Shen-Hao 8x10 FCL810-A

[martin_4668]

I have heard a lot of happy users of Shen Hao cameras.....but ...
I am a dealer and have spoken to several LF dealers selling Shen Hao´s and they all say the same...DONT TOUCH !
they are cheap - and there is a reason !
Go for an Ebony, Wehmann, Canham, Linhof, Arca.etc etc instead...

regards

[Clayton Tume]

Martin

you say don't touch, they are cheap and there is a reason.

I'd be interested to know what the reason is?

Clayton

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Does anyone know what kind of wood is used in the construction of this new Shen-Hao 8x10? From the pictures, it almost looks like pine, but I can't believe they'd use something as soft and unstable as pine for building a camera. The color is about right for maple, but what I can see of the grain doesn't look like maple to me. Perhaps it's some sort of spruce or other lightweight, light colored wood. It's certainly not the typical mahogany or cherry traditionally used for camera construction.

I checked the Shen-Hao web site, but it's no help. They list the "woodiness" as "Schneider", whatever that means.

Kerry

[Nick_3536]

Odds are it's something tropical. I'd be highly suprised if the wood isn't local.

[tim atherton]

I remember seeing another camera made in China that used a lightish coloured hardwood. it had a strange name - Canadian something or other, but I only found one reference to it under that name (it generally went by another name) - apparently it was a hardwood found in China that was exported mainly to Australia... or somewhere like that

[Dean Tomasula]

Actually, the web site says the wood is walnut.

[CXC]

Martin & Clayton,

Read on this forum the comments of people who have owned Shen-Haos, and you'll see that there are a lot of satisfied customers. My 4x5 was a fine entry-level camera, at a bargain price. I traded up because I wanted a longer bellows, not due to any design or quality shortcoming.

Perhaps retailers don't like to deal with the company, or with importing from China.

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Dean - Actually, the web site says the wood is walnut.

Dean,

I was referring to the description of the FCL810-A listed when you click on the newest link on the homepage at www.shen-hao.com, where it dies indeed refer to the "woodiness" as "Schneider".

You are correct that the "woodiness" is listed as "black walnut" when clicking on the 8x10 link. Problem is, the wood the camera is made out of doesn't look anything like any black walnut I've ever seen. Not only is the color way to light, the grain structure doesn't look like walnut. For comparsion, check out the 8x10 Canham.

I'm not trying top compare the Shen-Hao to the Canham, just trying to figure out what kind of wood they are using for this camera.

Kerry

[Frank Petronio]

It's probably from some newly extinct species of which the last tree was milled and dried a few years ago.

[George Hart]

I think I remember seeing a previous S-H webpage which stated that the wood is Zelkova, a type of elm. My little tree book states that Z. serrata is "much prized in its native Japan for the quality of its timber". The common name is Keaki. Widely planted in the UK following the decimation of our native elm, Ulmus procera, by Dutch elm disease.

I too would like to see a hands-on account of this camera, or else to get my hands on one!