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Cambo 65th Anniversary Edition WRS AE

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Thought this would be of special interest to all our Tech cam MF shooters on the forum. Short story here is bought a Cambo WRS 1000 used and leaving for a trip this Thursday . So I called Dave Gallagher at Capture Integration who is a dealer of Cambo gear and asked him if I could maybe borrow or rent a lens or two since I only had one to travel with. Well that got Dave's attention immediately and he asked me how would I like to shoot his personal kit. Of course I said that would be awesome and than he proceeded to tell me what exactly is in his kit. I had no idea Dave is the proud owner of the Special Edition Anniversary kit and as you will see in the photos he is 2 out of 65 collectors kit. Yes folks the whole damn kit is sitting here in my office and the drool is all over the place.

Now I have been around a lot of nice gear over the years but this thing is just absolutely beautiful . Along with the kit he has the Rodenstock 32 and a Schneider SK 43 Tilt Swing lens. This kit also comes with a back loupe that is magnetic and you can see in the corners with it and ground glass and some more fun stuff. I have not photographed the entire kit and this being a special edition kit I want to be real careful with it since it is his personal unit. First I can not thank Dave enough for sending this to me for a road trip with the boys to Yosemite. Second I am getting a bigger helmut for the bigger baseball bat if i even mention I want one and I do just don't talk out loud about it. My wife has good ears.

Also he informed me this morning that 3 Anniversary edition kits will be at the New England workshop in a couple weeks. So for those folks how lucky can you get and there maybe 1 spot still open.

So I thought I would bring this into my studio and take some shots of it for your pleasure. Do NOT show your spouse these.

First up is the 43MM Tilt Swing lens.









Now moving on to the Rodenstock 32mm.





Now these images are from the Cambo site of the entire kit that I thought I would include as well



 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Here are the specs from the Cambo site


To celebrate Cambo’s 65th year in manufacturing professional camera systems, Cambo have announced a limited edition of the Wide RS System.
The ‘Cambo Wide RS Anniversary Edition’ will be limited to 65 certified sets presented in a high quality recessed customised case.

Each set will include a Wide RS camera body in either black or titanium finish equipped with hand crafted ergonomic wooden handgrips.

A new vertical gear system has been designed on the rear of the camera to compensate for additional weight when using a digital camera back.

Two new lenses are included to complement the camera; the Schneider Super-Digitar 28XL and the Apo-Digitar 43XL. The Apo-Digitar 43XL is supplied mounted in a tilt/swing lens panel and both are finished to match the Wide RS colour.
To complete the set a groundglass/fresnel lens and digital back interface will be supplied together with the new Cambo RS Loupe kit. The RS Loupe kit is a 3x Schneider optic loupe mounted on a repositionable plate on the rear of the RS to ensure accurate focussing.
The owner will be able to choose an available edition number between 1 and 65 and a certificate of the original production and authenticity will accompany the Anniversary edition.

Special Key Features:
High grade aluminium body in black or titanium finish
Wooden handgrips with interchangeable cable release
Schneider Super-Digitar 28XL anniversary edition finish
Schneider Apo-Digitar 43XL anniversary edition finish
Stainless steel drive knobs for shifts and 43XL tilt/swing
Weight compensation mechanism for vertical movement
Interface for digital back
Ground glass frame with CCD framing and Fresnellens
RS Loupe kit including Schneider 3x optical loupe
Lightweight aluminium carrying case 49x40x15 cm
Limited edition with unique owner recognition/engraving
Fully compatible with Cambo’s WRS system
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
There are some improvements over the WRS 1000 model with bigger shift and rise/ fall knobs and such. If your interested further give Dave a shout at Capture Integration and I am sure he can explain this AE model in more detail. Enjoy Guy
 

Steve Hendrix

Well-known member
You'll see it Thursday bud. LOL

On a side note, this piece, the 3X Loupe, is one of the best quality loupes we've seen. We have in our studio a Hoodman Loupe, a Zacuto Loupe, and the Cambo Loupe. Of the 3, the Cambo is by far the clearest, brightest (especially in the corners) and the least distorted. For those who would use a product like this, the optic is impressive.


Steve Hendrix
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Couple images from these great lenses here:

SK43 with about 1.5 degree of forward tilt.



Rodie 32 with some rise about 10mm



Rodie 32mm with fall



Rodie 32mm with more fall

 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Shot with Cambo and Rodie 32mm with some fall. This is residual smoke from a fire that has been lingering for a about a week.


 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Couple more images with the SK 43mm

This was with a 43mm TS lens with 1.5 degrees of tilt. Shot at F11 with some fall also. I took creative license on this image and processed a little outside the box.




This was at the SK 43 with 1 degree of tilt. I took advantage of every chance to use tilt and it works very nice. Again processing is for drama and shot at F11. I been shooting mostly at F11 and occasional F8 and F16 rarely but have used it. Im also very limited on focal length here as my longest is the 43mm.



Again the 43mm with 1 agree of tilt.

 

lance_schad

Workshop Member
Guy,
Have you found any difference in shooting with your Cambo WRS 1000 vs The Cambo 65th Anniversary model, besides perhaps the wood grips?

L
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Great question Lance the Build quality is a little nicer touch like covering up a few bolt holes on the back and big difference is the rise /fall and shift knobs are bigger and metal curled knobs instead of the rubber around the smaller knobs of the WRS model. Also the spirit levels are white instead of yellow . Other than that basically the same besides the engraving of course and the front leather panel.

Oops there is also next to the hot shoe two pin holes that look to be for accessories . So they moved the spirit level next to the hot shoe over to the left and down so the H and V levels are together which is nicer since they are both right next to each other and no need to look over. Also the bottom they put the spirit levels together than further apart on the WRS model, so there are some nice updates to the WRS.

I did not shoot this model much since it is a collectors piece I shot mine instead. I did shoot the lenses though.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Have to admit it was a very nice looking piece of kit! I also was impressed with the build quality of both it and Guy's newer standard WRS compared to the one I tested a year or so ago, it seems a lot tighter and smoother. Definitely a very nice, flexible system!
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
The wood on the 65th Anniversary almost looks black yet the product shots show it closer to the wood grips I have.

It took them a couple years to introduce the wood grip replacement - wonder if Cambo might decide to offer the covering as well.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Dave did mention his grips are pretty dark but the others are lighter. Guess it depends on the batch they get in.
 
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