Shen Hao PTB45, anyone here actually using it?

[vwizz]

By the way Fred, i had the same issue as you with the back lock: there were two very tiny screws that prevented the back motion and biased the vertical lock. I had to screw them in with my nails
Something tells me that they don't have a QC dept there

I noticed as well that there is no serial number.

tomorrow I'll go back to the store with the camera and mention the 5 holes-3 holes thing.. But I'm afraid it'll be hard as the lady does not speak any english

Anyway, I can live with it as it's not my main camera.
only thing this would prevent is making vertical polaroids with a wide angle (i.e 90mm or less) as some backs require room on both sides, so in that case pushing the back standard towards front is not an option...

V

[thafred]

"Something tells me that they don't have a QC dept there "

lol .. that´s what I thought!

the 3 / 4 / 5 hole thing is very interesting! curious if the old lady has something to say about it..
I ordered mine from Robertwhite and it looks like a mix between the one on the VCS website ( http://www.viewcamerastore.com/produ...roducts_id=823 ) and that from RW-site. it has the bubble levels (useless imho) but misses the graduated scale on the front standard (that would have been useful!) also the adjustment wheels are not drilled like the version from VCS..

I wonder why they change the number of holes and minor stuff when they copy the Chamonix in every other detail so shamelessly?!? doesnt make sense to me

beeing home from work I just repaired the back locks (had to get a 0.9mm allen key for the worm screws) and adjusted them to stop the back at exactly 90 degrees! I had to put a "screw-glue" (dont know the english word for that) on the little worm screws because they seem to move with minor vibration... but now it´s all good.
btw. I allready ordered precision bubble levels from a german manufacturer

Hope you enjoy your stay in Shanghai!! I was there early this year and loved the city (like a place out of a science fiction movie)


best
fred

[Darin Boville]

For comparing the two cameras in price, many people are factoring in buying the universal bellows for the Chamonix--an extra $90.

However, I just bought a Chamonix a week or two ago (in stock at the time both with Hugo and Kerry, but not in the same colors) and Kerry (www.reallybigcameras.com) has the camera coming with the universal bellows as a standard item. His price is $22 more than Hugo's for that reason. Or $68 less, depending on how you look at it!

--Darin

[vwizz]

The default bellows provided with the PTB does not allow movements in wide angle, so you need to think about buying a wide angle bellows with the shen hao too... I wish they sold a similar "universal bellows" too rather than having two.

You have to add Fresnel cost to the PTB.
Small practical things come with the 45N-1 too like the carbon GG protection and the camera pouch.

One last detail i forgot to mention in my comparison is that the fixing system for the GG is much easier to open on the Chamonix as on the Shen hao you need to unscrew 4 little screws directly from the wood. of course, it's not something you do everyday, but still...

Fred,
I guess the reason for the differences between the production batches is probably linked to their little parts supply.
For the holes, it might be that they decided to save money (3<4<5). Apparently mine was freshly finished from the factory this week...
As for Shanghai, I agree with you, I find the city 100% "Blade Runner style", especially at night under the rain But I find the atmosphere quite positive and the people extremely nice, and waaaay more aware of everthing going on in western countries than I expected. One of my local colleagues here knew even the amount of money for the inter-season transfers of football players in european clubs, and was well aware of French political/financial scandals . And, well.. that city is soooo huge!

Regards,
V

[Arthur Fleischmann]

Hey, just read all the replies here. Thanks everyone!

I got the PTB45 in the meantime and basically concur with Fred and vwizz, my impression is really positive overall but there are some minor drawbacks. I have the same "4-hole version" of this camera as Fred, also ordered it from Robert White.

I experienced the same as Fred, when I got the camera the rear standard locks were mis-aligned so that the rear standart was not exactly vertical, I re-aligned the locks but since then the tiny screws inside the locks moved and now the locks cannot be slid out at all - I shall borrow your allen key and screw-lock glue, Fred.

