Please tell me all about my new Sinar P 8x10 and Caltar S-II 360mm 6.8

nick mulder

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Hello,

made an impulse purchase today - a Sinar P 8x10 and a Caltar S-II 360mm 6.8 lens in a Copal 3 shutter ...

Came with 8 fidelity film holders and a bulk load of FP4 and Ektachrome 64

Cam is in dusty but great mechanical shape, two small holes in bellows where in the corners where it starts to taper... should be an easy fix - Lens and shutter appear brand new, fingerprints even are barely visible let alone scratches etc - its clicking away nicely also ...

Lens is looking good for portrait work - One day I'd also like to get something much wider to get the shift going in an architectural photography style - any suggestions ?

Does anyone have any links for manuals or other related info about the lens, shutter and body ?

Am I about to be spoiled by asymmetrical movements as I never really had another view cam before this (aside from my home built 4x5) ?

What is the little red aluminium tab/switch near the shutter cocking lever ?

Where can I get the Sinar owners club t-shirt ? As you can tell I'm a happy pappy - my platinum and gum dichromate prints will finally be REAL (not from digital print outs) ...

Any info appreciated

thanks,
Nick
 

Nick Zentena

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I think the lens is a Scheinder. But Calumet had almost everybody make lenses for them over the years. The shutter is fairly simple to use. I doubt there is much of a manual.

Wider? Depends on how wide. Plenty of choice in the 240mm range for not much money. 210mm the choices get tougher but still quite a few.

150mm the two modern choices are the Scheinder XL for quite a bit of money. Or the Nikon SW. Hard to find.

The 120mm Nikon SW covers. Not that hard to find and not that expensive relatively. The 110mm XL supposedly just covers. More money then the Nikon.

Then you've got various older lenses.

It depends on how wide. How expensive. How heavy you want.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Congratulations. It's a fine camera. If you send me an e-mail via my APUG profile with your e-mail address, I can send you a PDF of the manual (about 5 Mb).

Asymmetric movements with the Sinar are a breeze. I think you'll like them.

One thing to be aware of is that there are two sizes of 8x10" back for the P. If you have the later metering back, it will be easier to find a new bellows or bag bellows for wide lenses. If you have the earlier, smaller back, then it will take the same size bellows as the 8x10" Norma.

The levels are adjustable, so check that they are really level with an accurate level before trusting them. To adjust them, just loosen the screws slightly, adjust and retighten. If you have dry levels, you can order them and other parts from your local Sinarbron dealer. The US representative is readily accessible by phone, but takes a while to return e-mail.

The red tab on a Copal shutter pops up when the shutter is cocked.
 

Pinholemaster

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Usually the Caltar lens is a Rodenstock, but that doesn't mean Calumet couldn't have contracted with Schneider for this lens.

I have a Rodenstock 360mm f/6.8 lens for my 8x10. Wonderful lens even though it's not petite. Got the lens used, and have never needed a manuel for it.

Can't say anything about your camera since I use a KB Canham, but anything with Sinar on its label is quality gear.

Have fun making images.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Caltar II-N are Rodenstock; Caltar II-S are Schneider. Some earlier ones may be made by Ilex and other manufacturers.
 
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nick mulder

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cheers for the info ... ok the red tab is pretty simple - an indicator... PM sent
 
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nick mulder

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I've always loved the design of the Hypergons, but that is probably not going to happen - so I've looked up the equivalent focal length in 6x7 (I usually shoot Mamiya RZ) and have realized the 360mm isn't quite as long as I thought, still will be fine for portraits although maybe a 500+ would be nice in its place - if I were to swap/sell I'd be happy with a wide at 240mm (works out at around 50mm which is the widest I have on the RZ)

...buuut if I were to keep the 360mm then perhaps an even wider choice might be called for such the 150mm's you mention - the reason for wanting a wide is to play around with large shifts (to get the whole monumental vertical structure thing going) do these 150mm lenses cover for that kind of use ? and/or which of the 240mm lenses cover the most ?

btw... I'm not so much after speed with the wider lens or light weight for that matter as I'm used to lugging around big cameras (3D cine) - but fast lenses would be useful in the higher focal lengths ... is 6.8 considered fast ? The Caltar here certainly is a particle accelerator of a lens (heavy)
 

Ole

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A 360mm will be fine for portraits. Due to the larger film size you're getting close to the macro range on ordinary portraits, which means more bellows extension and a narrower image angle.

Wide?

I've tried:
121/8 Super Angulon (barely/almost covers - I'll keep using it on 18x24cm, but maybe not on 8x10")
165/6.8 Angulon (covers, but unlike the SA it gets soft corners where it doesn't cover). Minimal movements.
210/6.8 Angulon - lots and lots of movements. Great lens, even if mine is uncoated.
240/5.6 Symmar convertible - not all that wide, but a nice lens with good coverage.
 

Nick Zentena

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F/6.8 is the limit of the #3 shutter with 360mm lenses. At least I don't think they can go much faster then that. Longer lenses will have even smaller F/stops because of the shutter issue. Unless you go with older barrel lenses you won't get faster. maybe some thing in a bigger #5 shutter?

OTOH you won't likely find a need for faster then F/6.8. Unless again you go with those old big portrait lenses. If you think that lens is big you should see the big portrait lenses
 

Ole

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The Caltar is a lightweight compared to a 360mm f:5.6 Symmar. But that one takes a #5 Compound...

The difference in speed may not be worth the weight difference.
 
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nick mulder

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uh oh spaghetti-o's

hmmm, got a fault with the Copal shutter where it will get stuck open after firing on 1/4, 1/2 and 1 sec exposure - zzzzz .... then nothing ... no zzzzz... click!

...but only when the shutter is angled forward somewhat (15deg give or take) using a cable release seems to make it be able to be angled further, but the fault will still happen regardless at around 30deg from vert

weird, gravity is causing something to get in the way - any suggestions>?

I have pulled a few cameras apart in my days and fixed/converted them - but the shutter looks a little 'tool specific' to say the least
 

David A. Goldfarb

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It's not unusual for a shutter that hasn't been used much to get stuck on the slow speeds. You can exercise it to see if it can work itself out, but it's a sign that it's due for a CLA.
 

Nokton48

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I have all four of the lenses described, and I totally agree with the comments. Also the 165mm f8 Schneider Super Angulon, I have one on a Sinar Norma board with cables, beats the 165mm Angulon. But I have to carry it around
 
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nick mulder

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David A. Goldfarb said:
It's not unusual for a shutter that hasn't been used much to get stuck on the slow speeds. You can exercise it to see if it can work itself out, but it's a sign that it's due for a CLA.
Click to expand...

Exercise helped for a bit, but putting it down for two days started the problem up again - no good...

Found a local tech who had retired but was keen to have a crack at a copal shutter as he hadn't seen one in a while - anyhoo, he found two eyelashes inside it along with some relatively dried up lube - all working fine now

Seller paid for the fix so I am a happy chap

thanks all
 
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