options for digital backs on Sinar F2

[jimmygcreative]

hello,

Digital me.. never... but what are the options and any positive and neg feedback on backs please.

never say never

[domaz]

Betterlight scanning backs (http://www.betterlight.com/products4X5.html) to start. The chief advantage being you can use all your 4x5 lenses since it has a 3x4 image area. If I'm not mistaken all the other options involve smaller Medium Format sensors. Not exactly cheap but maybe you can get lucky and find an older model used. Or you can get one of those Digital SLR backs that allow you take stitched panoramas. Much cheaper but not as elegant.

[Jim collum]

+1 for the Betterlight

I've been using mine since 2001.. have never had a problem with it, and almost all of my work with it has been in field conditions (often harsh.. Cambodia & Thailand at 100deg & 90% humidity...)

[Frank Petronio]

You can put a medium format back on a F2 but the whole camera will be so coarse with focusing and movements, plus the short lenses and all will drive you crazy. The camera is the cheapest part of the equation at that point too, so you might as well budget for view camera dedicated to digital.

Or find a Better Light, that is the other option. Again you may want a heavier camera/tripod rig for that, and understand it requires longer exposures.

[Daniel Stone]

I wouldn't even start to think about using an F2 with a digital back, unless I HAD too. Just spend the extra money and get a P2, you'll thank me ;). Or better yet, a Sinar P3, or a Rollei M679CS. They're designed for digital use 1st and formost, with finer gearing, which is IMPERATIVE for digital usage. You can't just "rough it in" if you want tremendous results. You NEED to know you have it. And that doesn't come cheap 99% of the time...

Digital sensors(MF sized) need TINY movements compared to 4x5 film(or even 6x7 rollfilm backs). Believe me on this one...

Or better yet, get a technical camera(aka a "plate" camera) like the Arca Swiss RM/RL3d(i). I don't know the technical details, but after fondling one at Samys a month back or so while at the LA store, I really liked it. Very smooth, plenty of movements, and tilt/swing built into EVERY lens, IIRC.

IF you buy a digital back, IT WILL cost you a pretty penny to buy the best lenses to maximize the sensors capability. And just FYI, in case you didn't know, these MF "tech" lenses don't give a lot of movement. The best ones MAYBE 10-12mm MAX, and that includes fall-off, which generally isn't as pretty as with film. Color casts are also a problem with digital sensors and movements...

Not to "rain on your parade", but choosing the right platform(camera) for a digital back is just the 1st step. You have lenses and other "accessories" to aid in focusing. Scale focusing generally isn't "good enough"... I really want to see Live-View on the the screen itself, rather than having to be tethered @ 1fps viewing speed...

I've assisted(and still do) still life, and automotive photographers who use tech cameras(in addition to "normal" 5DII/s D3x's) on jobs, and these types of "little details" can spoil the good mood on a shoot if something comes up.

-Dan

[rdenney]

People keep saying that a digital back requires finer camera movements, but rarely do they say why, and the why is important for understanding the issues.

A typical digital back these days has a sensor in the medium-format range--something from, say, 33x44 up to something similar to the 645 format. Normal lenses for the format represented by these sensor sizes range from 55 to 75mm. If you want a wide-angle view, you'll need a shorter lens. With 4x5, a focal length of half the format diagonal (half normal) would be 75mm. For a digital back, it might be 25 or 35mm. The "digital" lenses in that focal range are retrofocus, which means that the tilting pivots also reframe the image somewhat. So, one ends up making quite a lot of adjustments.

Also, the required tilt is much less. If I want the forest floor in the focus plane with a horizontal camera set at three feet of height, and if I'm using a normal lens, the 6-inch lens for a 4x5 camera will need 9.5 degrees of tilt (6 inches in 36 inches, or thereabouts). With a 3-inch lens, it will be half that--4.75 degrees. With a two-inch lens, it will be a little over three degrees. The point is that all your tilt movements will be half of what 4x5 would need for the same effect. These will challenge your dexterity with a non-geared camera like a Sinar F2.

I use my F/F2 with roll film--sometimes as small as 6x9 but usually 6x12. Getting focus right with a 47mm Super Angulon is extremely fiddly. It works and can be done, but it will put you to the test. I would not want to use a shorter lenses by any means. 6x12 is vast acreage compared to all digital solutions except the Betterlight scanning backs.

Better to get a fixed-body camera with tilt and shift controls, or a bellows view camera specifically designed for medium-format/digital work.

I think I could be talked into a Betterlight back for some subjects, but it's still limited by being a scanning back. I'm waiting for the Holy Grail--a cheap full 4x5 digital back.

Rick "not holding his breath" Denney

[Adamphotoman]

Jimmy,
I use a Betterlight Super6K USB2 HS on a wide range of cameras. Sinar Norma, 4X5 Globuscope, MP4 Copy Camera; Mike Collette, the engineer behind the Dicomed and the Betterlight is winding down building new scanning backs. He will still service them for quite some time but there are only a few Super 6 K's and a hand full of super 8 K's left. You will be able occasionally find the backs 2nd hand. These units will test both your skills and your lenses. The Super 6 is twice as light sensitive as the Super 8 and would be preferable in the field. If you are using either in the studio you will need a continuous light source such as the Northlight 900's with Ceramic Discharge lamps. Alzo 2000 units are also available but you will need a stable power source. Brownouts will cause colour shifts and lines.
I am getting wonderful results..., both in the field and in the studio.
The MF digital backs will also test your skill and your gear. Because the relatively small sensors require more resolution from lenses you will need digital lenses optimized for the smaller pixel sizes. The 80 megapixel backs much more expensive.
So it comes down to what you shoot and how you shoot.
Grant