query on Sinar P1

Hi, one of my friends is getting rid of a sinar P1 large format camera and asked me if I wanted it.

 

I shoot medium format and 35mm film. He said he has bellows, film holders and 120mm schneider lens .

I read a bit about the Sinar P1 4x5 view camera and am still confused. I am not very familiar with large format. I read about a large format in last few day.s

 

Is this a studio camera ? what kind of subjects can it be used for? he says it can be used for architecture, macro photography, portraits, landscapes.

 

I would appreciate any inputs on this. I got my medium format film 6x7camera a year ago and am trying my hand with architecture and macro (flowers, static objects).

I shoot nature , wildlife, architecture , landscapes with 35mm.

 

I am also not sure if a 4x5 would be a big difference over 6x7 camera. I have the pentax 67ii.

 

thanks in advance.

A Sinar P series is an excellent professional (and heavy) large format camera, and there is definitely a difference in quality between 6x7 and 4x5. Unlike most medium format cameras, you can tilt and shift the lens and film planes to get more depth of field and control perspective. The down side is always having to use a heavy tripod, as well as dealing with the weight and bulk of the camera itself and the cost/inconvenience of 4x5 film. There are much smaller and lighter 4x5 cameras such as a Wista or Tachihara or even a Crown Graphic that many photographers prefer for landscape work. Does your friend have any sample prints or transparencies that you can compare with what you're getting with your Pentax 67? That might help you with your decision.

You CAN NOT get more depth of field by using a view camera. Depth of field is controlled only by focal length, aperture chosen, circle of confusion and magnification. Depth of field ranges from a point sharply focused on to areas of apparently sharp focus in front and behind that point.

What a view camera allows you to do if it has tilts and swings is to control the plane of sharp focus. Then, with the addition of the desired lens aperture the depth of field increases that plane of sharp focus.

 

Perspective is controlled on any type of camera by the angle of the film in the camera to the subject. Tilt your medium format camera up to shoot a building and the building will show keystoning. With a view camera with rides and fall and shifts you can point the camera up, tilt the lens and the back to make the film parallel to the building and eliminate the keystoning.

Back tilts and swings allow you to change the shape of an object.

Sanjay, large format cameras are great for fun, but they ask for some basic knowledge and for a very different way of working as well (waaaay slower).

It is also more expensive, and to my taste, -only worth it if you plan to process&print in your own darkroom-.

The size of the format makes easier that control of the focus plane, although I bet many LF shooters rarely use movements.

In my experience, although I prefer 4x5" for almost everything, you may find a difference but maybe not huge, depending on the camera, lenses, technique, etc.

Personally, I don`t find LF a necessity but maybe a different approach to photography.

The P1 is a studio monorail camera, -a very good one-, extremely heavy and awkward to move. This kind of heavy studio cameras are great for their accuracy, a pleasure to work with (smooth controls, rigid, with a quite practical modular design), but not the best choice for field work. AJG refer to some of this lighter, compact foldable cameras that are good enough for almost everything, and much easier to carry.

Just to add to what Bob says, movements aside (which is one of the main reasons to use LF), the larger the format the shallower depth of field. So you will get more DoF using your 67II.

Edited February 23, 2017 by jose_angel

Great for architecture - rubbish for macro. 1:1 magnification on 5"x4" film still covers an area of around 90x120mm. To get the same subject framing as 1:1 on 35mm film you'd need a magnification of over 3:1, with a bellows extension of nearly half a metre for that 120mm lens, and with an aperture loss of 4.5 stops!