Shen Hao vs. Chamonix

[ashlee52]

I wouldn't carry the Ansco held to a tripod by just a single 1/4" screw. Whereas I do that all the time with a Chamonix 4x5.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I don't like the Phillips set-up that Chamonix copied, it just doesn't made sense to me. That said, I have used a wooden 5x7 Canham for many years, and have no issue with its fiddlyness, although I can understand why Oren and others may find it irritating. Of course, the Canham is a lot more expensive. I briefly owned a 4x5 Shen Hao but found the build quality mediocre, and quickly sold it. From what I have seen the build quality of the Chamonix is higher, although not quite the same as my Canham. Of course, neither the Shen Hao or the Chamonix has Keith Canham, but if you aren't in the US this advantage is irrelevant.

[sully75]

The Chamonix is definitely at the edge of my price range.

Honestly, looking at it, I'm not sure how you do rear swing, looks really weird to me. I'm guessing it makes sense, but it looks odd.

[Robert Oliver]

I love my Chamonix 4x5 for it's quality and weight...

I used a Canham 4x5/5x7 and loved it, it was just a little heavy for my needs. Imagine it would probably be in the ballpark of other 5x7 cameras. Canham was a little hard to figure out fold-up technique, but once I figured out a routine it wasn't an issue.

[Oren Grad]

Honestly, looking at it, I'm not sure how you do rear swing, looks really weird to me.

You loosen the two big knobs that secure the "feet" to the camera base, twist the back as needed, then tighten. It's a bit awkward. If you use rear swing extensively or need high precision in that movement, you might find it annoying.

[ashlee52]

Oren

Try lostening only the knob on the side you want to pull or push on... leave the other one fairly tight (but not oexcessively tight)... you will find that the back pivots nicely... just as the base of most cameras pivot when you do back tilt. So focus on the far part of the plane you want to be in focus, then pull only one side of the back until the near part of the focal plane is in focus.

[yuexiachou29]

what kind of bag do you use for Chamonix 4x5?

[Brian Ellis]

I just passed on an Ansco that was on ebay (by a forum member I think) because it looked so large. I want something that won't be ungainly hanging on the end of a tripod on my shoulder. But...it was tempting. The Kodak being big isn't really a problem though. It's just sort of clumsy and inaccurate. Never was a great camera to being with.

So...I'll think about the Ansco.

I've owned a 5x7 Agfa Ansco. It was a nice enough camera but the folding tailboard made it quite bulky compared to a clam-shell and hard to get in and out of my backpack. I used it for a while but finally sold it after I decided that 5x7 wasn't big enough for contact prints I was making. I've never owned a 5x7 Chamonix or Shen but I've owned 4x5s of both. Based on that experience I'd guess the 5x7s are a sizable cut above any Ansco you'll find in terms of precision, smoothness, etc.

[Cesar Barreto]

I've both 5x7' cameras (please, don't ask me why!!!), but the Chamonix is the horizontal model and it obviously is a champion on the light weight league.
Both are equally easy to use on the field, although I feel a bit more safe with the Shen Hao when bigger lenses are in place and it also offers a kind of graflok back which allows me to use 6x17 format.
Hugo offered to adapt the back so I could make panoramics also, but I haven't made this move yet.