I've tried/owned most of them. The cambo legend is the sleeper of the market - and you can get them for DIRT these days. Very solid and will last you a long time. Sinars are more pricey still (I'm talking used) but just a little bit better.
Ken, I don't think everything is geared on the Arca you can download the catalogue here http://www.precisioncameraworks.com/...arca_core.html. OTOH, I misspoke about the Horseman LS too, not everything geared. Are you sure you really want everything geared? You pay a large price in camera eight and smooth, tight friction movements, such as those on the Horseman tilt (not geared) work quite well.
Last edited by Ted Harris; 30-Jan-2007 at 19:40.
On the standard F-Line, only front and rear focus are geared. The F Metric model adds front and rear geared rise/fall and left/right shift. The Micrometric Orbix option adds geared front axis tilt.
My current camera started life as an F Line Classic. As the ARCA is a totally modular system, last year I upgraded the front 110mm format frame to a Metric with Micrometric Orbix. This gave me self-arresting geared movements where I wanted them the most - front rise and front axis tilt - and only added two ounces of weight to my camera. Since I only upgraded the front format frame, and not the function carrier, I did not get the geared shift you get with the F Metric models, but that's OK for my needs.
I love being able to observe/loupe the ground glass with one hand while tweaking the front rise and axis tilt with the other. This was a joy I first experienced on my 7x17 Franken-ARCA project camera which has a pre-Monolith M-Line front standard that also has self-arresting geared rise/fall and axis tilt. This is especially handy with the longer lenses I use on this format.
Here's a photo showing the greared front rise and Micrometric Orbix geared axis tilt in action (this is my 4x10 camera, but I use the same rail and front standard in the 4x5 configuration). The knob on the right side (from the operator's point of view) of the front standard controls the geared front rise/fall and the knob on the left controls geared axis tilt.
Kerry
P.S. I'm not trying to imply the ARCA-SWISS system is "affordable" by everyone's standards. It's certianly not inexpensive. However, it is quality gear that will last a lifetime, and the modular nature of the system lets you expand your system and add options/accessories over time to help spread out the cost.
Personally, I'm not one whose usually satisfied with off-the-shelf solutions. I like to have things my way. That's why I originally built my 4x10 camera on an ARCA-SWISS chassis and ended up liking it so much that I turned around and built a 7x17 version. Thanks to the ARCA-SWISS chassis and front standards, both cameras are an absolute joy to use. Since I already owned the basic parts from my 4x5 ARCA-SWISS F-Line camera, the format conversions I cooked up ended up costing FAR less than buying new (or used) dedicated 4x10 or 7x17 cameras. They are rigid, fold up compactly, set up fast and offer the smoothness and preision ARCA-SWISS cameras are famous for - plus self-arresting geared ront rise/fall and axis tilt.
With the 7x17 Franken-ARCA, I spent about $1300 on the conversion (7x17 back made by Richard Ritter, custom bellows made to my specications by Camera Bellows in England, front 171mm bellows frame, pre-Monolith M-Line front format frame off the German eBay, wood for the rear frame box, t-slot aluminum extrusions, brackets and hardware, etc.). This is about 1/2 the cost of what an 80 year old 7x17 Korona or Folmer-Schwing goes for on eBay these days, or less than 1/3 the cost of a new 7x17 Shen-Hao. And, I ended up with a more rigid camera, with a longer bellows extension and self-arresting geared front rise/fall and axis tilt.
So, the ARCA-SWISS gear may not be cheap, but if you spread the cost out over time and especially over multiple formats, it's not so bad. To replace my 4x5/4x10/7x17 ARCA-SWISS system with separate cameras for each format would cost a fortune, and frankly wouldn't provide the same overall level of quality, functionality and usability as I currently get from my ARCA system.
Kerry
Ken, Kerry and others have given you the details. As Kerry said, the real benefit of the Arca Swiss system is that you can add and subtract geared movements almost one-by-one. With, for example, the Sinar system, you choose geared everything or just focus.
If affordable means 'it must be cheap' then Sinar Ps and even more so Toyo Gs are going for stupidly low prices these days. If affordable means it must be a worthwhile investment, the Arcas look very sweet. If you can't make up your mind, Sinars at least are easy enough to rent or borrow. Try one and see if you really nead gearing.
While the Cambo and Sinar geared models are excellent and "stupid cheap", really the only "geared" camera worth considering for long term travel and field work is the Micrometric Orbix on account of its compactness and weight savings. Of course then you remove "cheap" from the equation.
So that old triangle rule of "faster, better, cheaper...pick any two" rings true again.
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