| Industry | Digital Imaging |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Feuerthalen, Switzerland |
| Products | large format cameras, lenses, digital backs, RAW Processing Software |
| Website | http://www.sinar.ch/ |
Sinar AG is a Swiss company producing medium format and large format cameras.
The name SINAR is explained (in numerous company publications) as an acronym for "Studio, Industrie, Natur, Architektur, Reproduktion", though in an April 2011 company press release, the acronym is explained as "Sach-, Industrie-, Natur-, und Architekturfotografie sowie Reproduktion". (In English it is often seen explained as "Science, Industry, Nature, Art, and Reproduction". The company itself mentions "Still, Industrial, Nature, Architectural and Reproduction photography" in the English version of the April 2011 press release.)
Yet it is extremely unlikely that the company name was coined as an elaborate acronym. "Sinar" is also the Malay/Indonesian word for a ray of light, which probably is not a coincidence.
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Swiss photographer Carl Hans Koch invented the Sinar camera in 1947 due to his dissatisfaction with the imprecise nature of wooden view cameras and the limitations of technical (e.g., Linhof Technika) and field cameras of the day. His main aim was to produce a large format camera of high precision and simple operation, with a system of parts that were readily interchangeable. The Sinar system's versatility is based on the interchangeability of parts as well as a large number of accessories that have been produced over the years. Major components (rails, bellows, lensboards, and standards) made in the 1940s are still usable with currently manufactured Sinar equipment.[1]The Museum of Modern Art has a Sinar Norma in its permanent collection.
The Sinar P, introduced in 1970, had asymmetric tilts and swings, as opposed to the traditional center or base tilts. This permitted rapid and precise settings without losing sharpness on the axis. Furthermore, whereas base-tilt/front-swing view cameras of the time ensured partial conformance to the Scheimpflug principle, the unique asymmetric tilts and swings of the P series Sinar cameras ensured a full conformance to the Scheimpflug principle—bringing subject plane, lens plane, and sensor (film) plane to meet at a precise virtual 'line' and not merely at a point—as was the case with less sophisticated tilt/shift cameras.
The P series also introduced features such as self-arresting rack and pinion gearing and a precision-engineered quick format change system that allows the photographer to switch between 4x5/5x7/8x10 formats quickly without having to fully disassemble the rear standard. This was accomplished by using a common rear standard bearer and unlocking a single knob to switch among the various format frames. Another new feature implemented in the P series was the Sinar system of calculating swings and tilts (using its proprietary ground glass) as well as the Sinar depth of field calculator. A key feature of the Sinar P system, particularly in the domain of scientific and industrial photography, is the precise machine tolerances that are part of the fittings and movements.
Sinar has manufactured many accessories since its establishment, including a unique swing-out filter holder that allows the photographer to use a polarizing filter as well as 4x4 inch gel filters. Sinar also made what many consider to be the best 4x5 reflex attachment that employed an adjustable mirror for the best possible viewing of the image. Adapters (now discontinued) were made by Sinar to adapt this viewer to various other view camera makes such as Plaubel, Linhof, and Toyo. The Zoom series of roll film backs, which allow the use of 120/220 film formats from 6x4.5 to 6x12 formats with the ultimate in film flatness, further extends the format capabilities of the Sinar. The Zoom film backs are usable on any 4x5 camera with an international (Graflok) back.[2] The Sinar LCD shutter system enables their ccd camerabacks to have a much extended density range in video mode for focusing capability in a wider range of ambient lighting. This system has been used in modified mode by RIT to obtain multispectral images suited to aging analysis of color pigments in artworks. More recent innovations are the integration of Canon and Nikon SLR cameras as camera backs onto the P standard with adaptors from fellow Swiss camera assesories manufacturer, Foba.[3] and other adaptions enable standard Hasselblad lens to be integrated which results in improved wide angle performance with DSLR cameras
Sinar cameras provided optional lens-independent, automatic, self-cocking shutters with built-in apertures and film plane metering. More recently, Sinar has promoted the use of digital backs especially within the high-end studio environments.
Originally made in Feuerthalen (north of Zurich), Sinar moved its base of operations to Zurich after separating from Jenoptik in October 2009.