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Seems there are many large format cameras to choose, sure each one will choose one and someone else will choose another one, like for studio large format there are 5 or 6 cameras and they are all good and sure all will be chosen by someone or another.

Tareq, there are many large format cameras to choose from, most are great cameras. To answer your question about Sinar specifically, the P2 is designed for film and can be adapted to digital. It comes standard with a metering back which allows for a meter reading to be taken at the film plane via a wand type probe that can be placed on the points of interest within the frame. The P3 is a new offering which has electronic contacts built in and allows for easily switching from film to digital. It is also designed to use lenses specific to digital backs. Both cameras are built like Swiss watches and would be a dream to use for anyone interested in view camera work. It is of course a very different animal to either medium format or small format SLR photography and certainly not to everyone's taste. Check the Sinar-Bron site for more complete information.

breal101 wrote in post #8362607
Tareq, there are many large format cameras to choose from, most are great cameras. To answer your question about Sinar specifically, the P2 is designed for film and can be adapted to digital. It comes standard with a metering back which allows for a meter reading to be taken at the film plane via a wand type probe that can be placed on the points of interest within the frame. The P3 is a new offering which has electronic contacts built in and allows for easily switching from film to digital. It is also designed to use lenses specific to digital backs. Both cameras are built like Swiss watches and would be a dream to use for anyone interested in view camera work. It is of course a very different animal to either medium format or small format SLR photography and certainly not to everyone's taste. Check the Sinar-Bron site for more complete information.

Ah i see, thank you very much!
I saw that P3 in one studio of the Sinar dealer in UAE, it is really incredible with all those clamps or adjustable sticks around the camera in bottom, look like the octopus, and i saw the image of P2 from the website less than that, but really both seems they are something else, and in fact the prices are not that much for both, so i can buy either P2 or P3 if i want, but not sure if they are really a good choice or there are better choice as a view camera.

Also another thing coming to my mind is the sizr for formats in large format -i think- from 4x5 up to maybe 9x12 or so, does that mean anything? i mean is it better to get 8x10 rather than 4x5, or that is not a big deal?

Tareq wrote in post #8364208
Ah i see, thank you very much!
I saw that P3 in one studio of the Sinar dealer in UAE, it is really incredible with all those clamps or adjustable sticks around the camera in bottom, look like the octopus, and i saw the image of P2 from the website less than that, but really both seems they are something else, and in fact the prices are not that much for both, so i can buy either P2 or P3 if i want, but not sure if they are really a good choice or there are better choice as a view camera.

Also another thing coming to my mind is the sizr for formats in large format -i think- from 4x5 up to maybe 9x12 or so, does that mean anything? i mean is it better to get 8x10 rather than 4x5, or that is not a big deal?

4x5 and 8x10 are inches, and 9x12 is centimeters. 9x12 film holders will work in 4x5 cameras.

Run before you walk. One advantage to Sinar is that it is very easy to convert the rear standard to a larger format. Start with 4x5--that will be demanding enough to keep you challenged for a long while. Plus, film availability for sizes larger than 4x5 (and maybe even for 4x5) will be a problem for you.

There are several premium brands of large-format view cameras, and for a studio, a view camera has more flexibility than a field camera. In the field, all those handles sticking out and the case required to fit it make it more cumbersome.

Those premium manufacturers include Linhof, Sinar, and Arca-Swiss. Linhof is German and the other two are Swiss. Then, there is the Dutch-made Cambo, which is not quite as robust and precise, and several Japanese makers, including Toyo, Horseman, and so on. Of these, the Sinar provides the best interchangeability between parts, new and old, and the Horseman uses the same lens boards and bellows attachments as the Sinar. The original Sinar redefined the concept of the interchangeable view camera and offered the first all-metal camera in about 1949, with the Norma.

Since the early 70's, Sinar has offered two basic lines, the P and the F. The X was a stripped-down version of the P. They have some hybrids, including the C (a P rear standard with an F front standard). The A (Alpina) was a portable version of the F, but didn't use the same monorail. All the others, right back to the 1949 Norma, use the same monorail, the same bellows attachments, and the same lens boards.

"P" stands for "Perfection" and is their top-line model. It has fully geared movements of great precision. If you want to do complex studio product photography, for example, the P will let you develop a camera setup, write the settings down, and then return to that setup a year later and barely even have to focus the camera. "F" is for "Field" and was intended as a light-weight version. Most of its movements are not geared, but all of its parts are still interchangeable with the P. The P2 is the current version of the standard P, and the F2 is the current version of the standard F.

They also have an extensive capability to couple the camera with digital systems. The P3 and F3 are digital-optimized, and provide facilities for tight integration with their behind-the-lens shutter, the Sinaron (mostly Rodenstock) digital lenses, and their digital back.

Sinar also markets a Hy-6, which is a medium-format digital camera. The body of the Hy-6 is made by Rollei, but the back by Sinar. Very high-end stuff.

You can also use rollfilm in a Sinar very easily, just as you can with any view camera. The Sinar Zoom2 rollfilm holder is marvelous, allowing the photographer to change the format from 6x4.5 to 6x12 mid-roll, and sliding under the ground glass instead of having to use the Graflock interface (this makes it faster to use--no need to remove the ground glass after composition and focusing to install the film holder). I have an older Vario rollfilm holder that is similar and it is a remarkable piece of kit--certainly the best of its kind ever made.

Arca-Swiss and Linhof are just as well-made as Sinar but without quite the same level of interchangeability. If you have a Sinar dealer available to you, however, that makes the choice a bit easier if you plan to buy new stuff. All of these are quite expensive compared to what I'm used to spending, but they are the best.

If you shoot film and use conventional shutters, you'll find a wide range of superior Schneider and Rodenstock lenses currently on offer, and these are absolutely top-end. The now-used Nikkor and Fujinon large-format lenses are no longer made new but they are also outstanding. I think it would be hard to find a less-than-outstanding large-format lens made in the last several decades.

If you get a digital back for a Sinar, that will cost you far more than the rest of the system put together. The Sinarback 54 has a 35x49mm sensor--a little smaller than 6x4.5--with 22 megapixels. They have a new 75 also that I'm not familiar with. Both require tethering in to a computer, and are therefore best used in a studio. Do not be tempted to compare the 22 MP sensor in a Canon to the 22 MP in a Sinarback--the difference in format and the image management capability of the view camera will give you noticeably superior results. But I would just as soon shoot 4x5 or 6x12 film and scan it--it's far less expensive and far more flexible.

Rick "who has a Sinar F kit, but who thinks the P is perfect for Tareq" Denney