Sinar Norma with Arca Swiss Geared Head?

[Darryl Roberts]

Hi is it possible to mount my Norma onto an Arca geared head? If so, how?

 

[Nokton48]

With the matching Arca mounting plate? I'd use a 3/8" screw rather than 1/4" that's just me. I'd prefer a green Norma pan/tilt head, myself.

Did you know that the Norma was made by Arca Swiss for Sinar?

 

[138S]

This should be easy. You need a quick release Arca compatible plate:




this one has a 3/8 thread that I guess can be screewed in the Norma circular base plate, but check the threads in each side.

Also take a well reinforced enough one... Some DSLR+Zoom weight more than the Norma, so quality plates made for Pro DSLRs jobs may work, still overload well it at home to test it, you may mount the rail alone and pressing in the tip of the rail to see if the plate is strong enough. I I'd buy two to break one in a test.

Perhaps it can be interesting you get a long one to provide a good base for the Norma's clamp.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

Isn't that head much above value of the whole camera? As @138S said, this is about getting a properly sized Arca Swiss compatible plate, which there are plenty of at every price point. Of course putting a Chinese plate on an Arca Swiss gear head might be some sort of violation, possibly punishable too.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

With the matching Arca mounting plate? I'd use a 3/8" screw rather than 1/4" that's just me. I'd prefer a green Norma pan/tilt head, myself.

Did you know that the Norma was made by Arca Swiss for Sinar?

Yes, to the latter. I want to use the geared head.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

This should be easy. You need a quick release Arca compatible plate:

View attachment 260643


this one has a 3/8 thread that I guess can be screewed in the Norma circular base plate, but check the threads in each side.

Also take a well reinforced enough one... Some DSLR+Zoom weight more than the Norma, so quality plates made for Pro DSLRs jobs may work, still overload well it at home to test it, you may mount the rail alone and pressing in the tip of the rail to see if the plate is strong enough. I I'd buy two to break one in a test.

Perhaps it can be interesting you get a long one to provide a good base for the Norma's clamp.

Thank you

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some years ago, a photographer wanted a custom Arca-Swiss plate for the Sinar base and had it made up by a machinist along with a few extras to sell, maybe five in total, since it seemed there was a need out there. I don’t recall who that was offhand, but I bought one of them. I don’t know if anyone else has done the same, but it might be worth hunting around for. Lacking that, see what you can find from A-S and sources like Kirk Enterprises and Really Right Stuff that would best suit the Sinar base. There are some plates designed for medium format SLRs, for instance, with large square plates for better contact with the bottom of the camera, which could be good for Sinar, if you can’t find one specific to your camera.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Some years ago, a photographer wanted a custom Arca-Swiss plate for the Sinar base and had it made up by a machinist along with a few extras to sell, maybe five in total, since it seemed there was a need out there. I don’t recall who that was offhand, but I bought one of them. I don’t know if anyone else has done the same, but it might be worth hunting around for. Lacking that, see what you can find from A-S and sources like Kirk Enterprises and Really Right Stuff that would best suit the Sinar base. There are some plates designed for medium format SLRs, for instance, with large square plates for better contact with the bottom of the camera, which could be good for Sinar, if you can’t find one specific to your camera.

Alright, thank you.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Oh my. Hope you can find something solid and serious enough for the torque involved. Plates are the least of your worries. But as usual in such scenarios, you're only as good as your weakest link.

 

[Neil Poulsen]

A standard ARca baseplate should work fine. I've had a few Norma 4x5's, and it's not really that heavy. I'd be inclined to stay with an Arca Swiss basebplate, and not purchase an oriental knockoff. If you're at an extreme angle, I would support the camera as you increase or decrease the angle, to avoid wear on the gears in the head. This would be advisable only for raising an lowering large angles, not for fine tuning while composing an image.

I've always used a Bogen head with the hexagonal, quick-release baseplate.