Arca Swiss 4x5 Field

[KyledeC]

Hello

So I am interested in buying an Arca Swiss Field. Currently I am photographing with a Sinar F. I like the Sinar, but it is very difficult to do any extensive traveling with it by foot. I have seen and played around with the Arca, and I really love the way the camera feels and operates. And I especially love how the camera folds down like a field camera but has the movements and controls of a view camera. So I am wondering if there is anything about Arca that I should be aware of that may deter me from spending such a large amount of money to buy one. Also on average how costly are the parts and accessories for the Arca, things like lens boards and bellows.

Thank you greatly

[SW Rick]

Sent you a PM

[memorris]

I have an Arca Field and pack it frequently as well as using it in the studio. It is light weight and very useable. Sometimes I wish more of the movements were geared but there is a weight penalty to pay for that. Given the option again I would buy another Arca field.

[Darren H]

Arca-Swiss is a great brand. The F-Field may be the best field monorail there is. About as compact as one can get with a monorail. But it is still bigger than a field camera. I have the Arca-Swiss Discovery. It has the 171mm standards (both are) and not the smaller front standard like the field. I swapped out to a folding rail like the F-Field has and the 110 boards via the adapter giving me a camera similar is size and bulk to what you are looking at. I can pack it. Here it is in a LowePro Photo Trekker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50965440@N08/4805402470/

Remember though that an Arca is bulkier than a folding field camera because of the rail and with some of the newer fields like the Chamonix it is heavier too. However if you can handle the bulk it is an outstanding unit in the field.

The accessories are pricier. Note many special items are preorder and wait. They are of the finest quality.

BTW- simce you live in Arizona you can check with Photomark in Phoenix as they are one of the few dealers of Arca-Swiss.

You can see images of it in the field on my blog linked below.

You have picked a winner!

Good luck!

[KyledeC]

Thank you Darren! I really appreciate your advice and help. I do know of photomark. Rod Klukas the large format specialist actually is the one who turned me on to the Arca. And he is the one who would be selling me the camera. You provided me with some great insight, so thank you!

-Kyle

[Robert Fisher]

Kyle, your Sinar F is at least as good and probably superior to the light weight, flimsy and over priced Arcas. If your goal is to produce images, why not: (1) keep your Sinar; (2) buy additional quality glass; (3) buy an 810 Sinar for big negs/positives, and; (4) buy a quality Chamonix 57 or 58 for a light weight solution.

BTW, I have owned new 45 & 810 Orbix Arcas. IMO they are great $800 to $1,200 camera bodies but obviously grossly inferior to Sinar P/P2's.

Best of luck!

[Rust Never Sleeps]

I have a AS 45 Field [141] and good God I could not imagine using another camera. The thing is a absolute joy to use. From wide [47-90] to long [300+] the thing handles them all with ease. Has a expensive but very well thought out and well built lens hood that is fast and easy to use. Not too heavy and small for a fully featured monorail. Packs a little bulky with dead space but that is easily filled with stuff [filters, meters, dust rockets, loupes, etc]. I have never had problems with the screen and far as focusing and brightness is concerned. Millimeter markings on the rail are very useful. Focusing and movements are smooth. Level bubbles are very useful and it is very easy and fast to level the camera, and also to use indirect rise or fall. Back rise is nice and I use it a lot more than I thought i would.

If you get the camera I would get the geared axis tilt [orbix, I think it is called]. Very very useful. In Jack Dykinga's Large Format book he says he uses back tilt more often than front, but while I like the distortion of back tilt on some shots, I don't on others. On those I quickly focus using front axis tilt. Usually focus on infinity and tilt for the foreground and see what happens depending on the plane of the crap in front of me and then go from there.

Along with the AS, I was considering a Ebony 45S or 45SU, great cameras but I am glad I went with the 4x5 Field. It feels very good to have a camera that gets out of the way and just lets you focus on shooting.

Got the thing from Rod at Photomark before the price increase because of the crappy value of the almighty US dollar a few years ago. Good Luck.

[Rust Never Sleeps]

Kyle, your Sinar F is at least as good and probably superior to the light weight, flimsy and over priced Arcas. If your goal is to produce images, why not: (1) keep your Sinar; (2) buy additional quality glass; (3) buy an 810 Sinar for big negs/positives, and; (4) buy a quality Chamonix 57 or 58 for a light weight solution.

BTW, I have owned new 45 & 810 Orbix Arcas. IMO they are great $800 to $1,200 camera bodies but obviously grossly inferior to Sinar P/P2's.

Best of luck!

Ha, good luck with a back surgery every couple of years hauling a Sinar around. Wonderful studio or on location cameras but to hike or backpack with the thing is a joke and you might as well pack cast iron pans with you too.

The Chamonix cameras look nice but a picky person could find faults with them too or any camera for that matter. Didn't they have a focusing issue??

I agree the prices are a little steep on the Arca-Swiss cameras and accessories but in my opinion are worth it. Hell, if you want overpriced look at Linhof or better yet the joke that is Hasselblad. Also some price increases are due to the weak US dollar compared to the euro. I haven't check the rates in a while though.

Hey KyledeC, since you are lucky to have a A-S dealer near by and you can see and toy around with the camera in person, if you like what you see and feel the price is fair get one or if you don't like it then don't buy one and look elsewhere. Also see if Rod has any demos that he will let you try out if the field.

[Richard M. Coda]

I do know of photomark. Rod Klukas the large format specialist actually is the one who turned me on to the Arca. And he is the one who would be selling me the camera.

Where have I heard this before? Oh, wait... it happened to me... three times!

Rod's a great guy.

Good luck and I know you will enjoy your Arca!

[Frank Petronio]

Ditto to what Robert Fisher said. I can appreciate the Arca having owned them too, but the cost-quality-weight equation makes them the sort of item better acquired by wealthy hobbyists, the kind of people who collect titanium bicycles and obscure cars.

The weight and bulk of a Sinar is only a bit more and you can actually find parts and accessories. For the cost of an entry level 4x5 Arca F, you can get a complete mint 8x10 and 4x5 Sinar outfit.

They are nice cameras but they aren't that much nicer.