Large Format Photography Australia

Welp. I've done it

I just bought

Sinar F2
Schneider Super Angulon 90mm f/8 MC
Rodenstock 150mm f/5.6 MC Sironar-N (Sironar-S was like twice the price!)
5 film holders
appropriate filter rings for my Lee filters
shutter cable
8x loupe
copal 0 shutter board (this is right, yeah?)

Just need to get some film now.

Geoff; I will get in touch with you in a couple of weeks to discuss getting the 210 off you.

Cannot wait.

Not disregarding any of your advice re: field cameras etc, I got a pretty good deal on the F2, and the only field camera I've been told to consider elsewhere was a Chamonix, which seems pretty common around the grand mark. Maybe later on down the track if I really love LF and decide I can't lug the f2 around (which by the sounds of things isn't THAT much of a hassle?)

Look forward to playing with it and look out for some of my stuff soon.

Thanks

alex gard wrote:Welp. I've done it

I just bought

Sinar F2
Schneider Super Angulon 90mm f/8 MC
Rodenstock 150mm f/5.6 MC Sironar-N (Sironar-S was like twice the price!)
5 film holders
appropriate filter rings for my Lee filters
shutter cable
8x loupe
copal 0 shutter board (this is right, yeah?)

Just need to get some film now.

Geoff; I will get in touch with you in a couple of weeks to discuss getting the 210 off you.

Cannot wait.

Not disregarding any of your advice re: field cameras etc, I got a pretty good deal on the F2, and the only field camera I've been told to consider elsewhere was a Chamonix, which seems pretty common around the grand mark. Maybe later on down the track if I really love LF and decide I can't lug the f2 around (which by the sounds of things isn't THAT much of a hassle?)

Look forward to playing with it and look out for some of my stuff soon.

Thanks

Congrats sir and a good choice of camera. I own a F1/F2 hybrid and it's no trouble at all to walk with. If you detach the camera from the tripod via the 'clamp/rail slider ring' setup then the camera can be compressed to a bag-able size with any disassembling.

I've never used a folding field camera, but I can tell you that I often use the extremes of rise and fall on my camera as a substitute for the scene altering film plane tilts. In this way the focal plane isn't altered. Folding field cameras can do this but to a far lesser extent.

Thanks mate. yes I am very much looking forward to getting this thing out.

What bag do you use for your f1/f2 hybrid?

Also is there any way to integrate a hasselblad a12 filmback onto the back of the F2?

RoganJosh wrote:I've never used a folding field camera, but I can tell you that I often use the extremes of rise and fall on my camera as a substitute for the scene altering film plane tilts. In this way the focal plane isn't altered. Folding field cameras can do this but to a far lesser extent.

"…a far lesser extent"?

Where on earth did you read this (given you admit to never using one of the types that you're comparing, I am assuming you've read it somewhere)?

There are folding cameras with vast movements, and there are monorail cameras with limited movements. The generalised assertion that folding field cameras are comparatively limited is simply not true.

I think that we have a duty of care to either provide no information to new users of LF, or, if we do choose to give information, make it factual. I believe that we need to be careful NOT to represent opinion as fact. After all, new users are probably going to spend money based on what they read here.

Lachlan717 wrote:

RoganJosh wrote:I've never used a folding field camera, but I can tell you that I often use the extremes of rise and fall on my camera as a substitute for the scene altering film plane tilts. In this way the focal plane isn't altered. Folding field cameras can do this but to a far lesser extent.

"…a far lesser extent"?

Where on earth did you read this (given you admit to never using one of the types that you're comparing, I am assuming you've read it somewhere)?

There are folding cameras with vast movements, and there are monorail cameras with limited movements. The generalised assertion that folding field cameras are comparatively limited is simply not true.

I think that we have a duty of care to either provide no information to new users of LF, or, if we do choose to give information, make it factual. I believe that we need to be careful NOT to represent opinion as fact. After all, new users are probably going to spend money based on what they read here.

Why would anyone use monorail cameras if they didn't have more movements than folding field cameras? The Sinar f1 and f2 both have 112mm worth of rise/fall. The Linhof technika has only half that and it's known for its generous movements. Let me know if there is even one 4x5 folding camera that has more than the Sinar...because I will subsequently purchase it.

Alex I just use the normal sinar bag bellows and they work fine but are only necessary if using lots of movements with a lens wider than about 150mm, otherwise standard bellows will do.

Thanks

Do you think the bag bellows will be necessary for the 90mm, then?

Alex,

I suggest that you use a bag bellows with the 90mm as a matter of course and, depending on the image circle of the 150mm it may even be called for with it too. I use the Sinaron SE 150 and its image circle defeats the standard bellows.

Now, if you get the rod and the clips that fit into the hexagonal attachment at the bottom of the lens standard you can use the bellows that you are not using on the camera as a compendium lens shade. The bellows will also attach the the ground glass frame and work as an alternative to a horse blanket. There is also a magnifier attachment that can be added although with my eye sight I find the magnifier not strong enough for me.

There are two models of the wide angle bellows. In the days of the 47mm and shorter being my daily faire I needed the one with a pleat, the model II. These days 90mm is as far as I go and so the model I, which does not have a pleat suffices.

May I ask what you paid for your F2? Respond by PM if you prefer. If there are things you need or want to know about drop me a line also because the importer/distributor is a good mate and he often knows the whereabouts and availability of odd bits and pieces — some no longer made.

Hello and welcome Alex!
It's very exciting to get the big camera out I hope you enjoy it very much.
Rogan Josh- I'm a bit with Lachlan on the movement thing. "Why would anyone use monorail cameras if they didn't have more movements than folding field cameras?" The answer I suspect has to do with fine accuracy of the movements available on monorails. Most monorails offer a lot more more accuracy and fidelity of movement than my Chamonix. But this less important to me than "hike-ability"! But I guess much more important in a studio environment.

boinzo wrote:Rogan Josh- I'm a bit with Lachlan on the movement thing. "Why would anyone use monorail cameras if they didn't have more movements than folding field cameras?" The answer I suspect has to do with fine accuracy of the movements available on monorails. Most monorails offer a lot more more accuracy and fidelity of movement than my Chamonix. But this less important to me than "hike-ability"! But I guess much more important in a studio environment.

I agree, monorails are known for precision. Thats not to say that folding cameras cannot be as precise although probably not with such ease. But they are, by design, quite limited in their movements compared to the majority of monorails out there which is what I was trying to get across to Alex.