Sinar P1972

History

The P superseded the Norma as Sinar's top professional offering in 1972, though its development represented a continuous evolution rather than a clean break. The core design - modular rail, 140mm lensboard, asymmetric tilts - remained unchanged from the Norma. What the P added was a comprehensive gearing system applied to every movement and the integration of the Sinar depth-of-field calculator as a built-in standard component rather than an afterthought accessory.

Sinar positioned the P alongside the F series, which launched in 1976 with the F1. The F cameras shared the same rail, lensboard, and accessory ecosystem but used unibody cast standards with fewer individual geared controls, targeting photographers who needed the system compatibility without the full precision of the P at a lower price point. The division between the P (studio precision) and F (field or entry studio) became the organizing logic of the Sinar catalog for the following two decades.

The P was eventually succeeded by the P2, which introduced minor refinements to the standard geometry and ergonomics while maintaining full system compatibility. The Sinar X, introduced around 2002, represented a more compact rethinking of the P concept for a market shifting toward digital medium-format capture.

Why It Matters

The Sinar P defined the ergonomics and workflow of professional large-format studio photography in the 1970s and 1980s more completely than any competing camera. Its integrated depth-of-field calculator was not merely a convenience feature but a genuine workflow instrument: it allowed an art director and photographer to specify focus distribution requirements and verify them optically before committing to an exposure, a practice that commercial tabletop and product photographers developed as a working discipline around the P's capabilities.

When digital capture began to emerge for large format in the early 1990s, Sinar leveraged the P platform's precision and rigidity as the mechanical foundation for their early digital backs, extending the camera's commercial life well into the digital era. Studios that had invested in P systems in the 1970s could integrate digital capture without replacing their mechanical infrastructure.

Lenses & Accessories

The P accepts all lenses in Copal or Compur leaf shutters on Sinar 140mm lensboards - the same boards used across the entire Sinar system from the Norma forward:

• Schneider Symmar-S 150mm f/5.6 - standard studio lens
• Schneider Super-Angulon 90mm f/8 / 75mm f/5.6 - wide angle; bag bellows required below ~90mm
• Rodenstock Sironar-N / Sironar-S 150mm f/5.6 - alternative standard, favored by many for contrast
• Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 300mm f/9 - long-focus process lens for copy and product
• Schneider Apo-Tele-Xenar 400mm f/5.6 - telephoto configuration for long-rail setups
• Bag bellows - mandatory for lenses shorter than ~80mm
• Sinar roll-film backs - 6x7, 6x9 in 120 and 220
• Sinar Polaroid back - Type 55 and pack film for proofing
• Sinar metering probe - through-lens spot metering, attaches to ground-glass frame
• Sinar Bino-Reflex finder - binocular reflex viewer for ground glass
• Sinar rail extensions - for macro or long-lens work
• Sinar digitale backs - early Sinar-branded digital backs were designed around the P standard

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Widely used in European and North American commercial and advertising photography throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
• Standard platform in European photographic and design schools for instruction in view camera technique.
• Adopted by industrial and scientific photographers for its precision and compatibility with specialist accessories.
• Served as the mechanical base for Sinar's early digital back integration in the 1990s.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Sinar
• Wikipedia: Sinar