Arca Swiss Macro Table, X-Table and Universal Carrier

[r.e.]

Does anyone have any experience with these composition and focusing rails? I can't find anything on the forum about them and there's very little information on the internet generally. I'm talking about these:

Macro Table



X-Table



The main component in both is a part called 052010 Carrier universal 1/4". This is basically an Arca Swiss function carrier with a flat top that takes a quick release clamp. They come in three variations for Arca Swiss's three types of clamp.

Carrier Universal 1/4"



There's one video about the X-Table on YouTube. It's in Japanese, no translation available, but it does show how the X-Table functions.



I came across these while looking at Novoflex Castel racks that perform similar functions. I already use an Arca Swiss F-line camera and wonder whether these are a serious option. I'm thinking mainly about full frame 35mm. I'm not talking about significant magnification, so I'm not troubled by the absence of fine control. One of the things that interests me is just their potential for saving time in moving a tripod and camera around while finalising a composition or focus. The pricing is exorbitant, but I already own certain of the components and I plan to find out what one of these Universal Carriers would cost.

Has anyone used one of these? Opinions?

Thanks

[Jim Andrada]

I have a couple around here somewhere - not as elegant as the Arca Swiss, but same idea. The one I have with cross rails is primarily for stitching panoramas and the rotating assembly is above the cross slides. I find them pretty fiddly to set up and use - certainly not time saving unless you're really doing macro or focus stacking etc.

[r.e.]

Thanks Jim. Recognising what you say, I'm still curious about the idea of using one of these to finalise composition for formats up to 4x5 and for macro focus.

A bit more information for anyone interested... In the U.S., Kirk Enterprises and Hejnar Photo make racks/rails like these. Novoflex is probably the main "name" maker. Nisi released one in the last couple of years that's relatively inexpensive and appears to be well-regarded. This Joe Brady video for Novoflex is about what single and cross versions do:

[Jim Andrada]

I had my Technika on one - once. MF would be a lot easier / more practical IMHO. The Technika just stuck out so far it was hard to get my fingers on the knobs and the weight made it harder to turn them. A 6 x 9 view camera would probably be OK but I think they're manly targeted at FF Digi.

[r.e.]

I had my Technika on one - once... The Technika just stuck out so far it was hard to get my fingers on the knobs and the weight made it harder to turn them...

Hi Jim. I appreciate your reservations. That said, I use an Arca Swiss 4x5 like the one below. The universal carrier in the first post, third photo, is a modified version of the two rail carriers in the photo below. In the first post, first photo, the universal carrier is supporting a quick release clamp instead of a camera standard.

Arca Swiss's Macro Table is a 20cm long Arca Swiss rail with this modified carrier. The X-Table consists of two Macro Tables.

Access to knobs would not be an issue. Regarding geared travel and weight, Arca Swiss uses identical rails and carriers on its 4x5 and 8x10 cameras, and they have no problem with geared travel on the 8x10 cameras. My Arca Swiss 4x5 weighs 3.2kg (7lb) plus lens and film holder.

[Jim Andrada]

Arca-Swiss are great cameras. Somehow, I started with a 5 x 7 Linhof 50+ years ago and now I have at last count about 9 of them in everything from 2 x 3 to 8 x 10 - they're also great cameras, even though they never embraced the configurable system thing like Sinar and others, and nobody ever accused them of making overly light gear. I used to shoot with a friend who had a Sinar 4 x 5 and he was a lot less tired at the end of the day than I was. Would love to have an Arca-Swiss as well, but at 83 and stuck in a wheelchair I think it's time to start thinning out rather than adding.

I also have a Sound Devices recorder and Schoeps and DPA mics, a bunch of Mamiya's including an AFD film/digital, a GX 680, a 7, and a couple of 330 TLR's. But no Leica (yet!) And I'm a PC guy - 6 or 8 of them around here, plus a couple of Macs. Software - Capture 1, Resolve, Cinema 4D, Realflow, a few Black Magic cameras, and a Canon C100 video cam. Anyhow - looks like we have similar tastes in cameras and stuff.

[r.e.]

Hi Jim,

Years ago, Arca-Swiss sold a camera that was priced to attract people of limited means, especially students, hoping that they'd stick with the brand. In my case the strategy worked

One of the things that I like about Arca-Swiss is that its products are modular. I have some of the components necessary to make a Macro Table, but not a Universal Carrier. U.S. resellers don't mention it, let alone carry it. Arca-Swiss U.S. representative Rod Klukas is ordering one for me.

