Most people are not familiar with the camera brand of Xena, strictly speaking, Xena is not a camera, it can be called a camera adapter system.
The predecessor of the company was the family photography studio founded by The Swiss photographer Carl August Koch (1894-1897), who was working in Marseille at the time.
Carl August Koch
Koch specializes in portraiture and landscape photography and is considered one of the first Swiss landscape photography champions. Koch is also president of the Swiss Photographers Association.
His son, Hans-Carl, expanded his family-owned photography studio to include other retail industries such as photography from 1911.
Hans-Carl
In 1947, Koch's grandson, Carl Hans, a graduate photographer and salesman, took over the family business with the early death of his father, Hans-Carr, and founded Sinar the following year.
Carl Hans
Strictly speaking, Xena was founded in 1947, but starting from Carl Hans's grandfather, the family's accumulation of photography knowledge and experience, genetic inheritance is the foundation of the Sinar company, and the company's history is not exaggerated from his grandfather.
Carl Hans conducted in-depth research and analysis of the large-format cameras already on the market, such as the large Kodak 3 wooden camera and similar products, and the popular Graphlex Dear Graphicdorff series) and dual-track cameras (such as the Linhof Technika) Most of these cameras have adjustment movements, limited range, insufficient accuracy, and most importantly, the camera parts produced by their respective companies are not interchangeable. Although Lin Hav was one of the best cameras among the cameras, at that time the back had not yet been developed into a system module, and there was still a certain flaw in the wide applicability of the camera.
Kodak Empire State 8x10
Graphlex Graphic View
Graflex Baby Century
Deardorff 5x7
Linhof Tech III
As a photographer Carl Hans had a clear understanding of cameras and shooting needs, according to our current language called "precise customer needs", he developed a modular camera and in 1947 obtained a patent for his Sinar camera, which brought him a commercial moat in the future, refusing to let others and the city go.
Carl Hans' goal is to produce large-format cameras with high precision, simple operation and easy interchangeable part systems.
Today we look back at the main components of the Sinar system manufactured since the first generation (guides, bellows, lens plates and standard parts) that are still available for the currently manufactured Sinar equipment, which is the result of the research and development developed by Carl Hans.
Previous I introduced the Linhaf camera when leaving a topic, said that the linhaf listed monorail camera technology is far from the Xena, will be in the Xena to make a comparison explanation, now add 1960 Lin Haf monorail axis shift camera pictures you to compare.
There is a saying that people are more popular than dead, goods should be thrown, and any product can be compared together to find the difference.
Linhof Kardan Color 8x10
Linhof Kardan Color 5x7
In 1968, Carl Hans' son, Hans-Carl Koch, entered the family business as a family shareholder and the company's camera production moved to Feuerthalen (North Zurich).
Hans-Carl Koch
New plant in Feuerthalen on the other side of the Rhine
P Series
Introduced in 1970, the P Series features an asymmetrical tilt and swing, as opposed to the traditional center or bottom tilt. The advantage is that it allows for fast and precise setup without loss of shaft clarity.
The P-Series introduces self-locking rack and pinion drives, and the precision-designed Quick Format Change System feature allows photographers to quickly switch between 4x5/5x7/8x10 formats without full disassembly. This is achieved by using a common rear standard load carrier and unlocking a single knob to switch between various format frames.
Another new feature implemented in the P-Series is the Sinar system that calculates swing and tilt and the Sinar Depth of Field Calculator. A key feature of the Sinar P system, especially in the fields of scientific and industrial photography, is the extremely low tolerances of precise machines as part of accessories and motion.
Linhof Kardan Color in 1963
Linhof Kardan Bi in 1968
Linhof Kardan Standard 1974
1975年Linhof Kardan Super Color
1974 Linhof Kardan Standard 8x10
From the above two Linhav 1963 models, 1968 one, 1974 one, four cameras we can see that Linhaf's technical capabilities have been rising, but compared with the single product start of The Sinar P series products, the gap is not a point, but a huge.
F-Series
The F-Series is a lightweight version ("F" stands for "Field") that offers less sophisticated features than the P-Series. The weight difference is wide the Sinar F 4x5 weighs about 3.3 kg and the Sinar P 4x5 weighs about 5.9 kg.
APL Rays
APL Rays
The original Sinar F was easily identified by brushed aluminum monorails and other aluminum trims, and the Sinar F1, F2 and F3 models were painted black from the same material.
The Sinar F also has hard plastic knobs, while the F1 and F2 are rubber-coated knobs.
The Sinar F and F1 models have a clip-on front standard (lens plate standard) that does not fully enclose the monorail. The advantage is that this standard can be easily removed from the track by simply loosening the clamp and lifting it straight up, unlike the rear standard, and it weighs less. The disadvantage of this design is that if over-tightened, the rail clamping mechanism can easily break.
The Sinar F2 and F3 models have different front standards that completely enclose the rails and also offer gear-style focus adjustments, similar to the rear rail clamps of all Sinar F models. The F2 standard is easy to identify because it is a mirror image of the post-standard. Early F/F1 pre-standards had a low-profile metal hinge under the rails.
The F2 and F3 models also come standard with a metering backplane, which is an option for the F and F1 models. The F3 model is digital/analog and supports a wide range of Sinar digital lenses and digital backs.
If you buy a second-hand Xena camera to take pictures is not recommended to buy F series, adjustment accuracy compared to the P series is not a level, if you just touch the single track large format can choose the C series, this machine is the fusion F series front group, P series rear group, adjustment accuracy is improved a lot, the price is cheaper than the P series.
In 1984, Sinar caused quite a stir with the introduction of the p2 single-track large-format camera. This superb professional camera combines elegance, perfect versatility and high-precision adjustment technology with outstanding stability and robustness. Thanks to modern, consistently applied CNC manufacturing techniques, the camera delivers a substantial leap in quality.
