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studio tech camera choice

Egor

Member
No worries, Cunim! Thanks for the info....and omg...yes...I put my cameras 10 ft in the air tethered and fire and control everything remotely on a daily basis! I know the pain all too well. Although I have 50ft cables though ;) If I only had 2ft cables, I would send up an intern ;)

Steve, thanks for the extra info, although not sure how to interpret it. Looks like the baby tech cams weigh about as much as a MacBook Air 13inch and the big guys weigh as much as two MacBook Pros
 

Egor

Member
After much reading and deliberation, it has come down to between Arca Swiss Monolith system or Cambo Ultima system.

Obviously leaning toward the Monolith, and will be checking one out on the job starting Monday.
Cambo Ultima maybe after that and then decide.
Cambo would be less money but its all relative...
Thanks for the help, everyone and I will see how they work in our studio!
 

Chris Valites

New member
The Sinar P3 would be able to utilize some of your existing Sinar accessories for the P2. The newer D-P3 has much improved gearing precision; the P2 can feel a bit like steering a boat, which can be frustrating trying to nail down focus with a 50MP digital back. It is similar to a P2 in size, except the top standards are smaller, and it retains much of the robustness of one of the most popular studio view cameras sold the past 2 decades.
Just to add in my 2 cents here...we recently had a customer send in two P2s to get upgraded to a DF. Effectively, they got two new cameras for $1050 USD each WITH digital focus, plus warranty on the new parts. They also are using the Sinar e-shutter and love it; with the USB controller, they have C1 open, and the Sinar e-shutter software, and are able to change shutter, aperture, open the curtain, and then command tab into capture one for live view. They absolutely love it and we'll be doing a blog post on it shortly.

A new P3 is $8350.
A P2 to P3 conversion is about $3050.
A X or P2 upgrade to the digital focus is $1050.

We've seen the Xs and P2s go for incredibly low prices, so this upgrade path is something we've seen and encouraged people to do in the past because it's such a great deal. New P3s come with the digital focus, so the only really difference is where the zero point is between the P3 and the P2. However, if you just start at the different shift point, you'll be all set to use them. Our client that upgraded has had nothing but good things to say about it.
 

Egor

Member
Thanks, everyone for the great info and choices. For a variety of reasons, mostly budget related, I will go with the Cambo Ultima 23D. The Sinar option outlined by Chris is very tempting, and equal in saving$, but some other factors fell into place for the Cambo.
This will free up budget for lenses and possibly a coveted digital shutter.

When testing the ArcaSwiss M doing production work or even just standard focus stack work, I found the normal manual shutter to kill a lot of time, and in the case of focus stacking, camera movement because of having to touch the lens to cock the shutter... so am interested in putting some $ there, at least into the SK120 ASPH, as that will most likely be my go-to lens for most production and focus stack work.
Looks like there are a variety of digital shutters on the market, now need to check into them. The Sinar eShutter looks great and is outlined by Chris above which is a big plus for me, but I would like to know more about the competition (SK and Rodenstock have versions too it seems)

Also, is everybody who knows, in agreement that the 40mm Rodenstock HR-W is the best solution with the IQ250 back? (I know there is always disagreement about this stuff, but heard sometimes the IQ250 has a particular need for microlens straight angles...

Pic of demo Arca Swiss Monolith in studio being tested...simply awesome machine I must say, but if I went with it, would have no money for the glass I need. Kindle like spending entire wad on a house and having nothing left to furnish with ;) In the end, I'd rather have a fully functioning Toyota than a Ferrari without gas or wheels.
 
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