Which camera to chose? Shen-Hao HZX4x5-II A or Tachihara 45BR WoodField

[Chris Strobel]

Ray McSaveny shot the major portion of his book explorations with the Tach.I looked hard at it myself but ended up with the Shen really only cause I liked the black hardware better.The wood grain and finish on my copy are superb too.

[Juergen Sattler]

I too am a happy Shen owner - I mostly chose the Shen for the better movements and the Graflok back. The Tachi is lighter, has less movements and does NOT have a Graflok back. Only you can decide if these things matter to you. For me the weight was not that big of an issue because by the time you add the lenses and all the other stuff you have to carry, the difference is minor - at least to me.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I love my Tachi!

It is a great camera and has been rock solid for over 10 years. I use everything from a Rodenstock 90mm to a Nikon M 300mm on it and it is great. Lovely to look at and use, even in its senior years.

Either camera is well thought of so it really comes down to a personal decision.

[walter23]

I got a shenhao and I'm thankful for the extra movements. I use them all from time to time, especially shift & rise/fall to make minor adjustments to composition after roughly composing and focusing. I've also used swing and tilt a lot.

I think forward tilt and rise/fall are my most often used movements, but I am still glad I have the others.

I've never used the graflock back though it's nice to know it's there. Does the tachi allow you to rotate the back? If not, that's a consideration. With the shenhao it takes about half a second to switch from portrait to landscape.

I also like the darker wood colour of the shen over the gawdy red and brass of the tachihara, but that's just cosmetic and if I had preferred everything else about the tachi I would have gone that route regardless.

If the tachihara gives full movement with a 90mm lens it might be nice for that reason; switching to the bag bellows is a minor hindrance to using my 90 to its full capacity. If I just need a bit of tilt and/or rise/fall the 90 works great with the standard bellows though; maybe 10 to 15 degrees tilt or 1.5 cm lateral movement. Of course with the bag bellows it's completely unhindered which is a bonus.

[Brian Ellis]

I'm surprised at the statements about the Shen Hao being sturdier than the Tachihara. Have those of you making those statements actually owned both cameras? I owned a Tachihara for three years. I thought it was plenty sturdy and I've also owned two Ebonys and two Linhof Technikas so I have experience with some very solid cameras. I just took delivery of a used Sun Foto (which most seem to believe is a Shen Hao with a different badge) yesterday and am returning it to the seller tomorrow. There are several reasons but one is that the back is very wobbly and this is the II version that's supposed to have a better back lock I believe. The Shen Hao is 2+ lbs heavier than the Tachihara but that doesn't necessarily make it sturdier.

As for the OP's question, obviously it's a matter of personal preference. The basic trade-offs are heavier Shen Hao with more movements vs lighter Tachihara with fewer but still very adequate movements for general purpose photography. The Shen accepts a bag bellows and the Tachihara doesn't but that's a mixed blessing in my book, bag bellows are pains to buy, carry, and mess around with and the Tachihara doesn't need a bag bellows for lenses as short as 65mm, maybe shorter. The Fresnel on the Tachihara is very bright (though like most Fresnels, not so easy to focus) so there's no need for an after-market viewing screen. But contrary to what someone else said, you can't use a 6x17 holder on the Tachihara, it has a spring back rather than a Graflok back.

I don't think you'll go far wrong with either camera, both are very good values for the money, but if I were voting my vote would go to the Tachihara.

[nnikatt]

Thanks so much to all of you that have taken the time to respond. We must go away and choose, do we go for the asthetics and lightweight of the Tachi, or should we go for the slightly more versatile Shen and get ourselves a 6x17 back and have a dual no quad format camera.

Too many choices, maybe I should leave the decision to Angie.........

[C. D. Keth]

I chose the shen hao for the extra movements (it is my only camera, so I have no monorail to switch to like some here) and for the ability to exchange bellows for a bag bellows.

So far I have been happy, though I have used the bag bellows less than I thought.

It's awesome you and your wife do this together, by the way. I have the same common hobby with my girlfriend, except with her it's usually she snaps 10 or 20 with her DSLR before I've exposed anything

[Scott Davis]

I'm surprised at the statements about the Shen Hao being sturdier than the Tachihara. Have those of you making those statements actually owned both cameras? I owned a Tachihara for three years. I thought it was plenty sturdy and I've also owned two Ebonys and two Linhof Technikas so I have experience with some very solid cameras. I just took delivery of a used Sun Foto (which most seem to believe is a Shen Hao with a different badge) yesterday and am returning it to the seller tomorrow. There are several reasons but one is that the back is very wobbly and this is the II version that's supposed to have a better back lock I believe. The Shen Hao is 2+ lbs heavier than the Tachihara but that doesn't necessarily make it sturdier.

