Lorenz(X)
Active member
Hi there,
Lately I was looking for small tech cams again. I had the first Cambo Actus and liked it quite a lot. But I do have a bigger camera now that would necessitate the Actus G, or a Arca Pico or Universalis. Since my experience is limited and I don´t know how much I will really use a tech camera compared to the Tilt/Shift Adapter that I already have, I wanted to try something out that looks quite promissing. The Swebo TCS20. But it is very hard to find any information on the TCS20 or Swebo gear in general.
Well, no other choice but to try it out for myself.
Important to me was, that Swebo is doing it's own thing and developed some kind of modular system with macro rails and various attachements for Tilt/Swing and Shift/Rise+Fall. I have heard good things about the mechanical qualities of various Swebo stuff.
Two days ago the camera arrived. So far, only drytesting and getting to know the camera a litte, I can not yet give a full verdict, but there is a few things that I can say already.
The Camera is quite a bit bigger than the Actus. But it is also stronger. That was an important point to me because of the big camera, and especially because of the lenses I am using. Mamiya 645 and RZ lenses. Especially the latter are quite heavy. So far I think it is a very good compromise for the stuff I want to use it for.
Manufacturing tolerances and mechanical design and quality are very nice. There are no indents for 0 positions, all the mechanics are really free of play, smooth, the scales are very clear and precise. Everything is really nice and sturdy. All the linear movements (focus, shift, rise+fall) are lockable. But with the little lever you can also adjust the amount of "play" and I think I will not lock everything down when I am flatstitching panos. Tilt and swing are not lockable, but the movement itself is free of play, and even when changing the direction of movement there is no reverse play in the threads. I really like that.
I got 4 lensplates with the camera, copal 0, m39, M645 and Mamiya RZ. I tried the latter two and same picture here as with the rest of the camera. Well made, no play, smooth operation. The RZ board has the mechanism to cock the shutter and activate the "time" mode of the lens, wich means the shutter is open and the lens is usable with working aperture.
One thing that interested me a lot, but I could not find out in the conversation with swebo: Do I get some usable movements with the M645 lenses. And it works. No extreme tilts or swings, but for the typical landscape it is fine, and still possible to use all the linear movement of the rear standard that the lens allows when parallel to the sensor plane. It is a bit thight because of the thick bellows, but it is working.
With the RZ lenses there is no limitations at all. Fully usable. Very very nice.
The front standard, that the lens gets attached to, is attached to the focusing mechanism of the main rail. What I like to do is to get as close to the rear standard as possible, there is a hard stop. Then I adjust the rear standard to get infinity focus. With the M645 lenses, is set the focusing helicoid to infinity to get the front and rear standard as far apart from each other as possible for maximum movements.
Its nice to have a common infinity setting for all lenses with the same mount. And it also means that there is still all the movement of the focusing rail available. You can get into serious macro photography with the Swebo too.
I am quite happy with the purchase. It is not as streamlined as a Cambo or Arca Swiss Camera. It's bigger than those cameras too. I did not have a Pico in hand, but heard and read only praise. For now I think this is the right choice for me. I can find out how much I will use a tech cam. If I find out that I would like to use it all the time when I am out for landscapes, then I will save up for a Pico. I can still buy two additional components for the swebo and use it as tech cam with full movements on both standards.
The Swebo is very affordable, and I don´t have the feeling that I have to compromise on quality. The quality is perfectly fine. It is bigger and operation is not as thought out as with the Unviersalis for example. Knobs and levers are a bit all over the place, but to me, mechanically they are logically placed and I will get used to the positions direction of rotation very soon.
All right, that's it for now. Feel free to contribute with your own experiences, or ask questions if you got some. I will gladly help if I can.
Lately I was looking for small tech cams again. I had the first Cambo Actus and liked it quite a lot. But I do have a bigger camera now that would necessitate the Actus G, or a Arca Pico or Universalis. Since my experience is limited and I don´t know how much I will really use a tech camera compared to the Tilt/Shift Adapter that I already have, I wanted to try something out that looks quite promissing. The Swebo TCS20. But it is very hard to find any information on the TCS20 or Swebo gear in general.
Well, no other choice but to try it out for myself.
Important to me was, that Swebo is doing it's own thing and developed some kind of modular system with macro rails and various attachements for Tilt/Swing and Shift/Rise+Fall. I have heard good things about the mechanical qualities of various Swebo stuff.
Two days ago the camera arrived. So far, only drytesting and getting to know the camera a litte, I can not yet give a full verdict, but there is a few things that I can say already.
The Camera is quite a bit bigger than the Actus. But it is also stronger. That was an important point to me because of the big camera, and especially because of the lenses I am using. Mamiya 645 and RZ lenses. Especially the latter are quite heavy. So far I think it is a very good compromise for the stuff I want to use it for.
Manufacturing tolerances and mechanical design and quality are very nice. There are no indents for 0 positions, all the mechanics are really free of play, smooth, the scales are very clear and precise. Everything is really nice and sturdy. All the linear movements (focus, shift, rise+fall) are lockable. But with the little lever you can also adjust the amount of "play" and I think I will not lock everything down when I am flatstitching panos. Tilt and swing are not lockable, but the movement itself is free of play, and even when changing the direction of movement there is no reverse play in the threads. I really like that.
I got 4 lensplates with the camera, copal 0, m39, M645 and Mamiya RZ. I tried the latter two and same picture here as with the rest of the camera. Well made, no play, smooth operation. The RZ board has the mechanism to cock the shutter and activate the "time" mode of the lens, wich means the shutter is open and the lens is usable with working aperture.
One thing that interested me a lot, but I could not find out in the conversation with swebo: Do I get some usable movements with the M645 lenses. And it works. No extreme tilts or swings, but for the typical landscape it is fine, and still possible to use all the linear movement of the rear standard that the lens allows when parallel to the sensor plane. It is a bit thight because of the thick bellows, but it is working.
With the RZ lenses there is no limitations at all. Fully usable. Very very nice.
The front standard, that the lens gets attached to, is attached to the focusing mechanism of the main rail. What I like to do is to get as close to the rear standard as possible, there is a hard stop. Then I adjust the rear standard to get infinity focus. With the M645 lenses, is set the focusing helicoid to infinity to get the front and rear standard as far apart from each other as possible for maximum movements.
Its nice to have a common infinity setting for all lenses with the same mount. And it also means that there is still all the movement of the focusing rail available. You can get into serious macro photography with the Swebo too.
I am quite happy with the purchase. It is not as streamlined as a Cambo or Arca Swiss Camera. It's bigger than those cameras too. I did not have a Pico in hand, but heard and read only praise. For now I think this is the right choice for me. I can find out how much I will use a tech cam. If I find out that I would like to use it all the time when I am out for landscapes, then I will save up for a Pico. I can still buy two additional components for the swebo and use it as tech cam with full movements on both standards.
The Swebo is very affordable, and I don´t have the feeling that I have to compromise on quality. The quality is perfectly fine. It is bigger and operation is not as thought out as with the Unviersalis for example. Knobs and levers are a bit all over the place, but to me, mechanically they are logically placed and I will get used to the positions direction of rotation very soon.
All right, that's it for now. Feel free to contribute with your own experiences, or ask questions if you got some. I will gladly help if I can.
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