Compatibility of Sinar Auto-Aperture shutters

[Jeff Dyck]

I do not own a Sinar camera, but there seem to be many Sinar Auto-Aperture / behind-the-lens type shutters showing up on eBay lately at reasonable prices. I currently have a few large format / ULF cameras that I have all standardized to use Sinar lensboards and I am interested in using one of these Sinar shutters in place of the traditional Packard shutter for shooting with barrel mounted lenses.

The question: Can the Sinar behind-the-lens automatic shutters be used with any camera (assuming you can attach them to the front standard) or are there other parts on a Sinar camera that make them Sinar-only compatible? Do these shutters simply mount in place the same as a lensboard or are they attached to a Sinar camera's front standard in another fashion?

Many thanks in advance.

[Armin Seeholzer]

HI Jeff

The sutter is mounted on the backside of the front standart and it is the similar attachment method but the shutter is much thicker then a lensboard.
What you really need is the special cablerelaease from Sinar for the shutter!

[Pete Roody]

Jeff,

You can mount it to cameras other than Sinar if the front standard is large enough. The shutter mounts to the same frame as a sinar lensboard but you can't connect your lensboard directly to the shutter. You will need to do some machine work to adapt the shutter to the lensboard and camera. I would not recommend it.

The following link shows an example.


http://homepage2.nifty.com/akiyanroom/redbook-e/collection/moriya.html (http://homepage2.nifty.com/akiyanroom/redbook-e/collection/moriya.html)

[Jeff Dyck]

Thanks Peter,

The link you posted shows just what I am thinking of doing.

I want to get some clarification on "you can't connect your lensboard directly to the shutter" --> Do you mean that I can't connect ANY lensboard without modifications or that I can't connect non-Sinar boards without modifications? The images in your link appear to show the shutter mounted to the front of the camera (with some kind of Deardorff to Sinar lensboard adapter presumably) and the shutter mechanism seems to have the hardware on it to accept the (Sinar?) lensboard shown - what modifications had to be done to achieve this then? If I have already adapted the front standard to accept Sinar lensboards (which I have), is there anything else that must be done?

Thanks again.

[Pete Roody]

Do you mean that I can't connect ANY lensboard without modifications or that I can't connect non-Sinar boards without modifications?

Jeff,

You can attach the shutter to anything that excepts a sinar lensboard. For instance, I have an ARCA to Sinar conversion board, and I can attach a sinar shutter to that board. I cannot attach another sinar lensboard to this combination. I would have to make an adapter to attach the lensboard to the other side of the shutter. That is what the guy in the link did. He has a deardorff to sinar conversion board attached to the camera. He then mounts the shutter to that board. He then has an adapter board (custom) to attach the lens to the shutter.

[Isaac Crawford]

You can put the shutter on backwards on the front where your lensboards go, but then you won't have enough clearance to put the lenses on the shutter. Ideally you'd put the shutter between the bellows and front standard as it was designed, but you could put it on the front with another spacer. If you buy a shutter, make sure it comes with the right cable release, they're mighty expensive to buy after the fact.

Isaac

[otzi]

The lens is a Copal mounted on a Sinar frame. One can stick anything to anything but not always easily. It's not all beer and skittles though. For every lens there is an (sinar) adapter that spaces the lens forward the required amount to allow for the rear lens spacing and aperature conection lever. (description ?) . How ever barrel lenses should pose less of a problem.

They are heavy, need care and maintainence as they tend to be more exposed than a between then the lens shutter and may limit your short lens spacing. Also as mentioned uses a dedicated release that you would be wise to price before proceeding. Note that they are 1/60 s. limited. They are prone to jam at times, even in professionals hands. That then leaves you shutterless, and unless you wear a hat there endeth the shoot.

Up side ? If you use a sinar it affords the use of a set of shutterless lenses that are considerably cheaper to aquire second hand. There are some that may wish to inform you that by using one shutter rather than as many as you have lenses offers one a constant shutter performance upon lens change. This of course may be of considerable importance to you! Then again only for 90 and up. And the ability to view/adjust your settings from the back of the camera.

[tor kviljo]

Buying a Sinar-copal shutter and then one of the inexpensive (& flimsy) Sinar Norma auxilary standars. Use only the frame part of the aux. standard and lock that one the ordinary way (sliding-locks) on to the front of the DB shutter: now you have a sinar shutter with proper setting for direct mounting of sinar-db lenses to the shutter. Nowadays, sinar shutters may be found quite reasonably, and usually, only one long lens (ex 360 Apo-Ronar or so) need to be bought inexpensively as repro-lens compared to expensive with shutter to pay for the difference. With the longer lenses using 1/125 sek. max. No3 shutters or even slower Compound Nr. 5 you loose no or little with the Sinar-shutter, but gaining a lot on being able to put together a large lens set with little money. Prime importance though: get that cable release with the shutter! - veeery expensive new & rarely found used! If You have not bought any shutter yet - look for the newer DB type as that one can run the newest sinar-mounted lenses (those without aperture-setting on lens/lens panel), as these lenses is the best bargains when they pop up.

Oh, forgot: keep that packard-ideal fitted with universal front-mount adaptor as backup in the bag, and you have no reason to be afraid of the sinar-copal fading out when there is a Badland sunset on the GG.