The weather in Sweden has been perfect for photography the last couple of weeks; unfortunately I caught influenza, so I've only had the camera out once..
What I can tell you so far, is that you get what you pay for. It's not a high end camera, and I think it reflects in the build quality. It's got a lot of small imperfections, some might say it's because it's hand made, but I think it reflects time/money spent.
For instance, you can see markings in the wood form improper handling and the bellows are not glued on 100% straight. I have some experience gluing bellows myself, and it takes time and patience to get it straight. If it was a camera that cost much more, I'd expect 100% straight, but not so much for 1200€.
I got double tripod mounts (for free), so that the arca plate does not twist, and so that the plate can be used as a rail to move the camera. Unfortunately the holes are not aligned, so the plate is not straight. This is the sloppiest part of the whole camera, and I would gladly have paid the actual cost of getting it done properly.
The corners does not have finger joints, I don't know enough about woodworking to tell what this will mean for longevity.
Usage with normal (slightly wide to normal) lenses is great, the camera is stable and easy to adjust.
For long lenses, I think it gets a bit wobbly, because only one of the screws are locking down the base. I've not yet shot with the 400 tele, just played around with it at home.
For super wide angles, you have to do some acrobatics with the front standard. I think 135 is the limit, below that you have to start tilting the standard backwards.
It's very hard to use the 90mm super wide in "portrait" mode, because the base tends to get into the picture. Using it in "landscape" mode seems much better. Mind you that I've only tried it out a few times at home.
Flipping the back requires loosening two thumb screws, which is quite fiddly compared to any other LF camera I've ever owned before. It locks down tightly though.
Folding it requires some practice - the front standard fork wants to dig into the bellows - but I think this will become easier with use.
The back and the €30 lens plates are made from stained plywood, not the same as the rest of the camera. The plates are kind of pricey for being two plywood squares with holes in the middle, in my opinion. I guess it's to prevent warping of the sensitive back.
The ground glass looks very hand made, with micro chippings at the edges and hand drawn grid (thirds). Works pretty well, and it's easily replaced with two screws.
The synthetic cloth bellows are also easy to replace, very nice if you plan for bag bellows in the future. It can be taken off in about three minutes.
The whole camera is very easy to strip, I took it apart and waxed the wood while on sick leave. It's equally easy to assemble again afterward.
Most of the screws go straight into the wood, rather than into a threaded insert, which may affect longevity of the camera. I would have likes the ground glass and bellows screws to have inserts, as you'd want to remove these regularly for waxing.
This might seem like a negative review, but I'm actually very positive towards this camera so far. The weight, and the price are the main selling points - a new chamonix 5x7 is more than twice the price. Just want to be honest about what to expect.
Regarding the price: the shipping is a complete ripoff. I paid 80€, and it was shipped with a 35€ economy service. No fancy packing or anything to justify the cost.
The delivery date was later than promised, with no prior warning of the delay.
Now if I could only find a nice backpack to carry it!
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Originally Posted by Jockos
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