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Hi,

I am new in the community. I am a French student in photography in Glasgow, and after 6 months of use of a Shen Hao TZ 45II A, I decided to change it for a mono-rail camera.

My needs: archi +landscape so most of outdoors photography and wide angle.
The problem is I have a "student budget", so I have to compromise.

My first choice was Arc Swiss (F Line , or better Misura but very expensive and hard to find in Second hand)

2, Titan XL, compact, not heavy, but too much limited in movement
3, Sinar F1-F2, good price, but I heard it s a nighmare for the transport ??? and the Norma ?
4,Toyo 45CX, cheap, what a about the built (cheap too!) and is it heavier than the Sinar...

Hoping you will can help me ...
Thanks and sorry for my English, not yet fluent ...

Fabien wrote:I am new in the community. I am a French student in photography in Glasgow

Salut Fabien et bienvenu parmi le meilleur groupe grand format de Grande Bretagne. Si vous ne pouvez pas vous exprimer en anglais, vous pouvez écrire en français et quelqu'un essayera traduire.

Fabien wrote:My needs: archi +landscape so most of outdoors photography and wide angle.
The problem is I have a "student budget", so I have to compromise.

My first choice was Arc Swiss (F Line , or better Misura but very expensive and hard to find in Second hand)

2, Titan XL, compact, not heavy, but too much limited in movement
3, Sinar F1-F2, good price, but I heard it s a nighmare for the transport ??? and the Norma ?
4,Toyo 45CX, cheap, what a about the built (cheap too!) and is it heavier than the Sinar...

Did you know that Mike Walker also makes the Titan SF, which is a folding camera with more flexibility? You can also get a discount for being a member of this forum.

Fabien wrote:Hoping you will can help me ...
Thanks and sorry for my English, not yet fluent ...

Vous écrivez l'anglais très bien, peut-être mieux que j'écris le français.

Lightweight cambo ? SF series. Good value Secondhand.

Hi Fabien - I can recommend the Sinar Fs (the F apparently stands for Field). If you buy a 6" rail the whole camera can be compacted down onto that for travelling. They are a bit bulky, but if you can find an early one with the lower profile rail clamp, then you have found a good thing! You can also detach one side of the bellows and fold everything down onto the rail should you wish to take it that way. The only proviso I would say is that you'll find a lot of the front standards on the older ones will have issues with the plastic clamp, but this is nothing that a little araldite and gaffa tape can't sort. They are very cheap (in LF terms) - typically about £180 and being Sinar you can get as many accessories and replacement bits as you like for them without breaking the bank. What I would say in opposition to the likes of Arca is that Sinars were the professionals choice for a long time and as such there is a ton of stuff out there, AND, you are buying into a total system! my Norma bag bellows from the early 60's have no trouble fitting my F (from the 70's) - it is all interchangeable.
I have lugged one of these for many miles and have had no problems with it - it is very rigid when everything is fully clamped down, and is actually lighter than it looks.
The Norma is a different kettle of fish - it is beautiful but harder to take around with you, but would probably keep its resale value better.
Cheers
Phil

Thanks everybody for your welcome and happy to be on the community!

Phil,

my tutor, and not the least, Pr Thomas Joshua Cooper, told me the same think like you. So my choice goes on a Sinar, but ...

what's the difference between the F1 and F2 ?
some people told me that the Fs are not too heavy (4kg) but the problems could be the dimension, the setting up for the transport (remove the bellow, fold the mount ...) but is it really a problem ?
-and that could use the lever/clamp ...
-and is it possible to change the front standard to an 6x7 one (f3)

Hoping to not be boring ...

Cheers

And Arc is professional you know .. made in France

Fabien wrote: -and is it possible to change the front standard to an 6x7 one (f3)

Surely you mean the rear standard.

"Surely you mean the rear standard"

No, the f3 front look smaller isn't it ? maybe I said a mistake .

Hi Fabien - this is what I researched when I was looking for my F.
The earliest are just called F; they have a low profile rail clamp, a bit similar to a Norma - it is captive to the rail and you can only remove it by removing one of the standards.
After the F, came the F+ which was the same as the F but had a 'modern' rail clamp like the one on a P and all subsequent F's; this is a higher profile and is able to release the rail without having to remove the standard.
For myself, I prefer the lower profile clamp as it takes up less room!
The early Fs have flat plates for the reading of tilt and swings, whereas the F1s and 2's have drum types (I think). The F2's have micrometric focussing on both standards whereas the F1 only has it on the rear standard. Focussing on the F is a little more crude, but perfectly adequate. The early F also has the very useful DOF guage on the fine focus knob, as do the later ones.
You'll propbably find most dealers will make little differentiation between an F and an F1 - I bought mine as an F1 but only later discovered it was an F.
There's a bit of a Sinar system catalogue here
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/large_format.htm
And basically you can get a whole feel for the sytem by checking out the numerous online sources for all things Sinar. there's a also a nice lady called Andrea at Sinar who will send out a photocopy of an old manual (though it isn't the complete thing).
As for transport, well there's 3 methods. My main one is to slide front standard, rail clamp and rear standard onto a six inch rail and tighten it all down - you don't need to remove the bellows or lens.
You can also remove bellows from front standard, fold that backwards onto the rail and then raise the rear standard a bit and lower that and the bellows forward and over the front standard and lens, which works quite well, or you can remove the bellows completely and turn both standards side on so that the whole thing is thin, but incredibly bulky. I prefer the first method as you can set up really quickly.
They are nice little cameras, and I've had mine out in the glens when it has been blowing a gale with no problems whatsover, though I would caution that when and if you buy one, check the bits where the bellows are sealed to the frame holder - there will be light-leaks, though these are easily fixed with PVA glue.
I'm sure if I've missed anything the guys and gals on here will let me know
Oh and the final thing is that if you are handy, it is really easy to strip and clean an old F - they wash up a treat.
Oh and Arca (I think they are really beautiful actually)- well being on a student budget I didn't think you could afford anything from after the takeover, which is all modular to a huge extent - the older monorails are as far as I know not compatable with parts made now, unlike Sinar.
Cheers!
Phil