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Thread: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

  1. #21
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    With the cost of the systems you're talking about, I'd get a Sinar P2. IMO it's a little bit easier to use than the Arca, but both are terrific. (The asymmetric tilts and swings on the Sinar are especially helpful for someone without a lot of view camera experience.) Now use the camera. Evaluate. If you decide that a different camera would be better because of reasons x, y, and z, then you can sell the Sinar for little loss. If, on the other hand, the Sinar works out well for you, which it should, then you've saved a boatload of money.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
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  2. #22

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    Frank- yes, that's exactly why I would like to start with 4 x 5 and expand it to 8 x 10 when I feel comfortable with the system / don't make many stupid mistakes. That's why modularity was one of my priorities- also I won't ALWAYS need 8 x 10 and sometimes portability might be more important than film real estate.
    I'm a bit lost / overwhelmed by arsenal of accessories, peripherals and tiny bits available for Sinar P system. It's mind boggling..and to be honest- confusing. Arca is clean and simple, both design-wise and how the system/lineup of accessories built around it. I had a chance to play with M line 2 digital and it was a joy to use it.
    I think I will have to settle for a Sinar P2, taking into account the cost it's much more sensible solution and I can't argue with that.
    Peter- yes, I agree with everything you pointed out.
    Good suggestions guys, thanks.

  3. #23
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    And you can always run possible purchases by us. A number of us have years of experience using Sinars. And while I don't have a Sinar camera now, I do have a fair amount of accessories.

    But...if you really want Arca, then do it. For architecture you really need to ask yourself if you'd need an M instead of an F. Frankly, for any kind of location work I prefer an F. I borrowed one once for about a year. Using it was a joy. (But so is using a Sinar P) On our M at the studio, it was possible to switch out bellows frames/backs between the M and an F with no problem, including 8x10, 4x5, and 6x9, but the cameras we had were fairly old, as in from the early 1990s. I don't know where you're located, but Rod Klukas, Jeff Taugner at Badger Graphic Sales, and...I'm blanking on the name of the gentleman at Precision Camera Works...all of them are very good Arca resources.

    Btw., Arca has tons of accessories, at least they have them listed in their catalog, but they can be difficult and expensive to track down, and it can take forever to get a rare part from the factory.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  4. #24

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    I think it is funny that he considers a P2 "settling"! It's like settling for an Audi or BMW....

  5. #25

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    You can buy a mint Sinar P2 8x10 for around $1500 in the US these days.

  6. #26
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Petronio View Post
    I think it is funny that he considers a P2 "settling"! It's like settling for an Audi or BMW....
    Absolutely! The Sinar P2 is my favorite camera to use, if I don't have to carry it anywhere. That said, if he thinks he's "settling", then no matter how good the camera, he'll become dissatisfied with it. At this point the issue is entirely about his perceptions and not the actual usability of the camera.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  7. #27

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    Yeah, I would absolutly to have a Sinar P2's, a 4x5 and an 8x10! I certanly wouldnt think of them as settling. Looking at a Sinar Bron catalogue from 2005 it looks like a P2 4x5 ran for $9,181.25, and the P2 8x10 was $13,574.25! Its amazing that these cameras were so much new and you can now find a P2 8x10 for about $1500, but I certianly do not believe this is a reflection on their qualiy at all. I assume there awesome prices on the used market is simply because there are so many out there becaust it seems that Sinar may have been the prefered system by many studios. Im sure Arcas are sweet too (never used one) but I certianly cannot understand the idea of 'settling' on a P2. Im sure I would love to have an Arca, but would prefer to spend less on Sinars and then put the extra money into Rodenstock apo-Sironar-S's.
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  8. #28

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    Could you explain why you think 8 x 10 would be superior to 4 x 5 for architectural photography? It is true that you might get marginally better resolution for the same size print, at least if you are only taking pictures of flat facades. But if the subject has any serious extension in a third dimension, depth of field will become an issue sooner for 8 x 10 than for 4 x 5. Also, your lenses will be more expensive and selection of lenses with reasonable size image circles less.

    I don't make wall size prints, and my budget is limited, so I am happy with 4 x 5 for architectural photography.. I often use my Rodenstock f/4.5 75 mm Grandagon-N, and it is possible to buy other simillar wide angle lenses for 4 x 5. I would be severely limited in what I could do, in urban architecture, without such a lens, because of the difficulty of getting far enough back from a subject building. I assume that there is a 150 mm lens that covers 8 x 10 format which allows some movement, but, if,so, I haven't been able to find an example.

  9. #29

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    Take it from me... If you really want to print as huge as you say you do (assuming color? Optical or scan?), I would start first figuring out the logistics of that for the area you live in. Price it out. See if can actually get a print like that done and mounted the way you want. Traditional framing beyond a certain size becomes a really expensive proposition, and a logistical nightmare for moving it around. Face mounted stuff has a certain look and I am not sure the benefits of 8x10 are so apparent once you put a piece of thick plexiglas in front of a print.

    The absolute best architecture large prints I have seen were done with 4x5 and stitched. Obviously that is not an option if you are doing a lot of long exposure city scape night shots like I was doing.

  10. #30

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    Re: 8 x 10" camera for architecture photography

    Quote Originally Posted by John NYC View Post
    Take it from me... If you really want to print as huge as you say you do (assuming color? Optical or scan?), I would start first figuring out the logistics of that for the area you live in. Price it out. See if can actually get a print like that done and mounted the way you want. Traditional framing beyond a certain size becomes a really expensive proposition, and a logistical nightmare for moving it around. Face mounted stuff has a certain look and I am not sure the benefits of 8x10 are so apparent once you put a piece of thick plexiglas in front of a print.

    The absolute best architecture large prints I have seen were done with 4x5 and stitched. Obviously that is not an option if you are doing a lot of long exposure city scape night shots like I was doing.
    Stitching of course gives you the advantage of a larger format without the problems. I've used stitching to encompass a long facade of a building which was going to be torn down. I couldn't get any further back than across a city street, and I needed to stitch two images made with my 75 mm lens. The two images were pointed to opposite sides and I used some swing in each case to focus on the facade. Of course, I am sure I could have gotten higher resolution if I had had a sufficiently short focal length lens. But I don't think such a lens exists either for 4 x 5 or for 8 x 10.
    Last edited by Leonard Evens; 3-Nov-2012 at 16:40.

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