forth or side to side across your frame, which allows\u00a0exceptionally quick fine tuning of\u00a0your focus.<\/p>\n

Tilting the lens\u00a0<\/b>up and down creates differences in focus from top to bottom in your frame. This allows you to create those miniature effects, and the amount of blur is controlled by how much you tilt he lens and\u00a0by your aperture setting.<\/p>\n

Swinging\u00a0the lens<\/b> side by side give you the same kind of effect, but on the vertical axis. So instead of having top and bottom blur, you can have strips of blur on either side of the frame, or vary focus left and right across the frame.<\/p>\n

Shifting\u00a0the camera\u00a0up and down<\/b> keeps vertical lines parallel to your film (sensor) plane and controls parallax error when shooting architecture. It also helps you control and fine tune your framing since tilting the lens up and down can affect what is shown in your viewfinder.<\/p>\n

Shifting the camera back and forth<\/b>\u00a0does the same thing as shifting up and down, but on the vertical axis. It also helps when shooting\u00a0shoot images you plan to stitch together as panoramas. Shifting the camera on a tripod like this instead of moving the whole camera, like most people do, allows you to dramatically reduce distortion effects when shooting multiple frames across you field of view.<\/p>\n

Selective Focus Fun!!<\/b><\/h3>\n

The creative options with a view camera are huge and so the ACTUS\u00a0greatly expands the photographic possibilities you can achieve with your Fuji. Since they all have the same\u00a0mount, the Actus Mini will work with any APS-C sensor X Series camera, and will open up your creative boundaries in ways you never would have imagined.<\/p>\n

I had a blast shooting with the ACTUS Mini for Fuji and after I got the hang of how the focus and all the knobs work, I felt pretty adept at getting the effects I wanted. The focus peaking setting on the Fuji REALLY helped and made an enormous difference in my experience with the ACTUS Mini.<\/p>\n

The best part about the Actus Mini is that it perfectly compliments the compact, lightweight nature of the Fuji cameras. Although the Actus rig\u00a0itself isn\u2019t exceptionally small, it\u2019s certainly compact and light enough to carry easily into the backcountry.\u00a0During my week with the Actus, I did a couple of 3-4 hour hikes with it and felt no noticeable burden and even carried it up onto a glacier.<\/p>\n

The Actus Mini isn\u2019t cheap by any means. After you buy the camera, whichever lens you choose and the corresponding lens mount, you\u2019ve spent more than\u00a0what any X Series camera body or lens costs. However, not as much as some of the big DSLR glass that\u00a0many photographers buy without thinking.<\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re really interested in using a view camera and opening up your photography\u00a0options, and you have the budget, the Actus Mini is one cool\u00a0piece of gear. Consider it an investment in your creativity. It\u2019s something that would easily last a lifetime, especially since you can order different body mounts for use with other camera systems.<\/p>\n

Cambo also has the ACTUS-GFX<\/a>, which offers the same design for GFX users. Given the ultra high resolution and clarity of the medium format GFX camera, this seems like an incredible combination. It\u2019s probably the best modern view camera you could own right now. Definitely a must have for the most serious of landscape and architecture photographers.<\/p>\n

Check out the Actus Mini for Fujifilm X at the Cambo Photo website<\/a>, or price out your desired options for the Actus Mini at B&H Photo.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Also, check out my video review to see the Actus Mini in action below.<\/p>\n