Alpa Max Vs Arca Swiss Rm3d

[Chris Eyrich]

I wish I could find, in Europe, a better Arca-Swiss representative than arca-shop.de so please, if anyone knows one, do let me know.

Get in contact with Christoph Greiner:

   http://www.greiner-photo.com/

He sells Arca as well as Alpa. And he knows what he is talking about ...

Chris

[nazdravanul]

Get in contact with Christoph Greiner:

   http://www.greiner-photo.com/

He sells Arca as well as Alpa. And he knows what he is talking about ...

Chris

Thank you.

[Christopher]

I would try to talk to Walter Pfisterer from Arca-shop directly. I get most answers after a day or so and if I call I get them right away.

[David Klepacki]

I might just have to go with Alpa simply because of the awful Arca-Swiss communication. Arca-shop.de are a real nightmare to deal with : 3 weeks and still no response to my email with technical questions, despite a follow-up phone call and another email. Alpa has been really good so far in dealing with my questions, and that is quite reassuring.
I wish I could find, in Europe, a better Arca-Swiss representative than arca-shop.de so please, if anyone knows one, do let me know. For my needs the Arca Rm3d seems like the better product, but I refuse to deal with the ridiculous response times. When the time comes, later in the year, Alpa will probably get my business, simply based on good communication, rather than product preference (not that the Alpa Max or STC are bad products , on the contrary, they appear to be outstanding, yet ... ).

I was just thinking the same thing.  We placed an order for a Rm3di on May 16, and we were told that we would receive it within 2 - 4 weeks.  Now, it is 8 weeks later and the camera is still not here.  The lack of responsiveness from Arca-Swiss is indeed troublesome.  We never had any problems like this when we were Sinar customers.  

In fact, the Sinar arTec camera might be a better choice for professionals who need more responsive customer support.  The Sinar arTec can tilt and swing in any direction with any of the Rodenstock wide angle lenses, which is a key feature for us.

[nazdravanul]

I would try to talk to Walter Pfisterer from Arca-shop directly. I get most answers after a day or so and if I call I get them right away.

I did call - almost 2 weeks ago. They told me they would get back to me ... hopefully by the end of that week I never heard back from them, even though I did send an additional email asking them for any sort of feedback ...

[nazdravanul]

Following my post here, Marc from customer support at Arca-Swiss (not arca-shop.de), took the time, today, to answer my questions in a quick and informative manner. I'm glad the Rm3di is still in the cards, for me .

[asf]

 
In fact, the Sinar arTec camera might be a better choice for professionals who need more responsive customer support.  

In the US? Sinar? Customer support? Unless something has changed recently you're thinking about the old days.

[David Klepacki]

In the US? Sinar? Customer support? Unless something has changed recently you're thinking about the old days.

You may be right about this.  So, I guess that leaves Cambo. Although, even Sinar should be able to beat an 8+? week delivery time.

[TH_Alpa]

I agree with Chris, he knows what he is talking about.

Thierry

Get in contact with Christoph Greiner:

   http://www.greiner-photo.com/

He sells Arca as well as Alpa. And he knows what he is talking about ...

Chris

[lance_schad]

While we are on the Arca-Swiss subject, Rod Klukas will be visiting us here at Digital Transitions in NYC this Friday, July 15.

We are planning to go out and do some shooting around the city, possibly at The Highline .

If any members would like to come along we will have a R3Mdi/IQ180 and variety of lenses.

Also we should have one or two people bringing their ALPA's/Cambo's coming along too.

Please let me know if your in the area and I can share the details with you.

Would be great to get to meet more NY members and allow you to handle the gear we are discussing.

Looking forward to it.

Lance
lns@digitaltransitions.com

[David Klepacki]

Hi Lance,

What time will you be meeting?  This would be a great opportunity for me to meet with Rod and see if the Arca-Swiss delivery pipeline can improve.

I am trying to understand why some orders for Rm3di bodies in the U.S. ordered after our own order have already been delivered some time ago.  I have been trying to get in touch with Rod, but still waiting for a call back.  Hopefully, I will not have to wait until Friday to discuss this.

Thanks,

David

[lance_schad]

Yes Rod will be here.

We are looking to meet up at out offices at 1:00. We are located at 35 west 35th St -4th floor. We will spend a few minutes getting acquainted then head out to The Highline. If you can not make it to the office but want to meet up call my cell 610 496 5586 and I'll let you know where we are.

Please bring your equipment if you would like. I just thought this would be a great way for those in the area to check out the new Arca and IQ , and shoot it in a nice environment. We will have a wide range of lenses.

I want this to be more of a 'meet-up' and not a 'shoot-out' .

It's also a great opportunity for the NY area members to get together and put some faces to the posts.

Please let me know via email if you plan on joining us lns@digitaltransitions.com.

Lance

Bring some cf cards to take away some files.

[MNG]

Is the Arca Swiss viewfinder for the RM3d cameras accurate enough to compose with, without having the back tethered or is it suitable as a rough guide only?

Also has anyone tested the Rodenstock HR Digaron W 32mm f4 against the Schneider Digitar 35mm f5.6 with a 80MP back? The other option I'm considering is the Schneider Super Digitar 28mm lens but I dont want to have send the lens back to the factory like another user had to with another camera system.

[David Klepacki]

Is the Arca Swiss viewfinder for the RM3d cameras accurate enough to compose with, without having the back tethered or is it suitable as a rough guide only?

I find the viewfinder to be extremely accurate in the field for landscape and architectural work.  At close range in the studio, say for product shots or repro work, you will most likely be better served with a view camera that has more movements and maybe also shooting tethered with a multishot back.

Also has anyone tested the Rodenstock HR Digaron W 32mm f4 against the Schneider Digitar 35mm f5.6 with a 80MP back? The other option I'm considering is the Schneider Super Digitar 28mm lens but I dont want to have send the lens back to the factory like another user had to with another camera system.

You might want to reconsider your options here, as the Schneider Digitar wides do not seem to fare as well with an 80MP back in regard to color cast issues.  The Rodenstock 32 and Schneider 28 on the IQ180 is discussed here: http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27729