Carrying a Sinar F on a tripod: how to keep it from flopping around?

[jonbrisbincreative]

I'm afraid to tighten the rail clamp on my Sinar F too much for fear of breaking the plastic collar but I can't seem to get it tight enough to carry on the tripod, over my shoulder, without the camera dropping to one side.

What's the best way to carry this camera on the tripod? Should I turn it 90 degrees to start with because that seems to be where it wants to go on its own? That's not a bad thing, actually, because it rests against my back that way and I feel more secure about it. It looks pretty weird, though, and sometimes its a little awkward to straighten it back up because it's hard to open the tripod with the camera at 90 degrees to the rail.

I also seem to have problems with my Bogen 3050 tripod. When I take the 3047 head off to make the whole setup shorter and less top-heavy, the rail clamp doesn't fit down level on the round plate on the center column. It's like it's just a shade too small and when I screw it down, the plate fits inside the recess of the clamp and rests unevenly. This doesn't happen on my 3205 tripod legs. On that tripod it sets perfectly level. But the 3050 is just ever so slightly a different size I guess and won't sit flat.

I suppose the answer is to just get a Sinar pan/tilt head? I've been looking around and they aren't cheap. About as much as I paid for the whole camera setup, to be honest.

[fishbulb]

I'm afraid to tighten the rail clamp on my Sinar F too much for fear of breaking the plastic collar but I can't seem to get it tight enough to carry on the tripod, over my shoulder, without the camera dropping to one side.

If your main rail clamp isn't tight enough there are a couple of solutions.

* Tighten the main rail clamp tighter - the one that connects to the tripod or head. You are unlikely to break it unless you really overdo it. The part that breaks easily when overtightened is the front standard rail clamp, not the main rail clamp. When my camera flops around it's because I have the ballhead too loose not because I have the rail clamps too loose.

* Get a P2-style rail clamp, or a geared rail clamp. Be prepared to pay at least a few hundred bucks for these. The P2-style clamp wraps all the way around the main rail. The geared clamp does too, and is even heavier.

What's the best way to carry this camera on the tripod? Should I turn it 90 degrees to start with because that seems to be where it wants to go on its own? That's not a bad thing, actually, because it rests against my back that way and I feel more secure about it. It looks pretty weird, though, and sometimes its a little awkward to straighten it back up because it's hard to open the tripod with the camera at 90 degrees to the rail.

I carry my Sinar F over my shoulder, usually with it at about a 45 degree angle, over my back with the dark cloth between my shoulder and the camera to pad it. However, it flops over easily because of the ball head, not the rail clamp. I almost never loosen the rail clamp, really.

I also seem to have problems with my Bogen 3050 tripod. When I take the 3047 head off to make the whole setup shorter and less top-heavy, the rail clamp doesn't fit down level on the round plate on the center column. It's like it's just a shade too small and when I screw it down, the plate fits inside the recess of the clamp and rests unevenly. This doesn't happen on my 3205 tripod legs. On that tripod it sets perfectly level. But the 3050 is just ever so slightly a different size I guess and won't sit flat.

Common issue with Sinars - the footprint of the tripod attachment at the bottom of the rail clamp is pretty large. I use the Acratech Large Leveling Base, which has the same diameter on top as the bottom of the Sinar (about 74mm) and has the right bolt size. The bottom of this product is smaller in diameter and matches up with most tripod top plates (60mm). You'll want to measure your tripod top plate diameter and figure out what works for you. But it is a really great product for working with Sinars.

Or just use your tripod head. Unless your tripod has a leveling center column that can rotate (in a ball joint, like this) you will be pretty frustrated working with the camera straight on the tripod. Or at least, I certainly was.

I suppose the answer is to just get a Sinar pan/tilt head? I've been looking around and they aren't cheap. About as much as I paid for the whole camera setup, to be honest.

The Sinar Pan Tilt head is about the same diameter top and bottom, so it will overlap on most tripods, like so, unless it's a large-format tripod with a 75mm or large top plate. Although the overlap is not a bad thing really.

It's a good tripod head, very stable and compact, but really probably overkill for a Sinar F, which is pretty lightweight. If you have an 8x10 or a Sinar P though, it might be worth it.

There are a lot of other cheaper heads too. Similar pan-tilt heads are out there. You just have to know what the measurements are of your tripod top plate, and camera bottom plate, and get something that fits.

