As Vice President of Sales at Sinar Bron Imaging, one of my key responsibilities was recruiting, hiring, and training regional sales managers. Their responsibilities extended well beyond dealer support, requiring them to work directly with photographers both on location and in studio environments. Because of this, successful candidates needed more than sales experience, they also required a solid foundation in professional photography, including experience with view cameras and studio lighting systems.

During interviews, before discussing a candidate’s sales background, I often wanted to establish a baseline understanding of their photographic knowledge. Since our regional sales managers would be supporting professional photographers, technical competency mattered.

To quickly gauge their understanding, I would typically ask two simple, but revealing questions:

Can you explain the Scheimpflug Principle as it relates to a view camera

The principle states that if the lens plane, image plane (film/sensor), and subject plane are extended, all three planes intersect at a common line. Understanding this demonstrates familiarity with camera movements, tilt, and focus control in technical photography.

Can you explain the Inverse Square Law as it relates to lighting?

This principle states that light intensity decreases rapidly as distance increases. The relationship is not linear, doubling the distance from the light source does not cut the light in half; it reduces it to one-quarter of its original intensity.

These two questions often provided a quick indication of whether a candidate had a practical understanding of both technical camera systems and studio lighting, knowledge that proved invaluable when supporting professional photographers in the field and in the studio.

I have always been fascinated by the principles and mathematical relationships found throughout photography. Last week, while working with a client, another one of these concepts came into play as we discussed mounting a Hasselblad CFV 100C digital back on a Cambo Actus MV view camera.

Cambo Actus MV View Camera

Cambo Actus MV View Camera

The Actus MV is an ideal solution for his application since all of his work is studio based and primarily focused on jewelry photography at a 1:1 reproduction ratio. He also wanted to continue using his Schneider APO Digitar 120mm f/5.6 lens, which introduced another important photographic relationship:

Bellows extension versus focal length

Fortunately, the math is straightforward.

To achieve 1:1 reproduction, the distance from the sensor plane to the lens plane must equal twice the focal length:

120mm lens = 240mm extension required for 1:1 reproduction

This immediately raised the question:

Would the camera require a longer bellows or additional rail extensions?

In the case of the Actus MV, the answer is no.

The standard bellows supplied with the camera extends to 254mm, already exceeding the required 240mm extension. In addition, the camera incorporates built-in sliding rail extensions, increasing the available extension range to 298mm.

This not only accommodates 1:1 reproduction comfortably but also provides additional magnification capability without requiring extra accessories.

Key Takeaway

The Cambo Actus MV includes:

✓ 254mm standard bellows extension
✓ Built-in rail extension to 298mm
✓ Supports 1:1 macro reproduction with a 120mm lens without additional accessories

Result: Excellent solution for jewelry, watches, and studio macro photography

Easy peasy! 🙂

However, this raised another question:

What amount of extension is required to achieve even higher magnification ratios?

Determining this requires a slightly different formula, but it is still relatively simple:

(Extension ÷ Focal Length) – 1 = Reproduction Ratio

Using the client’s 120mm Schneider APO Digitar lens:

(240mm ÷ 120mm) – 1 = 1:1 reproduction ratio

As additional extension is added, magnification increases accordingly. This becomes especially useful for jewelry, watches, and other macro applications where magnifications beyond 1:1 may be required.

To make things easier, I created the chart below showing how additional extension translates into higher magnification ratios. Thankfully, the math is easier than explaining the Scheimpflug Principle during a job interview! 😄

I extended the chart out to 450mm since Cambo also offers a 450mm rail and bellows configuration, allowing users to visualize the magnification capabilities available when moving beyond the standard Actus MV extension range.

One final consideration when working at higher magnifications is exposure compensation due to bellows extension.

As extension increases, light transmission decreases.

For example:

Doubling the bellows extension results in approximately a two-stop loss of light.

Fortunately, in studio environments, especially with strobes, this is usually easy to compensate for, but it is an important factor to keep in mind when planning exposure.

Conclusion

This is one of the reasons the Actus MV excels at macro and jewelry photography. Between its generous bellows draw, built-in rail extensions, camera movements, and compatibility with lenses such as the Schneider APO Digitar 120mm, it provides the flexibility needed for everything from 1:1 reproduction to higher magnifications without immediately requiring additional accessories.

Sometimes the most useful photographic principles are not the complex ones, they are the simple mathematical relationships that quietly determine whether a camera system will actually accomplish the job.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions about professional photographic equipment. As an FAA-certified remote pilot, I’m also happy to help with any drone-related questions.

For More Greg King Blogs

• 
  Bellows Draw Explained: Why the Cambo Actus-MV Excels at Macro PhotographyMay 28, 2026
• 
  Why Hasselblad X Flange Distance Limits Use On Tech CamerasMarch 20, 2026
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  Beauty, Defined: What Sets broncolor Softlight/Beauty Reflectors ApartFebruary 23, 2026
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  Exploring the Cambo Wide Compact CamerasJanuary 22, 2026
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  U.S. Government Restricts Sales of New DJI DronesJanuary 14, 2026
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  Rodenstock 105mm Macro Lens on The Hasselblad X2D 100c CameraJuly 14, 2025