The Sinar P2 camera has a very convenient asymmetrical tilt/rotate axis H-spot (horizontal setting) and V-point (vertical setting) two-point focusing system that can be adjusted to the best flat clear distribution. The spinner buttons on the P2 camera are all auto-locking, and while other brands of cameras also have a two-point focus function, there is no auto-locking trimmer. Or lack of designs for all larger format frame replacements and tendencies to derail.
Large-format cameras have differences between base tilt, center axis tilt, and asymmetrical axis tilt, and when the base tilt and center axis tilt, they will encounter "when the seat frame rotates, the composition and sharpness will change", so it must be recomposed and focused, while the Sinar P2 has an asymmetrical tilt axis on the focal plane, and the image is still clear even after rotation.
What did the monorail large-format cameras produced by Linhaf look like in this era?
In 1986, Linhav launched the monorail L-mount Linhof kardan Master 4×5 8×10 two cameras, stunned, L-mount more flexible, adjustable range is larger.
Is it not to think that Lin Hafu raised his eyebrows, and finally suppressed the Xena in the monorail large format camera, especially the launch of the L-mount camera, the market should be Lin Hafu's world, don't laugh too early, the answer is NO.
There is also a more awesome big coffee ARCA Yaja (Aka) in Switzerland, Lin Hav is in the third is happy, and we will talk about Aka later.
In 1994, Sinar introduced the world's first professional color digital camera, which at that time had a resolution of up to 4 megapixels and a surface of 30 x 30 mm.
The electronic computer-assisted Sinar e view camera (CapCam) with Leaf DCB-I digital back produces sharp still-life color images as a true "high-performance production machine."
For The production of digital backs by Xena, Lin Hav, Hasselblad, Lulai, and Laika, I see it this way, digital backs are definitely not designed and produced by them, and a mechanical design and production company transforming digital imaging products without long-term, deep technical precipitation is impossible, there is no need to worry about whether they produce them. Now that the global supply resources are integrated, who can integrate the resources, control the suppliers after integration, and differentiate themselves from his native products, that is the king of success.
Xena, Linhav, Hasselblad, and Laika use the power of others to complete their own needs to customize the product, which is itself an innovation, from their own product user needs, product integration after the new system definition are their credit, the original supplier products can not be well used in the cameras produced by these companies.
In 2000, Sinar introduced the Digital Large Format. Digital images can now be captured using a CCD area sensor with a resolution of 19 megapixels and a capture area of 72 x 48 mm. Sinar Macroscan is compatible with all Sinarbacks. The Sinarback system with Sinar Macroscan was selected as the best photographic product of the year 2000/2001.
In 2002, in keeping with the Tradition of the Sinar p camera, the Sinar p3 was also equipped with high-precision mechanical devices. At the same time, in order to meet the requirements of digital photography, the size of the new camera has been significantly reduced without sacrificing any traditional precision. The Sinar p3 camera is also fully compatible with the Sinar system.
p3 light
The 2007 33-megapixel Sinarback eVolution 75 H is the ultimate high-end solution for all studio tasks. In the eVolution 75 H, higher image quality is achieved with higher computer data transfer rates. Thanks to its efficient cooling system, daily performance and return on investment are maximized in terms of service life.
The 2009 Sinar arTec camera system was a milestone in digital architecture and landscape photography.
Sinar arTec is an innovative tool designed by photographers based on 60 years of development experience combining the characteristics of cameras in the digital age.
In 2010, all Sinar business activities were reorganized and Sinar Photography AG was established, and the newly formed company moved to a new location in Zurich.
I did not find the introduction of the Sinar INKA camera that I recently purchased on the official website and news materials of Xena, but only searched for pictures and a few words on foreign websites. This camera has not reached my hands because of the epidemic situation, and I have not had the opportunity to try it out, so I will use it after the hand shooting. Combined with the experience of using the P2 camera, this L-mount camera is lighter, easier to operate, more convenient and more accurate than the P2.
Send me a picture of my Sinar INKA camera, please contact me with this camera reader.
This camera has a spell with the Linhof Kardan Master 4×5 with the Linhof Kardan L-mount.
The merger with Leica in 2013 opened up a broad perspective for Sinar, the capabilities of both companies that allowed the development of new developments to be characteristic of the market and the brand, with the headquarters untouched and produced locally, maintaining the swiss product character.
The merger of the two companies quickly launched a camera
It is not easy for the century-old family business of Xena Company to come to this day, which has experienced 5 generations of hard work, although it was finally merged by Laika, but his glorious history in the field of single-axis large-format technology cameras is indelible.
The centuries-old accumulation of Xena has not been completely abandoned in the digital age, and their current product line is clear and healthy.
The company designed new digital cameras based on the P3 camera structure, including digital snapshot cameras, high-quality reproduction color management cameras, custom lenses and much more.
There is nothing wrong with choosing a Xena monorail single format camera in addition to being expensive.
Finally, let's talk about my feelings;
1. Whether it is a family business or a partnership, inheritance and accumulation are very critical
2. Intellectual property rights must not be taken lightly, and Xianna has come to this day with a lot of help from intellectual property rights
3. Product design must be systematic and intensive, and must not be unrelated
4. There are also barriers to machining, and this origin is related to the Swiss precision metalworking environment
5. When something becomes an extreme, it is actually the hardest, and the success of the Xena monorail technology camera is not accidental
6. How to choose to transform yourself when the times abandon you, and how to choose to start a business again and have a relationship with the industry is the simplest
7. The person who knows the times is Junjie
The following are the products currently on sale at Xena, and if you have the opportunity, you must have a Sinar snapshot camera.