Sinar F1 shift/swing

[Jason Rosinski]

Hi everyone, I'm yet another beginner trying out LF photograpy. I just picked up a used F1 yesterday and was able to figure out how to focus, tilt, rise/fall, and the levers for removing lens boards and backs.

However, I could not figure out how to swing or horizontally shift the standards. The little information I could find on the web mentioned a lever that locks down both swing and tilt on the F1 standards. I assume this is the lever in front of the horizontal semi-circular dial. I tried pushing it side to side but it wasn't moving. Rather than risk breaking my new-to-me camera, I thought someone here may know if I'm looking at the correct part and which way to move it. I'd hate to break it on the first day :D .

Since this is my first post here, I should give a quick intro. I've been reading this site for a few years, I've wanted to try LF photography for awhile. I just recently found a local deal on an F1 and an Omega D6 enlarger, so I jumped at the chance. I'm in Ottawa and will probably be found puttering around the more scenic architecture in the near future. :)

Now to get a tripod and head...

Jason Rosinski

[Jan_6568]

Jason,
this is the knob. Also in my F2 it is sometimes hard to move.
Jan

[Jerry Flynn]

Jason,

You have the right lever. I don't have the camera in front of me, but my muscle memory tells me that for the back, you would push the lever all the way to the right. For the front (facing the camera) you would push it all the way to the left.

The previous user may have really tightend the levers down. They should be tight, but not so tight that they will not move.

I assume your camera was correctly identified as an f1. The f2 has a separate lock for the shift - a lever that protrudes from the front or back near the tilt lock. The swing is locked by the lever you described.

[Jason Rosinski]

Great, thanks to both of you. I'll take another look at it tonight, and try pushing the one on the back to the right to see if it loosens. I'm pretty sure it's an F1, the front standard doesn't have fine focussing.

There was another thing I couldn't identify, but I hadn't looked closely at it yet. There is some sort of arm sticking out from the lower left of the back, it seems to be some sort of screw arm. It turned anyways, but I didn't unscrew it completely. Maybe 2-3 inches long. Any idea what that is?

[DBeeson]

I got my F1 this week (first large format!) and was just going to ask the same question about those screw arms! On mine the left/right shift is just really tight, but it loosens up once you get it going.

[Jerry Flynn]

The arm you refer to is the socket into which you would screw a cable for for the Auto Aperture shutter. With the cable istalled, the shutter automatically closes when you insert a film holder. (If you look in the corner of the format frame in front of the groundglass, you will see a little post sticking up that gets pushed into the corner by the film holder thereby activating the cable.)

[Jason Rosinski]

Thanks Jerry. So if I'm not using an auto aperature shutter, then whatever is screwed into there is either non-functional or not needed? Maybe it's there for light tightness though, I'll have to take a closer look at it. But at least I now know what it's for.

[Jason Rosinski]

DBeeson, after taking another look I think it's for sticking in a hex rod and clamping it in. I think it's for accessories.

[Bjorn Nilsson]

After taking a look at my F2, the lever under the center is pulled to the right if you're behind the camera. (That goes for both the front and the back, i.e. they are pulled to the right if you are behind the camera.) On the F and the F1, that lever locks both the shift and the swing. The (base) tilt is controlled by the lever on the right bottom side.
Jason is also correct about the hex rod attachment. That is for fitting shades, filters etc.
I don't know if you have yet noticed the two scales on either side of the base block. The scales are rather loose and can be zeroed in. The one on the right is for choosing the correct aperture. (First focus on farthest object you want in focus, zero the scale and then focus on the nearest object. Read the scale and set the aperture on the lens(e.g. f/22 1/3). Then turn the scale halfway back, which is exactly 2 f/stops. i.e. in this example f/11 1/3. You have set the focus plane exactly where it should be for an optimum Depth of Field.)
There is also a turning wheel on the left side of the block which helps you to set the tilt/swing. That is also simple to use, but is also something which I've already written an article about some years ago. It's on http://binoni.nu/SinarF/TiltnSwingSinarF.htm. For now please disregard the last 3-4 paragraphs of that article, which you can digest later on.
Last, congratulations on your purchase. The Sinars are very easy to work with, and these scales etc. makes it simple to get repeatable results.

//Björn

[Jason Rosinski]

Thanks Bjorn. I found out that on my standards the lever for shift and swing actually loosens to the left. I just wanted to make a note of that here in case someone else is looking for this in the future.

If I may ask, what is the most common solution for B&W filters for LF? Do most people use screw-in's, or are square filters in front of the lens more common? I've been thinking about it and I'm leaning towards the square filters.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Depends on the lens, but on a Sinar, 100mm (4") square filters are easy to do with the Sinar filter holder and shade. The filter holder goes on an octagonal rod that attaches to the front standard and swings 180-degrees so you can move it out of the way easily, and so you can rotate a polarizer to the correct position while it is away from the lens, swing it in front of the lens, and it will be oriented correctly. Then there are clips that also attach to the rod and any Sinar 4x5" bellows, which becomes a compendium shade.

[Jerry Flynn]

Now I get what you were asking - the thumb screws on the sides of both the front and rear are to tighten down the hex filter/accessory holder rods. There should not be any question of light tightness since they are exterior to the film plane. The filter rods hold the swing-out filter holders that David mentioned. I have always used 4X4 Kodak Wratten gels.

The filter rods also hold the clips that hold a bellows in place in front of the lens as a bellows shade. There is also a swiveling, extendable rod for the bellows shade so you can swing/tilt the shade as needed.

[Jason Rosinski]

Hmm, I found one image online of the swing out filter holder and it appeared to only take circular filters. Is there more than one type of swing out filter holder David? Or does it take both circular and square filters?

Would using a compendium shade be preferable to, for instance, a Lee filter setup with a hood? Since I'm just getting into LF, I'm trying to plan a little flexibly should I decide to move to a field camera. Also, I have found a listing or two for the Sinar swivelling extensible rod, and the prices were... disturbing.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Hmmm...Mine has a holder for square filters, but looking at it more closely, I realize that it has been modified using a non-Sinar square filter holder. On the other hand, I've seen listings for the gel filter holder, and Sinar sells 100mm square gels. There is one listed on www.glennview.com.

[Jerry Flynn]

The swing out filter holder is round, but a square adapter (I think supplied by Sinar because it used to show in their catalogs) fits in and is held in place by the retaining ring on the round holder. You see both versions come up from time to time on Ebay.

[Jerry Flynn]

As to the compendium hood, Sinar did sell the Lee filter holder and tubes as their solution as well, so either would work. The compendium hood is more cumbersome, but potentially more flexible. The joint rod can be expensive, but Ebay prices have been coming down recently. They used to sell for over $100, but I've seen them for about $50 I think. Still a lot to pay for what they are, but they do work and this is the world of Sinar precision Swiss craftsmanship after all. (Sarcasm intended.)

[Jason Rosinski]

Thanks for the info Jerry. I think I'm going to go for the Lee combo. Though I'm sure it may not a candle to the precise Swiss engineering <G>, the ease of acquiring the necessary pieces will offset the burden.

In the meantime I need to get out there and take some photos. I'll just need to live with light coloured skies for now until I get my hands on a filter system. I'm sure tray developing the first couple negatives will be challenge enough for now.