Back on the bandwagon and wanting assistance

[scrichton]

Hey guys,

Almost a year I think since I last shot a sheet of film, but looking in the house I have about 30 boxes unexposed, a polaroid with a 127mm and £150 spare.

So hey ho I ordered an arca swiss Pro 1 today, which at least lets me back in the game.


I was wondering if anyone could help out with a couple of questions about it.

A: can anyone send me a picture of one? there are so many 'arca pro' denotations that I'm a bit confused as to what I bought.

B: If the pictures aren't flooding in, practically what are the chances of backpacking this? With the 127mm I think I can probably loose some of the rail length etc ... (don't kill me for saying this) and lockup the rear standard a wee bit and replace handles with nylock nuts to reduce size.

C: Will the 127mm rodenstock give any movements at all? or am I pretty much at a wee bit of tilt and a wee bit of swing for options. Also will the standard bellows allow infinity?


Great to be back and looking forward to the answers.. Just hope the delivery comes as planned tomorrow :)


Steven

[Glenn Thoreson]

I assume you have the Ysarex lens? Folks use them on 4X5 but I don't think you'll get much, if anything, in the way of movements. I use one on my 3X4 Crown Graphic.

[scrichton]

yeah, its the ysarex.

Really all I'm after is a bit of tilt or swing. It's going to be used for either portraits or maybe a bit of skateboarding stuff.

More or less I've bought it to burn up the mountain of film I have.

[Oren Grad]

C: Will the 127mm rodenstock give any movements at all? or am I pretty much at a wee bit of tilt and a wee bit of swing for options.

I had one briefly on a 4x5 Razzle Polaroid conversion and I thought that my sample at least was stretched beyond its limits in the corners on 4x5 even without any movements. It's more of a 3x4 press lens. If you need room for movement you'll likely be better off with a 135 or a 150, even a very inexpensive one.

[scrichton]

oh well. cropping it is then :)

[Bobf]

A google threw up this on pnet: http://photo.net/large-format-photography-forum/00Hn6x (which looks a lot like my Model B/C Arca. It is very light, being made from aluminium. It is a couple of models old now (70's era?) but as it's an Arca, made to a high standard).

[scrichton]

yeah that was the only one I had found. It's annoying enough to not really show enough to work out the scale of it.

My Sinar was the same. I never thought it would be as big as it was. This Arca is probably a complete behemoth. So I'd best get a nice big bag or a good chiropractor.

[Bobf]

There is a Model C on this page (http://www.precisioncameraworks.com/Pages/arca_core.html) that shows all the camera (but a small picture).

The real advantage (and the main reason I bought my version) is that it is relatively light compared to others. If it's any help, the lens-boards are 171mm square and both standards are only a few mm larger than that (as you can see in the pictures)...

Also, the standards detach from the rail very easily and quickly (a couple of turns of the locking knob) making it relatively quick to set-up and break down if you carry it with the rail removed in a pack. If you are going to backpack a 5x4 monorail, this is a good choice.

[scrichton]

Do the older arca rails collapse? Or will it probably require "mods"?

[Bobf]

They made short versions I believe ('tho getting one nowadays may be problematic...) but no, they do not collapse - just a solid rail with teeth to mate with the focus gearing.

[scrichton]

Well the camera has arrived.

Overall it is incredibly compact and fits very happily into my usual Lowepro mini-trekker pack with 4 DDs meter, cloth and general daily stuff.

The lens covers just fine for what I want to do, portraits and tilt/shift wide open I would normally expect a degree of falloff anyway.

So tonight I'll have 2 nice negs from lunch shoved in the Diafine baths and ready to scan.


Thanks for all the assistance to everyone.