Sinar F1 Lasted 1 Day then Broke!!

[scrichton]

Well I recieved my Sinar F1 on Friday, Mounted the super angulon on it took 4 sheets. Then proceeded to carry the box around, but never found anything else to take a photo of.

Then today my nice £2 dallmeyer f2.9 arrived and the rest of the bits. So cutting a long story short as I removed the F1 from the carry case to test fit the dallmeyer I knocked released the front standard, started pushing it back. Then the rail clamp snapped. What a POS. Swedish engineering comprimised by a very badly designed bit of plastic.

So I am wondering if anyone had ever done a successful repair on one of these or should i start looking for a new standard, or a big bin to throw the camera in :-D


Steven

[David A. Goldfarb]

Overtightening the front standard clamp is a very common issue with the Sinar F and F1. The F2 front clamp is a better design. It's probably cheapest and easiest just to find another front standard second hand. They're quite commonly available used.

[Scott Davis]

Swiss engineering. Try some good 2-part epoxy first as a fix. If that doesn't work, look for a replacement part on ePay.

[Rob_5419]

That's just awful. Never heard of anyone breaking their's on the first day, let alone the first 2 decades of owning one.

Is it the rail clamp (the plastic insert which the standards glide on) or the actual front standard which snapped? If you can't find the replacement part you need, www.mrcad.co.uk stock just about every bit of Sinar kit you might ever need however most likely, there must be some other left-or-right-handed numpty who's snapped the opposite side to you with a spare part to go.

Really sorry to hear this on your maiden voyage with the Sinar ;(

[scrichton]

Ok well 2 part epoxy worked... Although if it doesn't hold I'm going for a bolt through on threaded rod then epoxed and screwed into the body. The Clamp itself holds very little I have found.

My next problem is though... not enough length on my rail for the 8inch Dallmeyer. ARGHHH . It's kinda been one of those days.

So next thing is make a better designed rail clamp and get a rail extension. then a packard. So any packards with a 3 inch + opening going begging let me know :-)

[Rob_5419]

The rail clamp works just fine. Have you seen Christophe's post on the 16x20" rear custom built standard? If it can hold that....

A standard Sinar rail will be useable for a standard lens (150mm - 210mm). Thereafter, you need an extension or two.

Good luck with the Packard. Why not just a Sinar Autoshutter behind the front standard?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Christophe's camera is a Sinar X with P2 standard bearers--much sturdier than the F/F1 front standard bearer.

[Rob_5419]

Yes...I just noticed on reading the re-post.

Although the F/F1 front standard isn't as sturdy as the F2/P series/X, I'm not sure it's as awful as some of the comments portray. I guess a used F/F1 has seen its better decade sof years, and a lot of new folk coming into a secondhand Sinar are expecting (or hoping) that it won't have seen wear and abuse....

[scrichton]

The clamp can be made as lightly and stonger overall by just a fixed replication of the rear standard block at the bottom. Should let me mis-handle it without breaking. Seeing especially as this is a field use camera. ( stupidly I made the assumption that the Sinar brand was a bit more robust than this.)

I would love a sinar autoshutter, but my money has since run out if I am being 100% honest. Since the summer I have gone back to film and this has consisted of a pretty comprehensive Nikon Kit, Full Darkroom/Digital setup with Flash. Then add hasselblad kit and a new bessa R3a kit plus T3's and Kiev's and so on. Plus a MPP field camera. Plus to cap it all off a properly useful scanner. This being said a couple of TV pilots and a full financial consulting database application have been borne of this. (i Like work :-D) Now the drip ends.

So I have a thornton pickard waiting to be paid for on monday when my work pay comes in.

As all can see here an autoshutter is a distict possibility when work re-commences, seeing as photography is just an expensive hobby for me a young pup.

[Rob_5419]

I would love a sinar autoshutter, but my money has since run out if I am being 100% honest. Since the summer I have gone back to film and this has consisted of a pretty comprehensive Nikon Kit, Full Darkroom/Digital setup with Flash. Then add hasselblad kit and a new bessa R3a kit plus T3's and Kiev's and so on. Plus a MPP field camera. Plus to cap it all off a properly useful scanner. This being said a couple of TV pilots and a full financial consulting database application have been borne of this. (i Like work :-D) Now the drip ends.

Wot no Leica?

Autoshutters were running around 3x the price you paid for that Pickard shutter a few months ago. The disadvantage with the Thornton Pickard is that it tends to go as slow as 1/15th only, which I find way too fast. If your lens doesn't fit the pre-drilled aperture mount of the Pickard, then you're kind of sunk. Also, it doesn't mount flush to lensboard without a raised platform due to its rear-protruding dials.

As you have a Sinar (why not an F2 if you were going to use it for the field? It's front standard clamp is on a par with the rear), the autoshutter makes the best of every other barrel lens that you could imagine mounting. .