Given some equipment I’ve recently obtained, I’ve had the occasion to match a Sinar F, 4x5 rear standard with a Sinar Norma front standard. The resulting camera is interesting enough, that I thought I would begin a thread.
The rear standard did not include a film back, so I added a Norma film back that I had on hand.
Here are some of the advantages that I see in this camera.
> It melds some of the best features of both cameras. For example, it has the fine machining and precision focusing of the front Norma standard, and the depth of field capabilities of the rear, Sinar F standard. I installed an F ground glass in the Norma film back to retain its ability to predict DOF for swing and tilt.
> I have never cared for the long clamp of the Sinar cameras, given its susceptibility to tuning fork vibration. This hybrid “Norma-F” camera operates just fine with the Norma’s short clamp.
> At 46mm with a flat lensboard, the minimum extension on this camera is shorter than that of the F, the Norma, or of many other cameras. (See photos.) Compare this with 56mm for an all Norma camera, or 60mm for a Sinar F, F1, or F2. With a recessed lensboard, the minimum extension drops 30mm (according to B&H specs) to about 16mm! (Note that this could be limited somewhat by the bag bellows used.) There isn’t any wide view camera film nor MF digital lens with which this camera couldn’t easily be used.
> As a personal preference, I like being able to set the front standard to a given height, and then fine-tune the needed rise using the posts of the F’s rear standard.
> This camera packs better than Norma camera, and at least as well as a Sinar F. (See photo.) In backpacking this camera, I would probably leave the clamp on the tripod head. Still, the Norma clamp is small enough to fit inside the Sinar standard bellows as shown in a photo.
A few additional comments:
F rear standards do not have a locking focus, which I don’t see as a problem. But if one comes along at a reasonable price, I may replace this rear standard with that of an F2, which do have focus mechanisms that lock. Note that some Norma front standards do not have locking focus mechanisms.
This camera doesn’t have the rise of either an F or a Norma 4x5. But at 2.25”, it’s sufficient for the large majority of cases. However, extensions to Norma posts are available that would give this camera virtually unlimited rise.
As I understand it, one problem with Sinar F 8x10 systems, is that rise is limited, even when combined with F series front standards that have extended posts. Combining an F 8x10 rear standard with a Norma front standard equipped with the above described extensions would solve that problem.
I can’t see any advantage matching a Norma rear standard with an F series front standard. I also don't see the short, Norma clamp working well with F series rear standards that have extended posts.
Sinar F and Sinar Norma 4x5’s are nice cameras. But, I think I prefer this hybrid camera to either of the other two.
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