Why? Cost? For little more than the price of a Sinar F2, you may be able to get two cameras - one for each purpose. Perhaps something like a Crown Graphic and a Graphic View, or perhaps one of the less expensive Toyo/Omega monorails. Lens board adapters are available that will let you share lenses between both cameras without swapping boards.
You have two very different applications in mind; hiking and studio portraits. Other than something like an ARCA-SWISS F-Line, there isn't really any one camera ideally suited to both applications. You need something light and compact for hiking. You already have a Tachihara, which is well suited to that application, but not at all well suited to shooting studio portraits. Why not just keep the Tachihara and buy a good, cheap Toyo/Omega, Cambo or Calumet monorail. These cameras are very inexpensive, and are full system cameras perfectly suited to studio applications. Unfortunately, they are big, bulky, heavy and definitely not ideal for hiking any considersable distance. If you poke around on the KEH web site and prowl eBay, you will see a ton of different 4x5 monorail cameras for less than $200, even several for less than $100.
Why try to force a tool to do something it was never intended to do? Would you use a screwdriver to pound nails? The wrong tool will bog you down and distract you from your image making goals. The camera should be a transparent part of the image making process, not a distracting burden that is ill-suited for the intended application. I highly recommend you keep your Tachihara for hiking and pick up a good, cheap $100 - $200 monorail for your studio work. This will give you the right tool for both jobs.
Kerry
Bookmarks