Sinar P Front and rear standard zeros are off from each other

[Bernice Loui]

Appears to be first generation Sinar P, no issues with rise-fall. This is pretty much any 4x5 Sinar P from that era would look like. The detents are mostly less important, long as the front to rear standards are within their working range, lenses used should not be a problem.

Know those dots and detents are mere points of reference and not in any way absolute.


Bernice

[Atracksler]

REAR STANDARD:



FRONT STANDARD:

[Tin Can]

and your conclusion?

[Peter Mounier]

Yours and my camera look to be about the same regarding alignment. I wonder whether you chose the green indent to "zero it out" arbitrarily? It looks like if you were to use the black indent for zero both standards would be at about the same height.
But in the end, I agree with Bernice.
It would be nice to know what Sinar had in mind by putting indents there. I've never used them for reference or anything else.

[Bernice Loui]

Sinar P detents are not relevant and can become a tiresome bump when camera movement is used in small increments. It is easier to set up rise-fall on a 4x5 P by de-compressing the bellows by moving front-rear standards together and getting the bellows compresses as much as possible using the rise-fall on front and rear standards. Where the rise-fall locations end up is not relevant. As the camera is used in a typical table top set up, it is very likely rise-fall will be applied as needed front or rear as with tilt, swing as combined camera movements as needed by the image to be produced.

Honestly, never paid any attention to those dots or detents over the decades of using a Sinar P and Sinar P2.

Bernice

[ic-racer]

I setup the swing and tilt detents with a laser. Rise and fall, in my hands, is best centered by visualizing the crescents seen through the clipped corners.

[alan_b]

As Peter said, set both standards on the black dot and you should be aligned. (Black=4x5, Green=5x7, Red=8x10)

[Bernice Loui]

Proper Sinar P 8x10 rear standard is different than the Sinar P rear standard use for 4x5 & 5x7. Yes the 8x10 frame fits and works on this rear standard, but not as stable and rigid and adjustment range as the rear standard designed for the 8x10 P frame.


Bernice

[LabRat]

For checking detents on most flatbed and monorail cameras, a good tool is an adjustable machinist's tri-square... The flat surface can rest on the bed or rail and rule goes up to see if there's a tilt different than the horizontal reference...

In the case of this Sinar, you can mark the center heights of the front and rear standards and measure the difference... If off, you can make a new strip with the correct pointer dot or arrow...

A tri-square is one of my most useful measuring tools for many uses, and have rules from 6" to 24" for different uses (very useful for view camera alignment)...

Even a cheap hardware store one is a big help, but better is better!!!

Steve K

[Atracksler]

Thanks!