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Daniel Stone
16-Feb-2013, 01:32
I know that many here are Chamonix users, and many have reported their utter happiness with their products. Well I didn't join the party. Most of ya'll know I've bought and sold a lot here, I like to try stuff out, sometimes I have 2 or 3 go-rounds with a particular product/item before deciding whether I like it or I don't. Well, case in point: I didn't want to get a "Chinese" camera, my nat'l pride kind a got the better of me, I'll fully admit it :)

So.......fast forward to earlier this week: a 4x5 Chamonix shows up on LA Craigslist, I send an email. No reply. Well I send another one, this time I get a reply. Camera's still available. So I think to myself "Give it a shot, its a LNIB condition one, and if you don't like it, someone else will buy it". So the seller and I agree on a price we both can live with, and I go over the next evening to pick it up. Fast forward to two days ago, I had a 1/2 day free so I take it out for its first 'outing'(the prior owner only shot some Polaroids with it, NO FILM!) to shoot some film.

Man, I LOVE this thing! Its super small, unbelievably light weight-wise, and STURDY, even with the 300mm lens out on front. Well done Chamonix!

Btw, its one of the early 45N-2 models, one of the black paint ones. *Almost* looks like a Phillips ;)

From now on I'll hold my tongue before I can assess something in-person, especially on gear.
But I'm very happy with the purchase, this one's a keeper!

So, what's your "eat crow" moment, if you don't mind sharing?

-Dan

vinny
16-Feb-2013, 03:37
Now you know why I've been searching for an 8x10 chamonix. Once I began using the 45n1&2, I wanted to use nothing else. The only thing I don't like is the tilt locks on the front and rear standards because they are tiny and almost impossible to move with gloves on. I had a pet crow as a kid.

thomasfallon
16-Feb-2013, 08:09
I felt the same way since I get pissed off buying everything from toasters to teapots - all made in China - and all broken in a few months. That and they tried to kill my pets. Sorry for the political rant. I was determined to buy a camera NOT made in China, especially not one that copied a U.S. design. The longer I looked, I kept coming back to Chamonix as the best one for me. The design is so simple, even I can understand it. I have no LF experience, so maybe I will soon see a lot of short comings in the camera, but right now, I'm a happy owner. Hugo's reputation also influenced my decision. Nice to feel like you have someone supporting the camera.

Ed Bray
16-Feb-2013, 09:00
I know this thread is specifically about Chamonix but I have been very surprised by the quality of my ShenHao PTB45, I just wish they would answer my emails. I have been trying to get a new front spirit level from them but I have had no replies to 3 emails in the last few weeks.

C. D. Keth
16-Feb-2013, 09:24
It's a good camera. I bought a 45n-1 and have really enjoyed hiking with it. I have it down to where, for a day hike, I have one little backpack that usually smaller than what some of my friends carry full of their "just in case" stuff.

Dan Fromm
16-Feb-2013, 10:19
Dan, small format example. I'm a Nikonist, swore for years that I'd never use a stupid AF point and shoot. Then I bought an Ikelite housing for pennies at a flea market. Turned out that it was specifically for a Canon AF35ML, one of the stupidest AF point and shoots ever made. So I bought an AF35ML to fit the housing, tried the thing for out-and-about. I hated using it -- it did what it was going to do, offered no control and gave no information about what it intended to do -- but it didn't shoot that badly and more than once was a metaphorical life saver.

Kirk Gittings
16-Feb-2013, 11:09
eating crow is a regular part of my diet.....

Daniel Stone
16-Feb-2013, 11:10
Well,
This thread doesn't HAVE to be about JUST Chamonix, I was just using my recent acquisition as an example :)

This can be about ANY kind of photo gear, doesn't have to be specifically what I wrote about in my posting.

-Dan

Vaughn
16-Feb-2013, 11:28
Tasty stuff once you get use to it.

I have plenty opportunity here on the forum when long-held ideas and theories are blasted apart by the knowledgeable folks here.

Kirk Gittings
16-Feb-2013, 11:30
Tasty stuff once you get use to it.

tastes a lot like chicken............

el french
16-Feb-2013, 11:32
I know this thread is specifically about Chamonix but I have been very surprised by the quality of my ShenHao PTB45, I just wish they would answer my emails. I have been trying to get a new front spirit level from them but I have had no replies to 3 emails in the last few weeks.

It's Chinese new year, most businesses are closed for several weeks.

E. von Hoegh
16-Feb-2013, 11:56
Recipes for crow. http://bertc.com/subfive/recipes/threecrows.htm

photobymike
16-Feb-2013, 12:36
I also use the camera version of "Love it or List it"...on ebay.... i have tried many cameras ..... but i have yet had the pleasure of trying a Chamonix. i will certainly try it before i die.....

