Hello everyone,
I recently acquired a Sinar F2 and I'm wondering how big of an improvement with regards to overall operation the acquisition of a Fresnel screen and a metering back would be?
And if none of those are, are there any other accessories for the F2 I should try and get a hold of?
I wasn't really able to find much about it online, hence I'm reaching out asking for your advice.
Looking forward hearing from you.
Welcome!Originally Posted by celtic9
LF photographers have done without fresnels and metering backs for over 100 years. You can, too.
The only thing I would suggest is to find a ground-glass magnifier (loupe) that works for you.
While neither is a necessity, the fresnel screen makes focusing easier; the three view cameras I've owned each came with a fresnel screen, including my first Sinar F. In contrast (bad pun!), the metering back is a luxury (and probably most useful for studio catalog photographers shooting a lot of table-top set-ups). I think the majority of us use regular spot meters and are happy with them. The only accessory I used on my Sinar F was a bag bellows, and you only need one of those if you use wide angle lenses often and discover that you aren't able to get the movements you need with the regular pleated bellows.
In my modest experience, studio catalog photographers rarely use a light meter. They know their lighting setup.
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Fresnels even out the brightness of the ground glass. They work best with wide angle lenses, as long lenses don't exhibit as much of a hot spot as wide angle lenses do. Some Fresnels are fairly coarse, and that can interfere with fine focus. That's why Sinar's Fresnel is easily removable. You compose with the Fresnel in place, and then you remove it to determine focus. What lenses will you be using?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Call me a nut-case, but I use a frame-finder for LF. I know the DOF without looking. I KNOW what is happening when I use three or five degrees of back tilt, and I rarely use the ground glass. (Linhof Super Technika 4x5).
Perhaps more should try it.
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I would get an additional front standard and bellows as well as some extension rails. Put the standard and bellows in front of the lens, now it's a lens shade. If you ever get longer lenses or try macro you can use the standard and bellows to extend the camera. I have a metering back. I'm faster with a handheld spot meter. The metering back is handy when using long bellows extensions or when using filters. I have an instruction manual, I'll scan it for you unless someone else pipes up with a pdf already created.
Buying accessories for a new camera may better be delayed until a definite need arises. It can be tempting to buy some gadget that looks handy, but has little advantage over basic equipment properly used. Experience is more valuable than modest improvements in gear.
A Fresnel will make a major improvement for focusing and viewing. A metering back is not as important as there are other methods of metering that are equally as effective.
Back again, because you are getting a certain amount of contradictory, or at least dissimilar, advice. I owned a Sinar F for a lot of years, so I will relate my personal experience. The only accessories I used were the fresnel (which it came with, and which I left on all the time), two rails (a 6" and a 12", the 6" was primarily for folding the Sinar for transportation), a bag bellows, and a Sinar-Wista adaptor lens board (since ultimately I had my lenses mounted on Wista boards for my ZoneVI/Wista field camera, and with the adaptor board could swap easily between the two cameras.) I never used a focus loupe (after close to 40 years of large format use, one is still on my list of things to buy "some day"). I made quite a few close-ups using the two rails and a 210mm lens, but never needed an extra format frame or bellows. A friend actually gave me a metering back when his lab closed down, but I never used it, I have always stuck with my Pentax Digital ZoneVI-modified spot meter. I agree with the advice posted by Jim Jones: buy an accessory when the need arises, actual experience is your best guide.
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