A Cardboard Box Arrived from China! Chamonix 8x10!

[Asher Kelman]

Have you tried the 4x5-back with a Polaroid 545 holder yet? I looks like it won`t be usable with it.

I'll try it ASAP!

Asher

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

I'll try it ASAP!

Asher

Good The reason I ask, I that on the 5x7 Shen Hao I had, the 4x5-back was of similar construction and Polaroid 545 couldn`t be used.

[Asher Kelman]

Good The reason I ask, I that on the 5x7 Shen Hao I had, the 4x5-back was of similar construction and Polaroid 545 couldn`t be used.

Amund,

The same with the 4x5 reduction back for the Chamonix 8x10. We]ll need the 5mm frame for the Graflok to be raised about 7mm. I'll tell Hugo.

4x5 film golders, of course work fine as does the 6x6 Graflok 120 film holder.

Will add pics,

Asher

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Amund,

The same with the 4x5 reduction back for the Chamonix 8x10. We]ll need the 5mm frame for the Graflok to be raised about 7mm. I'll tell Hugo.

4x5 film golders, of course work fine as does the 6x7 Graflok 120 film holder.

Will add pics,

Asher

Ah, just as I suspected then... At least you don`t have to discover this the way I did, a long way from home with only the Polaroid 545 and a buch of Readyloads

[Asher Kelman]

This illustrates the 4x5 reducing back. Sometimes we want to use the LF movements but shoot a small format. Well Chamonix makes a 4x5 reducing back with a Graflok reception for various films that I'll be testing.

So here's the adapter with a carbon fiber protector over the ground glass:





Here's the ground glass and the composition guides for different formats:



Here's the Graflex 220 6x6 rollfilm adapter for using 120 film.



A perfect fit! Well it's not surpising saince Hugo went to the trouble of getting them to fit it to this actual rollfilm holder. Thanks so much!

Last, here's one small issue:



The 4x5 Polaroid adapter cannot go in straight because it needs an extra 5-7mm to clear the wood frame. Normall on a 4x5 camera, this would be to the side of the camera. The simple solution is to accomodate the Polaroid holder bulbous end by increasing the outside depth of the 4.2"x4.2" frame holding the Graflok setup. This is actually a minor issue for me right now since, my "Polaroid" for checking the shots is the 5D attached to an adapter which I'll discuss later. Still, I want to use 4x5 Polaroids for some projects. Let's see what is possible for a fix for this.

Also I am set up for 8x10 Polaroid. Now that is real Polaroid, but unfortunately very expensive.

Asher

[domenico Foschi]

my keyboard is wet.....

[audioexcels]

the 8x10 is about $2600 last time I asked. Given the exceptional quality of the 4x5, I was very tempted to get a 8x10 too and replace the Tachihara, but $2.6k is about $1k too much. Hopefully they will start making 'batches' like they do for the 4x5, bringing the prices down...

2.6K??? That's rediculous. Is it triple extension with a 5X7 and 4X5 reduction back, along with holders included?

I agree that 1.6K in line with the pricing of the 4X5 seems reasonable, but 2.6K is a joke. You can buy brand new Philips and Wehman 8X10's for this price...

[Hugo Zhang]

Chamonix is a small shop with half dozen craftmen. All its cameras are handmade. It has no plan to expand its capacity even the demand for its products is getting bigger everyday.

Can Chamonix make a 8x10 camera under 1.6K? Surely it can. But it would be a different camera with parts ourtsourced and mass produced, with materials less expensive and labor less intensive. That camera WILL produce equally good images, since camera is just a box with a lens to catch light. One day we may just make such a camera, but that time has not arrived yet.

One thing I am quite certain is that Asher wouldn't have waited so long and would not have such exquisite pleasure looking at it and taking pictures of it and caressing it with his impatient hands.

We frequently see other cameras on the used market. Time will test the affection of Chamonix users for their cameras. But there is one thing I know: Asher is not going to sell this 8x10, even you dangle a check of $3,000 in front of his face. Not now. He is still in his honeymoon.

Am I right, Asher?

[BarryS]

...I agree that 1.6K in line with the pricing of the 4X5 seems reasonable, but 2.6K is a joke. You can buy brand new Philips and Wehman 8X10's for this price...

I talked to Dick Phillips last week and he was getting ready to send out the *last* batch of 8x10 Explorers (@$2600 ea). The last Compact II's went out months ago--so Phillips 8x10's are out of production. The Wehman seems like an interesting machine, but I believe the Chamonix is a more refined camera. The nicer of the two Shen Hao 8x10's sells for $2K, but it's still heavier than the Chamonix. I'd also love a lower priced Chamonix 8x10, but the cost doesn't seem completely out of line considering the features and quality of the camera. I do think they could sell a lot more if they could hit the $2K mark.

[Songyun]

I talked to Dick Phillips last week and he was getting ready to send out the *last* batch of 8x10 Explorers (@$2600 ea). The last Compact II's went out months ago--so Phillips 8x10's are out of production. The Wehman seems like an interesting machine, but I believe the Chamonix is a more refined camera. The nicer of the two Shen Hao 8x10's sells for $2K, but it's still heavier than the Chamonix. I'd also love a lower priced Chamonix 8x10, but the cost doesn't seem completely out of line considering the features and quality of the camera. I do think they could sell a lot more if they could hit the $2K mark.

I highly doubt it. Goldman Sach is predicting the Chinese yuan : Dollar will reach 6:1 by 2009. That means $2k in 2009 is equivalent to $1667 now.