[Drew Wiley]

There is a simple answer. It's called the Rail Clamp II. The clamping element wraps completely around the rail, so holds it in position tighter. But it also is rarer and costs more. Or much more affordably, you could simply get an old-style pass-thru (rather than drop-in) Sinar Norma rail clamp.

[neil poulsen]

. . . I carry my Sinar F over my shoulder, usually with it at about a 45 degree angle, over my back with the dark cloth between my shoulder and the camera to pad it. However, it flops over easily because of the ball head, not the rail clamp. I almost never loosen the rail clamp, really. . .

I have a friend who does exactly this (w/out the darkcloth) with his F or F1 all day long, and he's never had a problem.

[Drew Wiley]

Ballheads spoil the whole formula, and are utterly redundant anyway if you have the Sinar clamp. And believe me, I've been a lot of places where I damn near
peed my pants with a Sinar, like barely having enough room on some little rock ledge to set up the camera at all, while trying to set the shutter leaning over
hundreds of feet of nothing but air.

[Louis Pacilla]

I would not use my Sinar cameras w/ any other head then the Sinar tilt/pan head as it's a dream to use in junction w/ the side to side movement of the Sinar type1 or 2 tripod mounting block.
That's just one mans opinion.

BTW- You can give the tightening knob on the mounting block a good crank to keep even weighty camera from twisting side to side. If Sinar thought the plastic/resin they chose to use for the rail bushing could easily be damaged I doubt they would have put such an OVER SIZED tightening knob on the mounting block.

BTW 2- This does not mean to simply crank it down as tight as you can all the time. Only when the pressure used is not enough for the weight of camera/lens used/# of rails/bellows/standards (the weight) then give it more tightening and it's on a case by case base.
If you just simply crank it down as tight as it can go regardless to the amount actually needed it could lead to wearing the bushing out prematurely I would guess.

[jonbrisbincreative]

BTW- You can give the tightening knob on the mounting block a good crank to keep even weighty camera from twisting side to side. If Sinar thought the plastic/resin they chose to use for the rail bushing could easily be damaged I doubt they would have put such an OVER SIZED tightening knob on the mounting block.

Good point!

I'll give it a good crank next time I get it out. I just got a box of HP5 from Freestyle today so I'm ready to load up the Grafmatic and shoot my first frames of full 4x5 film. So far I've been using 120 roll film. It's been good to get a feeling for it. I'll continue to use roll film since I'll probably do color with it.

But I'm ready to move up to the full 4x5 negative now. I got my +3 reading glasses the other day which let me focus to within 6" or so of the GG and I'm ready to go!

[Louis Pacilla]

Good point!

I'll give it a good crank next time I get it out. I just got a box of HP5 from Freestyle today so I'm ready to load up the Grafmatic and shoot my first frames of full 4x5 film. So far I've been using 120 roll film. It's been good to get a feeling for it. I'll continue to use roll film since I'll probably do color with it.

But I'm ready to move up to the full 4x5 negative now. I got my +3 reading glasses the other day which let me focus to within 6" or so of the GG and I'm ready to go!

Have a blast shooting the full 4x5! Remember this as well, if you happen to break a part on your Sinar F1 for any reason there are plenty of spare Sinar parts around. It will be a fairly easy fix. Worse case.

[fishbulb]

Ballheads spoil the whole formula, and are utterly redundant anyway if you have the Sinar clamp.

I suppose, with just a rail clamp mounted on a standard tripod, and nothing in between, one could:

* Pan by either picking up the whole setup and turning it (rotating the tripod legs), or using a combination of swing and shift movements on both standards (to pan while keeping the film and lens centered on each other and parallel)

* Tilt by either shortening one or more of the tripod legs, or using a combination of tilt and rise on both standards (to tilt while keeping the film and lens centered on each other and parallel)

For me personally though, it's a lot easier and faster to pan and tilt with a ballhead, or a leveling base, or a pan-tilt head, or a tripod with a leveling and rotating center column.

[Drew Wiley]

The rail clamp pivots. That's all you need to pan. Up/down just orient the tripod with one leg in front of the rail and raise or lower it. Tilt side to side with the rail
clamp too. Super fast and easy, and damn secure. A ballhead spoils the rigidity of the system. I can do 28 inches of extension using the rail clamp atop a little
3-1/2 lb Gitzo CF tripod and it's solid, no wobble at all. I even do it with the Norma when packing light. Haven't used a tripod head with a Sinar for decades. No
need.