Michael Cienfuegos
16-Feb-2013, 13:52
eating crow is a regular part of my diet.....


tastes a lot like chicken............


It's been a staple of my diet for the past fifty years.

Put it in a fresh corn tortilla and a bit of salsa…:o Deeelish!

victorknotzel
24-Feb-2013, 10:15
I like to try cameras too, but I tend to like it and keep it, or hate it but still keep it. Last thing I bought was a Fuji X100. I was very happy with it, but after a month of use, a huge speck of dust sneaked into the viewfinder. Fuji has now had it for 3 months, and it is still not back, so I got bored and bought a Wista 45. This thing is lovely, a bit heavy, but it sure is built like a tank, and movements are silky-smooth. I'm surprised about the amount of movements too, it has more than i will ever use. I once ate fried insects. Not bad!

Kodachrome25
24-Feb-2013, 12:43
Not much of a camera-tryer or experimenter, I like to know what I am using is going to work so I can make the best images I can. The 45N-2 has it in spades, I am not the least bit curious about other cameras.

gnuyork
25-Feb-2013, 15:16
Man, I want the new Chaminox pretty badly. I am waiting though for a payout on a project (non photo related) to help me justify the expense. For now I will continue to use my Wista, which is quite nice in it's own right.

On a side note, I do have a couple of Pinhole cameras made in from...damn, I can't remember the manufacturer, but from China. They are very nicely made, and well packed and shipped. They look almost too nice to actually use.

jeroldharter
25-Feb-2013, 15:20
Now you know why I've been searching for an 8x10 chamonix. Once I began using the 45n1&2, I wanted to use nothing else. The only thing I don't like is the tilt locks on the front and rear standards because they are tiny and almost impossible to move with gloves on. I had a pet crow as a kid.

What do you like about the Chamonix better than the Wehman?

vinny
25-Feb-2013, 17:31
What do you like about the Chamonix better than the Wehman?
There were a couple things I never liked about the Wehman.
front swings-getting the front standard out of "zero"

front tilt-I prefer axis tilt

rear tilt- the support arms flexed quite a bit when using generous tilt and would settle after they were locked down when using long lenses due the the pull from the bellows

play in the rear standard-the back of the camera slid back and forth because there were spaces there to allow for folding? I added nylon washers to compensate but that didn't totally fix it.

bellows vignetting- the bellows vignetted the image if I used any rise when shooting with my 165mm.

that said, I made hundreds of great images with that camera and probably would have kept it had I not laid my paws on the chamonix.

to answer your question:
The chamonix has available bag bellows.
front axis tilt
easy front swing
front standard locks down solid and doesn't flex much
rear standard supports aren't flexible steel
the ability to add more extension with a bracket if I choose to do so
it's the most intuitive camera I've ever used.

cjbecker
26-Feb-2013, 14:31
Im in the process deciding between a chamonix 045n-2, arca swiss discovery, sinar norma. It's going to be a do everything 4x5, but mostly a backpack landscape camera, that will be making it up to alaska with me.

jeroldharter
27-Feb-2013, 21:24
Thanks Vinny. For me, I like the rear tilt but could not give up the asymmetrical rear swing. As far as I know, only one of the very expensive Ebony 8x10's has it as well. Plus it is durable. I put a big 210mm Rodenstock Apo Sironar W on the front standard with no problems. But it sounds like the Chamonix is a great camera.

Michael Graves
28-Feb-2013, 08:59
I agree whole-heartedly on the Chamonix. In general I also agree about Chinese products when it comes to general mass production. However, I have discovered that the artisans are probably more dedicated to their craft than most others. And the Chamonix falls under the Artisan-produced category. They are very well designed (albeit from a "borrowed" design" and nicely crafted. I won't part with my Chamo.

My serving of crow came from my published rants against HC-110. Ansel, Fred Picker and other all preached the virtues of this developer, and I had the opportunity to write an article about film developers for Peterson's Photographic (that'll give you a good idea how old I am!) Peterson's provided me with several different developers and ten rolls of 120 Tri-X. My job was to shoot the same scene with several different ISO ratings (back then, they were ASA) and then develop the according to manufacturer's specifications. In my article I was given free reign to express my opinions as long as I explained what the basis for those opinions were. I slammed the heck out of HC-110. I said that it was impossible to get good highlight detail regardless of what exposure index you used and that the negatives were far too dense unless you expose the Tri-X at around 3200, and then the shadow detail was non-existent. After the article was published, I got a letter from Kodak asking if I my stated dilutions were from stock or straight out of the bottle. I re-read the instructions and realized that I had been using the syrup at 1:7, not diluting from stock 1:7. When I tried HC-110 properly diluted I got beautiful negatives from Tri-X. That experience taught me a very valuable lesson in triple-checking my "research" before sending copy off to the editors. I never got another assignment from Peterson's.