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PJ Wagner
30-May-2011, 07:01
Hi everyone,

I just got a lightly used Sinar F1 and it's my first large format camera and I'm starting to play with the movements. Tilt and shift movements are easy to see but I'm having trouble with swinging right and left. The levers under the front and rear standards seem to be locked and I don't want to force them as they seem easy to break. I tried unscrewing them a little but that had no effect. The 18 page manual was no help. What am I doing wrong guys? How do I unlock the swing levers on an F1?

Side note... I can't believe how inexpensive this gear is. I bought a Sinar F1, 3 Schneider lens (90, 135, 210), 20 film holders, and 2 big boxes of 'stuff', and all of it together was $350. I've been been living in the land Hasselblad's and Leica's for the last 35 years and, as you all know, that's the land where 350 bucks buys you zip.

This Sinar is mostly for my 2 daughters. I have one in college as a Fine Arts photo major and one in high school probably following the same path. I thought this Sinar would be a great way for them to get into LF.

I'm heading to the closet to try to figure out how to load film. If I'm not back in 3 hours send in the search party!

Best,
PJ Wagner

Tony Lakin
30-May-2011, 07:51
Hi everyone,

I just got a lightly used Sinar F1 and it's my first large format camera and I'm starting to play with the movements. Tilt and shift movements are easy to see but I'm having trouble with swinging right and left. The levers under the front and rear standards seem to be locked and I don't want to force them as they seem easy to break. I tried unscrewing them a little but that had no effect. The 18 page manual was no help. What am I doing wrong guys? How do I unlock the swing levers on an F1?

Side note... I can't believe how inexpensive this gear is. I bought a Sinar F1, 3 Schneider lens (90, 135, 210), 20 film holders, and 2 big boxes of 'stuff', and all of it together was $350. I've been been living in the land Hasselblad's and Leica's for the last 35 years and, as you all know, that's the land where 350 bucks buys you zip.

This Sinar is mostly for my 2 daughters. I have one in college as a Fine Arts photo major and one in high school probably following the same path. I thought this Sinar would be a great way for them to get into LF.

I'm heading to the closet to try to figure out how to load film. If I'm not back in 3 hours send in the search party!

Best,
PJ Wagner

Seems like you got a great deal there if everything is ok, It would appear that the swing levers may have been over tightened if you cannot move them easily, you may need to use brute force, if you do do not use too much at the end of the plastic levers as they snap quite easily, I would recomm that you try to grip them at the screw end possibly carefully using pliers or a small wrench with some cloth padding to avoid grip marks on the plastic.

Hope this helps.

PJ Wagner
30-May-2011, 10:41
Tony,

Hey, that worked! I'm swingin' baby! Probably seems kind of dumb but I wanted to ask before breaking something.

Thank you!
- PJ

Robert Jonathan
30-May-2011, 22:02
If you're patient, and you look around enough, you can upgrade to a Sinar P system quite easily, and you won't have to worry about locking knobs. :)

I put together a Sinar P system over the course of a few months (thanks eBay), and got the front and rear standards for $400 ($200 for each standard).

I then got some nice black extension rails from the used departments at different New York camera stores for ridiculously low prices, and the system works with my Horseman bellows and lensboards, so I can switch between systems very easily.

The only problem is figuring out when to use the Horseman, and when to use the Sinar...

Frank Petronio
30-May-2011, 22:12
Even though Sinar stuff is a ridiculous bargain, you got a ridiculously ridiculous bargain for only $350!

Tony Lakin
31-May-2011, 00:12
If you're patient, and you look around enough, you can upgrade to a Sinar P system quite easily, and you won't have to worry about locking knobs. :)

I put together a Sinar P system over the course of a few months (thanks eBay), and got the front and rear standards for $400 ($200 for each standard).

I then got some nice black extension rails from the used departments at different New York camera stores for ridiculously low prices, and the system works with my Horseman bellows and lensboards, so I can switch between systems very easily.

The only problem is figuring out when to use the Horseman, and when to use the Sinar...

As Robert suggests you could upgrade the basic camera, however in my opinion the Sinar Norma would be a better option, it is much lighter than the P but not much heavier than an F, everything locks up superbly on the Norma, a true classic

PJ Wagner
31-May-2011, 13:53
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I see what you mean about upgrading to the gear driven adjustments - very cool. Weight is a consideration as this is intended to be somewhat portable (i.e. 300 yards from the car) and I am the pack mule for my daughters

I'm still learning the basics, I think I can load and unload film, I understand the movements, and I'm working on Scheimpflug. Almost ready for a first attempt!

I was all set to spend a lot of money on a Master Technica but after reading some threads here I opted for a more humble beginning. I'm glad I did as this seems like plenty of camera for us beginning LF-ers.

Frank, yeah I thought that seemed like a low price. Film prices will end up dwarfing the cost of the whole system! :eek: But at 350 I felt I couldn't really go wrong.

Best,
PJ

Alan Gales
31-May-2011, 15:18
[QUOTE=PJ Wagner;732924]Hi everyone

"This Sinar is mostly for my 2 daughters. I have one in college as a Fine Arts photo major and one in high school probably following the same path. I thought this Sinar would be a great way for them to get into LF."


You are correct. Your Sinar F1 is a great camera to get your daughters started. The F stands for field so it is light enough to take outside. Of course it works well indoors also.

Congratulations on your steal! I mean deal. :D

Tony Lakin
1-Jun-2011, 10:45
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I see what you mean about upgrading to the gear driven adjustments - very cool. Weight is a consideration as this is intended to be somewhat portable (i.e. 300 yards from the car) and I am the pack mule for my daughters

I'm still learning the basics, I think I can load and unload film, I understand the movements, and I'm working on Scheimpflug. Almost ready for a first attempt!

I was all set to spend a lot of money on a Master Technica but after reading some threads here I opted for a more humble beginning. I'm glad I did as this seems like plenty of camera for us beginning LF-ers.

Frank, yeah I thought that seemed like a low price. Film prices will end up dwarfing the cost of the whole system! :eek: But at 350 I felt I couldn't really go wrong.

Best,
PJ

Hi PJ
Just for your information the movements on the Sinar Norma are not gear driven, only the focusing, the movements on the P/P2 are gear driven.

Best wishes.