Does anyone else's Chamonix do this?

[mitch.goddard]

Just picked up an 045N-2 from eBay. Among other small issues, one thing I noticed is that with the base and rear standard level, the front standard metal frame doesn't seem to be parallel with the rear standard and actually tilts forward slightly. I can get the front standard level by applying a few degrees of backwards tilt, but left centered and "zeroed" it's not actually level. Has anyone else noticed something similar with this camera?

[David R Munson]

Mine looks a tiny bit off, but measures out square. There do appear to be little screws on each side for adjusting this, but I can't figure out what fits them.

[RawheaD]

Yeah, I've noticed the same. I'm not sure how bad the issue is (which I guess depends on the precision of the bubble level) and/or whether it's an issue with the standards not being parallel, or the bubble levels not being mounted properly. I plan to do a thorough testing soon (once I get my Manfrotto 405 geared three way head)

[RawheaD]

So I took a closer look right now; it looks like the bubble levels (on the rear standard) are mounted fine, in that I put a couple of levels on the top of the rear standard and they all more or less line up. Furthermore, the bubble level on top of the front standard matches well with bubble levels I put on the base plate, so I think it's the rear standard that is slightly tilted.

Now, you know there are those two stoppers for the rear standard (which you can slide to the on and off positions, in case you want to do rear tilt); they each have a tine grub-nut like thing protruding out that hits the metal frame. It appears these two nuts are used for the fine tuning of the rear "zero" position. Unfortunately, a normal screwdriver doesn't seem to work in getting the nut to go anywhere. I don't know if it actually can be adjusted, though it would be weird if not.

BUT, so what I did was to get the base plate and the front standard to be nice and level, then, tilted the rear standard forward a little till the bubble levels on the rear standard were also nice and level, and I looked at the gap between the adjustment screws and the metal frame which they hit in the "stop" position. I couldn't even fit a thick-ish sheet of paper (a paycheck) in the gap, and the check is 0.1 mm thick.

So the error there is around 0.1 mm. Let's just say it is. The center of rotation for the rear standard is the center of those two dials at the bottom of the rear standard. Measuring from there, the "stop" position for those 2 screws is about 20mm away. So we're talking a 0.1 mm error along a circle with a circumference of 2 * pi * 20 [mm] = c. 125.7 mm. In degrees, this translates to (360 * 0.1 ) / 125.7 = c. 0.28, so that's roughly 0.3 degrees of error.

Personally I think that error is small enough not to worry about it, so until I find a way to adjust those screws, I'm just going to use the bubble level on the front standard as my guide.

It also means that those bubble levels are really precise :D

[evan clarke]

I have an 8x10 and an 11x14. I always level the camera relative to the front standard and then adjust the back into place.

[vinny]

Contact hugo thru chamonix's site. The ONLY level i use on mine (45n-2) regularly is a bubble level I installed on top of the rear standard. The factory levels are slow and not reliable (levels on my 45n-1 didn't match up til i ordered replacements and adjusted those). Measure your camera with a square after removing the bellows (to male room for the square) and report back.

[timparkin]

Now, you know there are those two stoppers for the rear standard (which you can slide to the on and off positions, in case you want to do rear tilt); they each have a tine grub-nut like thing protruding out that hits the metal frame. It appears these two nuts are used for the fine tuning of the rear "zero" position. Unfortunately, a normal screwdriver doesn't seem to work in getting the nut to go anywhere. I don't know if it actually can be adjusted, though it would be weird if not.


You need a tiny allen key...

Tim

[RawheaD]

You need a tiny allen key...

Tim

That's what occurred to me late last night; tried it with the tiniest one I have, which is a 0.05in allen key. Didn't fit LOL. I wonder what the actual size is....

[Steve Goldstein]

Probably metric. Try 1mm (if your 0.050" was too big) or 1.5mm (if too small). 1mm is about 0.040". I'm not sure if 1.5mm is a standard size, that's just a guess. But it's a pretty good bet it's something metric.

[RawheaD]

Probably metric. Try 1mm (if your 0.050" was too big) or 1.5mm (if too small). 1mm is about 0.040". I'm not sure if 1.5mm is a standard size, that's just a guess. But it's a pretty good bet it's something metric.


Well after reading this, I went to Amazon and bought me a 30 piece hex set, which just arrived today, and I just tried the 0.7mm 0.9mm 1.3mm as well as the 0.028" and 0.035". None of them worked :(

[David R Munson]

Have you tried emailing Chamonix about this?

[Kodachrome25]

Mine is fine but I would still like to be able to adjust it...

Looks like Hugo needs to weigh in, none of my tools fit either and I have some pretty precise stuff....

I guess if all else fails, pull the current ones out with a pair of needle nose pliers and then replace them with a known allen key sized screw so you can adjust them...

[mitch.goddard]

I ended up returning the camera to the seller for a full refund. It was actually meant as a quick replacement to my original Chamonix which I recently knocked off the tripod and also ended up with some different alignment issues. I did speak to Hugo though, who suggested I should just send it to the factory to be looked at and repaired if necessary, which I will be doing shortly. Has anyone done this before? He said it'd be in the factory for 2 weeks, and EMS shipping times aren't too bad, so theoretically I could have it back in less than a month, but that's probably the absolute best-case scenario.

[RawheaD]

As far as I see it, it's a very minute (see my calculations above) misalignment that I shouldn't really be worrying about, but like Kodachrome says, I would like to have the option of perfecting it, especially since there seems to be a very clear mechanism in place to do precisely that.

I emailed Hugo the link to this thread. Hopefully he'll have the time to take a peek.

[Hugo Zhang]

Like our 810 cameras, our 45 camera are designed with locking tabs to make the rear standard verticle. The locking tabs are at the bottom of the rear standard and when they are pushed out, the rear standard will stay verticle and when they are pushed in, rear standard can be tilted forward and backward.

If you look carefully, you can see tiny screws on the locking tabs. They were tested carefully and should be accurate before leaving our factory and they are glued.

There are two things that can be the cause of not verticle rear standard:

1. The locking tabs are not pushed all the way out which will cause the locking tabs, not the screws, to stop the movement of the rear standard. These two parts are not in the same plane. This is a operation issue and can be easily resolved by pushing the tow locking tabs all the way to the end.

2. With increased use and repeated knocking of locking tabs, the screws will gradually move and this will require adjustment. An Allen wrench of 0.9mm should be used. When first used, you should hear a small cracking sound as the dried glue cracks before the screw to turn. After adjustment, use a toothstick to put a little glue through the tiny hole at the back on the screw.

[RawheaD]

Hi Hugo,

Thanks for weighing in.

Well there could be a few different causes. The only thing I know is that the two planes of the front standard and the rear standard seem not to be perpendicular to each other.

This could be cause by:

(1) The front standard is not perpendicular to the base plate
(2) The rear standard is note perpendicular to the base plate
(3) Both the front and rear standards are not perpendicular to the base plate, and are of by different margins.
(4) One or more of the bubble levels that are used is not installed properly

Of these, would you suggest that (2) is the most likely cause?

I just did a thorough check and with mine it sure seems like (2) is the issue. the front standard agrees with the base plate more or less spot on. The rear standard needs to tilt forward a fraction of a degree to be perpendicular to the base plate (and hence parallel with the front standard.

However, I must say, the 0.9mm hex key is not doing it for me. From the feeling i get, it seems to be just a tad smaller than it need to be to actually "catch" the grub nut.