As for the OP's question, obviously it's a matter of personal preference. The basic trade-offs are heavier Shen Hao with more movements vs lighter Tachihara with fewer but still very adequate movements for general purpose photography. The Shen accepts a bag bellows and the Tachihara doesn't but that's a mixed blessing in my book, bag bellows are pains to buy, carry, and mess around with and the Tachihara doesn't need a bag bellows for lenses as short as 65mm, maybe shorter. The Fresnel on the Tachihara is very bright (though like most Fresnels, not so easy to focus) so there's no need for an after-market viewing screen. But contrary to what someone else said, you can't use a 6x17 holder on the Tachihara, it has a spring back rather than a Graflok back.

I don't think you'll go far wrong with either camera, both are very good values for the money, but if I were voting my vote would go to the Tachihara.

The Sun Foto cameras are copies of the Shen-Hao - they MAY come out of the same factory, but they aren't built to the same standard, and they carry the Sun Foto name for a reason- they're not Shen-Hao's.

I have handled, but not owned, a Tachihara. I can only base my impressions of it from limited exposure. I would certainly own one before I'd buy a Toyo CF (which feels like the cheapest piece of plastic junk I've ever laid hands on). I'm just very happy I got my Shen, as it has served very admirably. Brian- if you're ever in the Washington DC area and would like to take a poke at a real Shen, let me know. Mine is a fairly early production model - serial number in the low three-digits.

[Mike Snider]

Well, I'll bite. I have been reading this forum for several years so I guess it's time for me to make a post. I acutally own and use both the Shen-hao HZX45 and the Tachihara 45BR! My first purchase was the Shen-hao but I decided I wanted another camera for back up, so I bought a Tachihara.
I shoot almost exclusively for landscapes with a Nikon 90mm f8, a Rodenstock 150mm f5.6, and a Fuji 240mm f9 so my experience may not apply for everyon. Its understandable for a novice to over anylize in order to make the "right" purchase. I did. But there's just not a huge difference between them ...

1. The Shen weighs more than the Tachihara but when you consider how much total weight you are going to carry, it's not that big a deal.
2. The Shen has more movements than the Tachihara but the Tachihara can mimick most anything through indirect movements. Besides, you probably will find that you will not need all the movements anyway.
3. The Tachihara has a little more exetenshion than the Shen Hao. I am skeptical of the Shen's claim that it can handle a 300mm lens. The normal extension is something like 270mm on the Shen. This can be extended through movements but it seems to make the camera unstable.
4. A lot of people talk about the Shen's better overall stability. My experience is that they are exactly the same. Once everthing is tightened down, both will move about 1/4 inch on the front or back. Both go right back to where they were when you release the pressure. I have take lots of pictures in windy conditions and it's not a problem.
5. The Tachihara has a hands down better ground glass. For this reason alone I prefer to use the Tachihara. But the Shen-hao's ground glass still works, even with my 90mm. It's just not nearly as bright.
6. The overall durability and build quality seem about the same. The laquered finish on the Tachihara is wearing off where the film holder slides in. I think the finish on the Shen might hold up better.

They seem to be closely matched cameras at a similar price point. You can be happy with either of them.

[Chris Strobel]

I did have a chance to play with the Tachihara for about 2 hrs.It seeed really no less sturdy than my Shen with a 150mm on it.But now using mostly my black C-1 on the big Ries, they both feel spindly to me

I'm surprised at the statements about the Shen Hao being sturdier than the Tachihara. Have those of you making those statements actually owned both cameras? I owned a Tachihara for three years. I thought it was plenty sturdy and I've also owned two Ebonys and two Linhof Technikas so I have experience with some very solid cameras. I just took delivery of a used Sun Foto (which most seem to believe is a Shen Hao with a different badge) yesterday and am returning it to the seller tomorrow. There are several reasons but one is that the back is very wobbly and this is the II version that's supposed to have a better back lock I believe. The Shen Hao is 2+ lbs heavier than the Tachihara but that doesn't necessarily make it sturdier.

As for the OP's question, obviously it's a matter of personal preference. The basic trade-offs are heavier Shen Hao with more movements vs lighter Tachihara with fewer but still very adequate movements for general purpose photography. The Shen accepts a bag bellows and the Tachihara doesn't but that's a mixed blessing in my book, bag bellows are pains to buy, carry, and mess around with and the Tachihara doesn't need a bag bellows for lenses as short as 65mm, maybe shorter. The Fresnel on the Tachihara is very bright (though like most Fresnels, not so easy to focus) so there's no need for an after-market viewing screen. But contrary to what someone else said, you can't use a 6x17 holder on the Tachihara, it has a spring back rather than a Graflok back.

I don't think you'll go far wrong with either camera, both are very good values for the money, but if I were voting my vote would go to the Tachihara.