The Sinar brand is synonymous with Swiss precision and, along with Arca Swiss and Alpa, belongs to the photographic triquetry and holy trinity of large-format cameras from the land of cogged railways and melted cheese. The word is an acronym for "Still, Industrial, Nature, Architectural and Reproduction photography."
- The birth of Sinar dates back to 1879, when Carl August Koch finally found himself in the best art in the world, photography of course.
- It's hard to believe, but all three companies are still in existence and still dedicated to the same craft, i.e. the production of high-end photographic equipment, optics and related thingies. And they still have one thing in common—in order to get anything from them, you have to sell your grandmother, grandfather, one of each paired organ and register on OnlyFans.
- The term "Swiss holy trinity" usually refers to the three unshakable pillars of another industry—watchmaking. It refers to the three most important traditional companies—Patek Phillipe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. To get a watch from their portfolio, the same applies as above, you just have to add your mum and dad.
Main focus of Sinar has always been on large-format optical bench cameras, mostly used in studios or architectural photography, where their full potential can be used through their movements. You can find out what is a field camera and what is a monorail in my previous article, I offer a basic excerpt below.
- The term "movements" means the deflection of the front and rear standards in different directions and angles. Each movement has its own name (tilt, shift, swing, slide, rise, etc.) and serves a different purpose—to correct parallax, vertical lines correction, play with depth of field, focus/defocus only parts of the image, and other nice little thingies. The possibilities are far-reaching, and mastering them will open up whole new universes of photography. The undisputed kings of motion are monorail cameras, whose design allows for much more dramatic degrees of movement than field or press cameras. But even these can show off. I recommend a comprehensive and illustrative article here.
The first important kick-off into the world of images came with Alpina—the lines of the future were drawn, but there was still room for improvements. The drawbacks at that time were still the non-modularity of the accessories and the atypical construction (for example the rods, which were not typically Sinar and interchangeable with subsequent models). A small step for the world and a big leap for photographers was the Norma. Here, it was already a full-blooded model with clearly recognizable Sinar DNA and tons of accessories for all formats. Made of metal and cast iron, indestructible and heavy - yet quite compact. This was followed by models such as:
- P (precise)—mostly for the studio. They were larger, heavier and more robust with focus on maximum movement and precision.
- F (field)—for use in the pleneur. The design was lighter and with less available movements (but still highly superior).
- C and X—hybrids of the previous two models or simpler, cheaper versions.
However, the greatest strength of them all except the Alpina is the maximum modularity and interchangeability of accessories. With rare exceptions, there's nothing stopping you from assembling a Frankenstein composed of a Norma, a P version or the decades newer F2 variant—it will fit and work according to your needs and preferences. So it's a kind of PhotoLego with a wide variety of things around.
Warning to weaker individuals—the following lines may contain a trace amount of bragging!
The attentive reader, however, after Christmas scratches his fourth chin and notices that one version is missing—and he is right. Perhaps it wouldn't even be me if I didn't have something special—literally. The version I use is marked S (special). It was used for scientific and copying purposes, and the number of pieces produced could be counted on the fingers of one hand by a slow-witted fan of New Year's firecrackers.
The differences are obvious at first glance—the front and rear standards are significantly lighter and almost free of movements. The front one allows only rise/fall (and has a different locking mechanism to the rod compared to the newer versions) and the rear one has only precise focusing. Normally the unit was mounted on a moving base (like the enlarger) with lights (Polaroid MP-4) in a vertical plane and used to photograph subjects. However, nothing prevents it from being used like any other camera for normal use. Pros and cons are obvious—limited movements but very low weight of 5,08kg, which surpasses even many folding cameras (however, nothing is lost on stability and I use it without any problem even with very heavy lenses). Those who are bothered by the lack of movements can replace the standards with another version thanks to interchangeability.
This is specifically the S1 8x10" version from around 1978. There was supposed to be an S2 version with a more movable front standard, but I've never seen it. In fact, I've only seen one other piece of the S1 variant, and nothing can be traced.
- The only materials I have obtained are directly from the Sinar HQ and I am attaching those in the article. Treat them with respect and discretion—possession of these documents will bring you into the large format noble elite and you'll have to chase the girls away with a tripod.
However, the attached materials cause amazement and shock to a person familiar with the Sinar ecosystem, as it shows an 8x10" reflex binocular viewfinder! The vast majority of people have never heard of it, and the rest think it never existed and remains only in blueprints and wet dreams. However, let me take you out of the darkness—it did exist and I have used it. At this stage I slowly couldn't even walk outside and use two tripods to chase away the amazed crowds.
- Occasionally you might see DIY versions built at home or viewfinders from the Toyo system—these accessories are mostly interchangeable with the Sinar and occasionally, though very rarely, shows up. This, however, is an original.
Unlike the regular 4x5" version it was not intended for portrait use in a horizontal position, but a vertical one—in tandem with the aforementioned Polaroid MP-4 accessory, you looked into it from above (it also lacked a flip-up magnifier—so it is a very simple accessory consisting only of plastic and a mirror). The binocular was not perched at an obtuse angle like the smaller version, but at a sharp angle—so you need to be quite tall for normal comfortable use, but even so it's not quite right. The official name "Special copying focusing hood" already suggests something.
When someone tells you that monorail cameras are for studio use and unsuitable for the outdoor use, it's easy to reply—so what? Don't be intimidated by good advices and instead harden your spine and train your will.
At the end of the year and the article, forgive me a pinch of soaring advice and pathetic phrases: take pictures! Paint, compose, knead and verse! Do not be seduced by setbacks and idleness, there is no time to waste. Mistakes will be compounded, failures piled up. But nothing lasts forever, and the night is darkest before the dawn. Master D.A. said it better than I ever will:
"Your soul is plagued with cowardice, which many times so weighs a man down, it turns him back from noble enterprise - as a trick of sight will make a beast recoil." [Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. Translated by Allen Mandelbaum, Bantam Books, 1980.]
I wish you as many large format negatives as possible in the coming year and the many years to come. Per aspera ad astra.
