I had a look at Chris' comments (those I could find) on Lula. His use is quite different than mine - and he is at a different (much higher) level of photography. Hard to relate to his comments.
My impression is that Arca is aiming the FP at the 35mm view camera and at tech cameras. The central eshutters are for other applications. Arca feel that back electronic shutters (like the new Phase release) will become more widespread and will take share from focal plane shutters. Probably true, but those of us using flash won't benefit from back eshutters.
95% of my work is on the Monolith, using flash, tethered. I want an fp shutter that will accept my Copal and Rollei lenses (with their existing shutters open). The shutter has to mount to the view camera, sync with flash, have minimal vibration, and offer a convenient controller. I can then take brackets and stacks without touching the lens because every time I do touch it, something goes out of register. Also, the lens is often difficult to reach. Climbing up and down ladders gets old.
The Rollei LCS works well but is crippled by the inability to separate the controller from the lens by more than a couple of feet. Putting more modern (eg Schneider, Rodenstock, Arca) eshutters in every lens is very expensive, can make lenses difficult to resell, and pretty much limits the lenses to studio use. In the field, most people prefer not to have things (controllers, power supplies, etc.) hanging off their lenses. A focal plane shutter seems a good solution in that it is cost-effective and lets mechanical shutter lenses be used without alteration.
The Alpa FPS looks good. It can function without remote controllers and power supplies but there is a dark side. I have no idea how it functions when I do need a remote controller. I used to have Alpa gear, but dropped it because they did not offer a full view camera. Perhaps the new Serpent addresses that (can't tell) but too expensive to go back. Actually, I like the Arca stuff better because I can move lenses back and forth between my tech camera and the Monolith using a simple adapter plate.
I was very interested when the Arca FP was announced two years ago. Now, we are hearing a bit more about it but there are still no practical field reports. I hope Arca has used the time to improve the original design. Controller ergonomics are critical and the original dEX system seemed to have issues there. We'll see.
Anyone else looking for something like this or am I a market of one?
