Tuesday, May 25, 2021

LEICA-SINAR VIEW CAMERAS AND DIGITAL BACKS

 

p3 04


By Heinz Richter

The pinnacle of professional photography is, and will remain, the view camera, for which the make of Sinar is one of the best known manufacturers.  After becoming part of Leica Camera AG, they have been able to develop some exciting new things.

During recent years, photography with view cameras has had to struggle considerably with the digital photography juggernaut, even though Sinar view cameras continue to be in daily use, especially when it comes to professionalism and unhindered creativity.

p3 08
Sinar p-slr 

product p3
Sinar p3-pf

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Sinar p3-df

View camera with their numerous adjustment possibilities are still without equal.  Perspective and overall sharpness can be controlled and evaluated directly with the camera.  Post production processes with computer systems, which often result in visible loss of quality, are unnecessary.

The principles of optical design remain unchanged with digital photography, but cameras and lenses needed to reach entirely new dimensions in terms of resolution and image quality.  New and specifically designed camera systems are capable to take full advantage of the capabilities of today’s digital backs.  However, this is only possible with modern view cameras and their adjustment capabilities which allow for proper adjustments of perspective, adjustments to obtain correct proportions and undistorted angles.  In addition, only view cameras allow altering the plane of focus in an image via the application of the Scheimpflug principle.

Sinar professional camera systems are optimized for digital professional photography. The Sinar p3 professional camera sets the standards in professional studio photography, thanks to the self-locking gears and overall precision.  All digital backs, regardless of manufacturer, can be adapted to the Sinar camera platforms.

s3045 sensor

But Sinar also provides professionals with their own one- and multi-shot digital backs. The Sinarback eXact is based on the Sinar Microscan technology and achieves image data up to 576 MB (RGB / 8-bit) in multi-shot quality. Thanks to a downscaling function, image sizes of twelve to 192 megapixels can be generated with this back.

With the Sinarback eVolution 86H, 1- and 4-Shot captures can be taken with its 50 MPx sensor, and prints of up to 50 cm x 70 cm can easily be produced.


Thanks to a unique adapter concept, it takes only a few simple moves to mount a Sinarback on a wide variety of camera platforms, including other brands. In addition, you can use this digital back not only with a view camera, but also with medium format camera systems.

The Sinarback eXact opens up a whole range of possibilities for you – use it flexibly in any studio situation, from packshots to high-end photography.

With this digital back, you can create multi-shot photography with 4 or 16 shots, allowing you to get resolution of up to 192 megapixels! In addition, the Sinarback eXact has a built-in downscaling function. That means, if required, you can also take photographs at low resolutions of 12 or 24 megapixels. With one digital back you are ready for all applications.

"It's easier to get the color you want by recording the color that's there."
Prof. Dr. Roy S. Berns, color expert at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
Photo: Roy S. Berns

In Multi-shot photography, each pixel is captured by every primary color. You achieve an unimagined level of color accuracy and intensity. In addition, moirĂ© will be prevented. Since there is no interpolation, there is no loss of definition either. The result is brilliant, sharp images of the highest quality.  The multi shot Sinarbacks make it possible to reproduce the entire color spectrum perceptible to the human eye with absolute precision.  With these backs  Sinar has redefined color accuracy in digital photography. In addition, since they eliminate  the need for time-consuming color corrections, they also save valuable time.  Applications, for instance, are the digitization of artwork, reprography, and scientific photography, all of which require very accurate color reproduction.

Detail from the painting "Mathilde Boscovits" by Friedrich Boscovits (1845-1918). © Regula Schmid

The Multi-shot Sinarbacks are designed for reliable studio work. They avoid electronic components like displays, batteries and internal memory as they can produce heat that causes color noise. The dual cooling of the sensor secures consistently high-quality photography, even over long shootings.

Sinar multi-shot backs are used especially in still-life photography or in archival  photography. They deliver four times the color resolutions compared to instant capture models. These differences in image quality are quite obvious and cannot be achieved with even the most powerful oneshot products. In four-shot shots, the CCD pixel matrix is shifted three times from one exposure to the next by exactly one pixel raster so that each pixel is captured by each base color (red, blue, and green twice). A further decisive argument for the multishot technology is the markedly reduced moirĂ© effect, which is hardly visible due to the controlled color overlay. With this recording technique the image interpolation is completely eliminated.

Especially museums rely on Sinar CTM (CTM = Color to Match), a joint development of Sinar with RIT, the Rochester Institute of Technology. With this dual-pass filter system extreme color accuracy of multispectral multi-shot images are combined with the workflow of a digital camera system. The preferred fields of application here are the digitization of artifacts as well as reproduction and scientific photography with claim to extreme color fidelity.


The new Sinarback S 30|45 is specially designed for mobile use. A 3 "inch display provides a live image, which can also be shown on an iPad. On-Location, the image data is stored on CF or SD cards. Thanks to tethered shooting via USB 3.0, the data can also be transferred directly to the software Sinar CaptureFlow. A special feature is the fact that the back can be used not only for photos. Optionally a video function in Full HD up to 4K resolution is available.

With the addition of Sinar to the range of Leica products, Leica Camera AG offers by far the most diversified and the widest selection of different cameras of any camera manufacturer.

More information can be found here



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2 comments:

  1. Are you saying that there is a connection between Leica and sinar?

    ReplyDelete