Arca Swiss 4x5 Field

[Bob McCarthy]

I think the only thing I could offer is: don't equate the cost of the camera with the quality of the taken photography. There is no connection. I've owned 2 late model Linhofs and the resulting photos don't look one wit better than the used Sinar F I bought on the cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love photo "jewelry" too. I've bought my share along the way. Im assuming value is more important at this point.

You do know how to fold the optical bench to nest between the standards don't you. I carry a Sinar F, 2 lenses, 5 holders. spot meter in a shoulder bag w/o any issue. It could be easily strapped at the top of a frame pack with room for tent, bag , etc..

bob

[KyledeC]

Hey Bob, Ya I have tried that. I just have not figured out a good way to secure the camera once its in my shoulder bag. How do you do it?

[Bob McCarthy]

Hey Bob, Ya I have tried that. I just have not figured out a good way to secure the camera once its in my shoulder bag. How do you do it?

I have an old kelty frame that i removed the bag from. Bottom is tent, just above is a small duffle with Bag and some rain clothes. Thats about 1/2 the frame. My Lowe Reporter stacks on top held in with straps. Camera goes in center pocket of bag with rail extending across all three pockets. The cover easily covers all the equipment.

Need a photo? Let me know.

Next trip Colorado in Oct, if all works out at work.

This is for reasonable overnight w/o need of hot meals. Day trips are with shoulder bags only.

bob

[Bob McCarthy]

The reason used Sinar cameras are so cheap, is they were too successful. They won the view camera wars and were the dominate brand used by many if not most professionals studios. Arca was relatively rare.

So when digital took over, there was a flood of good used equipment on the market. A flood that still exists today as the market for view cameras shrank along the way.

It's only the scarcity of arca that gives it a leg up pricewise. Both cameras are equally excellent, maybe with a slightly different emphasis.

Who in there right mind would buy a "new" monorail today unless they wanted photo jewelry.

Bob

[Darren H]

Thank you all for your generous help! I do mean backpacking for days on end :/ . ........
and for reference I just found a used Arca Field w/ bellows, extension rail and lens board for $2200. Now $2200 is not something that I can afford all at once, I would have to save and sell the Sinar. But do you guys think the cost of owning two cameras would be equal to owning one Arca?

Thank you all again for your helpful thoughts! I very much appreciate it

$2200 is still a lot of coin in my book regardless of working or student. The Arca-Swiss is nice but as others have stated other cameras are nice and more than capable. I think if you got a Tachihara or Shen Hao it comes in with a couple of lens boards at under $800. Then spend the rest of your money on film and go backpack.

Badger Graphic has a Shen-Hao PTB that is a copy of the Chamonix 45n1 for $650 new. It weighs 3 lbs. That could be all you need because for a field camera I do not think you need many if any accessories. Maybe 1-2 lens boards or if you like very wide angles a bag bellows (the Chamonix fits the Shen-Hao). That gives you a very featured camera that is super light and very easy to pack.

If you want to think about an Arca-Swiss that Discovery on eBay would be a decent buy. Then you can say you use an Arca. Then sell your Sinar and take that cash to get a folding rail. Then look at getting an adapter to a smaller lens board when you have more cash. Until then just use one lens. You will have a have a great Arca setup.

But I think you may find that while it can be backpacked-its still bulky. The setup Bob carries can work but I have to think putting a small folded up She-Hao into a regular backpack sounds alot lighter and easier. If I backpack I limit myself to one night in the backcountry as all that camera gears is bulky. I skip the tent and take a bivy sack and skip the stove and eat cold food. It works but I gotta tell you I think about a 3lb lightweight box as what I would want to backpack with rather than a rail camera. I know others do it but frankly I have carried 70 lb loads of climbing gear on trips so now that it is photography gear I'd sure like it to be 45 lbs.

Even Arca guru Jack Dykinga used a wodden field camera to backpack with accrording to his book on LF Landscape Photography (which is a great book!)

[Mark Carstens]

Now a used Discovery, lensboard adapter, folding rail and a bag bellows will set you back $1500-1800 depending on what you can find used, but that is a significant savings over an F-Field.
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Or, at that price point, you might consider this Arca F-Line Metric offered on the FS forum...
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=65175

FWIW, I've owned a Discovery and I have been using an Arca 8x10 Model C (older version) for some time... I also own a Sinar 5x7. Clearly, as has already been established, there are trade-offs between economy and user-friendliness (just made up a word ) when comparing Arca to Sinar. Also, if you do your homework and due diligence, then buying a used Arca from a reliable seller would likely cut your costs significantly.

In the end, it depends on your priorities (and biases) with respect to how you work in the field. I've attached a couple of images showing how I pack the Arca 8x10 on a 15cm (~6 inch) rail. It's a snap. I'm still working on how to pack the Sinar into the field with similar efficiency...and that's a work in progress that my buddy Bob will eventually help me figure out (shh... don't tell him...I want it to be a surprise.)

Hope that doesn't muddy the waters.

~Mark

[Bob McCarthy]

Mark,

Hope your summer is productive.

Carrying an 8x10 monorail on your back is above and beyond. I believe in wheels. With wheels, there is no weight issue. I suppose one can take an anvil into the field with wheels. My featherlight setup is a softside wheeled cooler lined with fleese-cloth covered 2 inch memory foam. Unlike most wheeled setups, this one is very light and easy to lift in and out of a vehicle. But the small wheels limits me to sidewalks, hard surface paths.

But I can get the 8x10 P into lots of places.

I still am working out something more HD for serious backcountry. Something that works with Sinar boards/shutter for barrel lenses.

bob

[Rick Russell]

I have what for me is the best of all world's in terms of camera. I will be taking it to the Eastern Sierra next week to backpack, with most of my time either at destinations in which the trailhead starts at above 10,000 feet or above 8000 feet but hiking 6-8 miles to my destination. My Ebony SV45U2 weighs more than the lightest wooden field cameras, but it has all the movements I need and is able to focus my 75mm and 450mm lenses. I will place it in my full pack next week and hit the trail, knowing that it will allow me to accomplish everything I might need. The downside of my camera is its weight, which could be up to 3 lbs. more than the lightest wooden field camera.

YMMV

Rick Russell
richardrussell-1@ca.rr.com

[KyledeC]

Ya I guess for now a field camera would be the best way to go. I am definitely gonna look into the Shen Hao! Thank you everybody for your help And Bob I would love to see a picture of how you pack that camera! Because being able to do that would be very helpful while I am still looking for a field. Thank you all again!

[Bob McCarthy]

Give me a few days and I'll gladly post it.

bob