OK - Here's my thoughts on the Chamonix 45n-2:
Firstly, if you own one, or have had the opportunity to have seen one and handled it, you know it's a well-designed, light weight little camera.
While in the Los Angeles area on Friday, I stopped into Freestyle photo to pick up some mat board and saw a Wista on display. I don't know which model Wista it was but this particular Wista sported a price tag of around $1499, plus tax. From what I could see of the Wista, - the Wista can't touch the $800 Chamonix 45n-2 in looks, price or performance-- no way!
Documentation:
Now I realize that there are die-hard LF photographers out there that will say: "You don't need no stinkin user guide,” but for us newbs on the block -- Please Chamonix, give us a user guide. I'm not talking about a How-to-shoot large format photography guide," I'm saying a user guide on how to use the various control features the Chamonix 45n-2 offers to set adjustments and a diagram depicting the various knobs and what adjustment they’re used for.. Case in point: The ground glass protector. On the surface removing and replacing the ground glass protector looks simple enough but "looks" can be deceiving. There is an inordinate amount of fuss and fumble factor with this seemingly simple gizmo. I would spend an extra $22 and purchase the optional leather protective jacket and forego the fumble factor entirely. I'm sure there is something obvious about installing the protective plate - but being intuitive ain't one of them.
If you simply can't justify the $22, then I suggest you do the following sometime before you remove the ground glass protector and start using the camera:
With the ground glass protector still in place, orient the camera so that the rear standard is facing away from you, and you’re looking at the front standard. Take a scripto pen or other suitable marking pen and write on the protective place a letter corresponding to its orientation to the camera itself, e.g. "T" for top in the center, "R" right side, "RS" for rear standard, "L" for left side and finally "FS" for front standard. Marking the protective plate in this way will remove the fumble factor. You'll know exactly how to orient the plate to the camera itself.
Camera set up:
Another area where documentation would enhance the learning and use enjoyment of this camera falls under the area of collapsing the camera for transport.
The Chamonix 45n-2 comes standard with a Universal Bellows. If the camera is not folded in the proper sequence, the camera will not fold. You can also mess up the accordion folds of the bellows material itself. This latter issue creates a slightly curved raised area that will appear on your negative as a result of the bellows material blocking incoming light. To check for this, mount a lens on the camera and set it to its largest aperture. With the lens wide open; look through the lens at the ground glass area. You should be able to see all four corners of the ground glass. If you can't, there's a good chance the bellows is not folding and opening properly.
Also, with a 210 mm lens mounted on this camera, the bellows tends to sag when the bed is extended and must be supported somehow to avoid vignetting or other problems. In my case, I used a sock folded in half. Not sure what causes that sag except to say it may be related to the way the bellows material folds when the camera is collapsed for transport.
Adjustment Controls:
An engraved scale would greatly improve the photographer’s ability to set focus on the Chamonix 45n-2 and improve near-far focusing operations. I had to use a pencil and mark these positions on the sliding focusing mechanism. This operation using the pencil to establish near far positions actually takes two people to perform: one to focus the camera on the near far areas, and someone to make a pencil mark on the focusing rail. Not good.
Rear- Tilt / Rise-Fall:
It would be nice if this operation incorporated some type of notched detent or click-stop mechanism.
There are those out there that are going: “What do you expect for $800?”
My response is these are just observations and suggestions based on use over the period of a week of daily use, averaging 4 or more sheets of film being shot. I’m not saying give me this and that feature but keep the price at $800.
With continued use of the Chamonix 45n-2, I’m sure that I and others like me will discover other areas that might benefit from improvements to the existing design. The ones I’ve mentioned are on my short list of improvements I would like to see. Make no mistake – the Chamonix 45n-2 is a great camera at a great price for the newbie or seasoned LF photographer.
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Originally Posted by lilmsmaggie
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