It's only four pounds? I think I have a lens that heavy -)
I thought Shen had mostly stopped making it's larger Ebony style cameras?
It's only four pounds? I think I have a lens that heavy -)
I thought Shen had mostly stopped making it's larger Ebony style cameras?
The pictures that ic-racer posted are actually shots of my camera. I asked Mr ZhangFuming to build me a camera loosely based on my Ebony SW45. What was I looking for? A non-folding light-weight but rigid 8x10 camera with which I would be able to shoot urban landscapes with a minimum of fuss and as fast as possible (large format cameras inevitably attract attention whenever you set them up in a street)and yet versatile enough to practically do anything but extreme macros (I found the Ebony SLW a bit limited).
My camera differs slightly from the model now offered, in that its bellows extension goes from 85 to 510mm, enabling me to use a 110mm XL at the short end and to focus a 450mm lens down to about 12 feet at its long end. It only weighs 3.4 Kg and it does not need unfolding or squaring before shooting.
As to its build, it's not an Ebony, but the difference is mostly tactile (yes, calfskin bellows are definitely nicer...) rather than functional.
Wow, so he put your 'deam' camera into regular production.
How do you carry it? Does it come together to a size similar to a folded 8x10 camera? Do you have to worry about the front standard being bent backwards when it is being transported?
In a recent email, Mr Zhang said that he's able to custom make me a 8x10 that will accept Sinar bellows and lens boards (allowing me to use a Sinar Auto shutter with barrel lenses). Given the difficulty in getting 8x10 film in Oz, I'm tempted to ask if he can build it in 4x5...
So, if you do have a "dream" camera/design/function, ping him an email; you might get lucky!!
Lachlan.
Anyone have the bag bellows (wide angle bellows) for the Shen Hao 8x10? I'm thinking of getting one.
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