|
|
Arca Swiss DiscoveryI originally posted this review to the Camera Review web site in April, 1999. I bought an Arca Swiss Discovery as my first view camera. For once I decided to heed my own advice to other people and spent most of my money on lenses rather than a fancy body! My Discovery was extremely inexpensive ($1,145), but it's a wonderfully solid piece of gear. The only parts that aren't metal are the bellows and the ground glass. Even the knobs are metal. The differences between the Discovery and the F-Line 4x5 are very minor, making me wonder why the F-Line costs hundreds of dollars more. For example, the F-Line has geared focusing on both standards while the Discovery only has it on the rear standard, but the front standard moves so quickly and smoothly on the monorail without the gears that I think that I prefer the Discovery. The F-Line also has, I understand, a better tripod mounting block. Elsewhere I read that the Discovery doesn't come with a Fresnel screen, but mine definitely has one. The Discovery came partially assembled in its carrying case. The extent of the documentation was a single sheet of paper with a picture of how the assembled camera should look. Fortunately setting up the camera is a cinch; you put the swing/tilt/shift blocks on the monorail, then attach the standards (which include the rise adjustment), and you're done. All movements except rear focusing are friction, but believe me, you won't miss the gears. The swings and tilts have center detents and individual locks, and are marked from 0-30 degrees in 5 degree increments. The shifts have no detents (they are much less critical for rises and shifts) and are marked in 1mm increments. The normal position for the rise adjustments are all the way down, so there are no detents per se, and in effect the camera has no fall adjustments; you just raise the opposite standard. Curiously, the only markings on the risers are lines (without numbers) every 5mm. There is absolutely no slop in any of the movements, and they don't creep or change when you lock them down. The Discovery isn't a heavyweight (just 5 pounds) and will jiggle when you insert film holders, but everything stays put relative to everything else. There is a level on each standard and also on the rear block. The backs, bellows, and lens boards all attach to the standards with the same mechanism, a catch that grabs the accessory when you press it into the standard frame. To change between the vertical and horizontal formats, you just detach the back, turn it 90 degrees, and reattach it, which takes maybe 3 seconds. However, the catch is at the top of the standard, and once, after changing the back to the vertical format, the catch didn't grab the back all the way, and when I pulled out my Polaroid film holder, it unlatched the back! Fortunately I caught it before it hit the ground, and now I make sure that the back is firmly seated when I switch formats. The back is of the Graflock type and will accept pretty much any standard film holder or accessory. The camera comes with a standard bellows which is great for a 150mm lens and which will just focus a 72mm lens at infinity if you're willing to completely forego movements. The bag bellows allows full movements with the 72mm, at least until the standards run into each other or you smack the ground glass against the back of the lens. You can use the bag bellows with the 150mm lens, avoiding constant bellows changes, as long as you don't need to focus too closely. There is also a extended bellows available, about twice as long as the standard bellows, or you could buy a third standard and a second standard bellows. The Arca Swiss lensboards have been criticized as being too large, and I suppose that they are larger than others, but I don't find them objectionally large. My thinking is that if you have to carry the standards themselves, it isn't so much trouble to carry a lensboard of roughly the same size. Some people report using smaller lensboards with an adapter, but then you have to carry the adapter, so unless you have a fair number of lenses (at least 3), I can't see how that is much more convenient. So what's not to like about this camera? Not much. The worst thing is undoubtedly the difficulty in obtaining parts and service. I was fortunate enough to find the Discovery and the wide angle bellows in stock (although I had to go to two different stores), however most parts have to be ordered, and no one will ever say when they will come in. The Arca Swiss importer needs to address this issue, but I should say that based on reports on the Internet and my own experience, things seem to be getting better. Another gripe that I have is that the levels are held in place with something that looks like black putty; I don't know how reliable the stuff is, but it looks sloppy compared to the rest of the camera. My only other grips is that the tripod mounting block is a little wimpy. It's only about one inch by two. It easily supports the camera, but is probably not as stable as most people would like. I've ordered an accessory that will let me attach the monorail directly to my Arca Swiss quick release head. Overall, the Discovery would be an excellent camera at twice the price. For only $1,145 (at Glazer's in Seattle), it's a steal. All contents copyright 1999 by Willis BoyceLast updated November 19, 2001 |