Something else that made me wonder is the scale on the bottom of the camera where the front standart is attached, this scale should help to position the front parallel to the rear standart but this is made difficult as the lines of the scale are etched in the wood so that the front standard is always positioned between two lines, not congruent with them - no idea why they did it this way. And I'd like to know where the zero position of the front standart is (zero fall/rise), this can only be guessed and I think it would be nice to have some simple markings (as on the Chamonix).

But these are minor complaints, overall it's a great camera and enjoy it very much!

vwizz, what do you think about the brightness of the ground glass on the PTB? Is the Chamonix ground glass + fresnel much brighter? I am thinking of maybe getting a replacement ground glass from sheetfilm.be and/or a fresnel (but from where?).

[Carl Schofield]

Hey, just read all the replies here. Thanks everyone!

I got the PTB45 in the meantime and basically concur with Fred and vwizz, my impression is really positive overall but there are some minor drawbacks. I have the same "4-hole version" of this camera as Fred, also ordered it from Robert White.

I experienced the same as Fred, when I got the camera the rear standard locks were mis-aligned so that the rear standart was not exactly vertical, I re-aligned the locks but since then the tiny screws inside the locks moved and now the locks cannot be slid out at all - I shall borrow your allen key and screw-lock glue, Fred.

Something else that made me wonder is the scale on the bottom of the camera where the front standart is attached, this scale should help to position the front parallel to the rear standart but this is made difficult as the lines of the scale are etched in the wood so that the front standard is always positioned between two lines, not congruent with them - no idea why they did it this way. And I'd like to know where the zero position of the front standart is (zero fall/rise), this can only be guessed and I think it would be nice to have some simple markings (as on the Chamonix).

But these are minor complaints, overall it's a great camera and enjoy it very much!

vwizz, what do you think about the brightness of the ground glass on the PTB? Is the Chamonix ground glass + fresnel much brighter? I am thinking of maybe getting a replacement ground glass from sheetfilm.be and/or a fresnel (but from where?).

This version seems to have a scale on the front for setting rise/fall position with a zero reference point.

http://www.viewcamerastore.com/produ...roducts_id=823

[Arthur Fleischmann]

Carl, you're right! The model I have doesn't have that scale, though. Well, it's not a big problem for me, it would just be nice to have, some simple dots would work just fine (as on the Chamonix).

[vwizz]

Hi!
i finally had my PTB directly replaced by another one that happened to have 4 holes (apparently the issue is linked to their part supply).

Concerning the GG, I haven't made side by side comparisons but I had no problems doing my first series of pictures with the normal Shen Hao glass. I have bought a Fresnel glass at the Shen Hao store but haven't installed it yet as I need to unscrew the GG holders first...

I'll be in the studio thursday and Sunday, maybe I'll have time to compare both then. i'll let you know

Best Regards,
V

[Arthur Fleischmann]

Hey, thanks!

I agree the refular Shen Hao ground glass is alright in normal daylight conditions. I find it to be a bit dark indoors but I have no experience whatsoever with large format so maybe I'm just expecting too much. I'm tempted to get the sheetfilm.be gg not only for brightness but also because of the Lumigrid - and it's cheap. But their website says 6+ weeks delivery... Oh well. I've done some research on fresnel lenses and think they are a bit too pricey for me at the moment, anyway (how much did you pay for yours?)

[Mark Stahlke]

I took my brand new Shen Hao PTB 4x5 on its first overnight backpacking trip last weekend. After two shots, a gust of wind tipped it over head first onto the rocks. Yikes!

As luck would have it, the lens was undamaged. Unfortunately, a chunk of wood broke out from the rear of the camera base and the focus knob was dangling loose. The wood split at the screw holes where the focus gear attaches to the base plate. I never did find the piece of wood but I found one of the screws. That was all I needed to make a quick field repair. The only tool I had available was a small Swiss Army knife which did a number on the screw head but got the job done. I was able to continue shooting through the weekend.

A Chamonix, with its carbon fibre base plate, probably wouldn't have broken the same way.

Cheers,
Mark

Here is a quick shot of the damage and my field repair.