Hi. I thought some of you may be interested in my first impressions of using the Shen Hao 6x17 roll film back? Firstly, the build quality - in a word - excellent! Okay, so its a bit "industrial" but is a solid piece of gear that appears as though it will last a lifetime! Film loading is quick and easy and what's more the film flatness is perfect! Just had 2 rolls of Astia back from the lab and there is NO problem whatsoever with the film not being held flat, or flare etc! Frame spacing is also spot on with each frame appearing equally seperated from its neighbour and the wind on mechanism is smooth and very simple too - it has a reassuring tightness! I was "concerned" about using the "red window" to see frame numbers but its real easy! I used a 90mm,110XL and a 150mm to take these test shots and the image is fine even right into the corners of each frame. I used the film back in horizontal and vertical positions again without any problems which is pleasing considering I employed front fall on the 90mm lens - no vignetting (exposed at f32 and f22). I can confidently (fingers crossed!)say that I won't need a centre filter (phew!). I am VERY pleased with this piece of equipment! I've wanted to shoot 6x17 for a while but have always been put off by the high prices of Fuji/Linhof etc - this is an excellent compromise for those of us on a budget! The "version" I've got is different from that reviewed by Kerry in View Camera last year. The back he reviewed was the DAYI, I've got the ART PANORAMA (made by Shen Hao) but for all intents and purposes they appear VERY similar! Useable lenses are limited to 90mm - 150mm if you want full frame 6x17. The film back adds about 45mm to the length of the camera so shorter lenses will not focus on infinity. There are some excellent photos of this film back and its viewer on Robert White's web site (in the LF section). Hope this positive "review" has encouraged others to try out this "cheap" way into 6x17! The film back comes with a ground glass screen with bellows viewer and cost me less than £500 from Robert White!
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I also agree with the weight issue! But again I think that the cost offsets the inconvenience! Changing film is a PITA! You need an extra pair of hands to make it easy! I don't think there is any solution to this - but the more I am using this back the quicker I am finding that I can change films. I've never used or even seen the Linhof cameras (the temptation to sell my wife and daughter and buy one would have been too great!) but I understand that they also require the back cover to be removed in order to change films - I recall Colin Prior mentioning in an article that fear of dropping the camera back down a mountain was one reason for him changing from the Linhof to the Fuji 617! One concern I had prior to using this back was the weight on camera issue! However, I plan on using it with 90/110mm lenses so the bellows extension is minimal and therefore the camera remains stable. BTW, some of my test shots were exposed for 10 seconds and the camera/back remained rigid.
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