Why am I buying this? Not just for large format.

Apple's release of the iPhone 15 coincided with Blackmagic Design's release of an app for shooting iPhone video. Indeed, Blackmagic worked with Apple on producing its October 30th event, which was shot entirely with an iPhone 15. So did Beastgrip, which has been providing Apple with the cages that it uses to shoot iPhone footage going back a decade, when Austin Reza made a short film for Bentley with an iPhone 5S. Reza's film went viral because few people believed that the Bentley film was possible. I mean, it's a phone, right?

Unsurprisingly, Apple's Hallowe'en event, like Reza's film, brought out lots of sceptics on social media.

I have no doubts about what Reza and Apple did, but I haven't been converted to the idea of using my phone as a video or stills camera. However, after playing with Blackmagic's app and watching a number of iPhone 15 videos, I've decided to give it a whirl.

Anyway, I now have Blackmagic's app on my phone and a Beastgrip cage. I was looking around for additional camera support, when I saw one of Novoflex's composition and focusing rails. I'm guessing that Arca-Swiss's version is going to prove quite useful, and I also want to experiment with it with larger formats, including 4x5. I was also down with supporting Beastgrip rather than one of the companies making knock-offs. I'd prefer to buy from Vadym Chalenko, the Ukrainian immigrant to Chicago who in 2012 had the confidence in the technology to spend most of a year designing and fabricating a cage for a mobile phone, and found enough Kickstarter supporters to get the idea off the ground. His Beastcage is heavier and more expensive than others, but I think that there are good reasons for that.

Apple has released a short behind the scenes video about how it shot its Hallowe'en event. Some may find it interesting. Note the tag line at the end: "Special thanks to Blackmagic Design and Beastgrip".

[Jim Andrada]

I have a cheap knockoff cage for the 2.5k EOS compatible Black Magic that I got a bit before they released the URSA . If I were doing much video now I'd look into the Beastgrip, but it isn't looking like I'll be doing much beyond what I can do for fun with the Canon C100. I'm probably going to sell the Schoeps and DPA mics as well. The Canon 5D III does reasonably OK video as well, but the form factor isn't IMHO as well suited and the built-in ND is a necessity here in Arizona. Still have my shoulder mount JVC DV 720P with an ATOMOS digi recorder on the back - nice camera, perfectly respectable output, but bigger numbers sell stuff, just like the "More Mpix is better" mania. I have a 23mp Mamiya ZD back on the AFD and an interchangeable Phase One 39mp back on the Linhof M679. I find them both quite satisfactory but still use the 23mp back unless the camera is on a support.

It's interesting. My Olympus Pen-F, Canon 5D III, and Mamiya AFD all have roughly the same MPix - but to my way of thinking the bigger sensors give me results that are somehow more pleasing. So I stick with the hernia-inducing AFD and M679.

Hoping to get back into larger formats too, but that's going to depend on getting back on my feet (literally) and at this point the PT folks aren't holding out too much hope for that happening. I'm trying to build a 3D printed adapter to let me mount a 4 x 5 back on the M679 so I can at least do 4 x 4's on 4 x 5 film.

[r.e.]

Hoping to get back into larger formats too, but that's going to depend on getting back on my feet (literally) and at this point the PT folks aren't holding out too much hope for that happening. I'm trying to build a 3D printed adapter to let me mount a 4 x 5 back on the M679 so I can at least do 4 x 4's on 4 x 5 film.

There are current makers of handheld 4x5 cameras, which are 3D printed, and discontinued handhelds might be available second-hand. If you're ready for a new phone, consider an iPhone. From iPhone 12, the Pro models have had Apple ProRaw and either two or three cameras depending on model. If you want to shoot video, I think that the iPhone 15 Pro, plus some neutral density filters, or a variable ND filter, is worth the cost. The Beastgrip cage filter adapter has a 58mm thread and takes step-up rings. Blackmagic's app is free; and outside certain kinds of professional work, its free version of DaVinci Resolve is all one needs as an editor.

Most of the iPhone 15 videos that are getting attention on YouTube are pretty frenetic. A few days ago, Peter McKinnon offered his six million subscribers a change of pace. He doesn't say where his was shot. It's Banff National Park at Lake Louise and Peyto Lake. Note that this is after YouTube does its bit to undermine image quality

[Jim Andrada]

Just looked at the Beastgrip website. Interesting. I can just picture it with the Canon 70 - 200 lens on it - or would it be the lens with the Beastgrip on it???

Wonder when we'll see something like a Cambo Actus version for the iPhone??????