Chamonix tips and tricks?

[andreios]

Friends, I managed to purchase a 045-F1 a while ago (I hope I got the numbers right - it is the first model with assymetric tilt). Now, strange as it may sound, it took me a couple of weeks to find enough time to take it out to the "field" and try it.
Now, coming from different LF cameras (besides some Sinars, an 8x10 Tachihara and a half plate toyo) I found this kind of camera quite tricky to work with. All those knobs which sort of let everything loose... Yeah, freezing temperature didn't help either...

So, my question is to you, seasoned chamonix users, what are your tricks, how to make life with the camera easier / the setup quicker, to get the full potential from this lovely thing?

Thank you

[scm]

See if this answers any of your questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJlHlahufw

[Larry Gebhardt]

See if this answers any of your questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJlHlahufw

I have an N1 version, so no asymmetric tilt. Other than that I think they are very similar.

In the video SCM missed that the camera has front tilt locks so rise and fall do not result in tilt (unless you don't use the locks). You can tilt by sliding the locks out of the way and then tilting without loosening the knobs. This was mentioned in the video comments, but should be said in case you didn't read the comments.

The lack of detents isn't an issue to me. I have tested it and it sets up square with all the locks, which I think would be the point of the detents. But I don't have the asymmetric tilt to worry about. If your camera doesn't setup square there are tiny set screws on the rear tilt locks.

I use a 450mm lens on mine with an extension board, which is a nice option if you like longer lenses.

With longer lenses (300mm for me) I pull the rear standard all the way back. It squares up easier, balances on the tripod better, and results in less racking of the focus knob (quicker setup).

With short lenses mount them on the front few holes and slide the back forward (all the way is fastest since it squares up naturally). Same idea to minimize the amount of focus turning and balances the camera. It also keeps the camera out of your image with really wide lenses and fall.

Leave the front standard knobs loose when you fold it. That lets you setup without loosening them, saving a step.

Practice inside where it's warm.

[Greg]

I marked the screw holes on the baseboard with the lenses I have and use, takes the guesswork away from having to remember which hole is best for the lens you're using.

I put a large rubber band around the camera when it's folded up, no need to over tighten the two rear knobs.

Get a GG protector, a simple home made one will work fine.

Determine the on-center marks for the front lens board with colored dots, one color for on-center holes and the other color for non off-center holes.

If you can, get OEM Chamonix film holders. I got a super deal on ten TOYO holders so was a no brainer for me to go with the TOYOs. For my larger format Chamonix cameras, I use fewer holders so went with OEM Chamonix holders and never regretted it.

If you run into a problem, just Email Hugo.

Be careful about buying non OEM Chamonix lens boards. Some work fine, some don't (lots of discussion on this topic in the FORUM).

I'd invest in a 4x5 Chamonix reflex finder. Money well spent in my opinion. For me makes setting up the 4x5 Chamonix much easier and faster for me.

Consider acquiring a used Linhof 4x5 Multifocus view finder. Makes previsualizing your shots so much easier in the field, especially as you add lenses to your Chamonix outfit.

Watch others reviewing Chamonix cameras on YouTube once, you might just learn a new thing or two. But then forget their opinions and develop your own opinions from just plain using the camera.

[Two23]

Yes, just as the back standard has sliding locks on the bottom, so does the front standard. Annoying when a guy is doing a review on a camera but misses something as obvious as that. I agree with above suggestions . The camera is simple to operate and clean as needed.


Kent in SD

[pepeguitarra]

My first reaction was: Get the Chamonix 45F-2. It is the same Phillip's design that The Intrepid 4x5 uses. The F2 has two separate knows to control front standard tilt and raise/fall instead of one, that is easier. The asymmetrical tilt/swing is in the rear standard, you can focus with just one movement. It is wonderful. Have to get use to tie knobs and lose them. Practice. Once you do, it is easy.

[Winger]

The first year I had mine, I did a shot a week project on instant film (Fuji, mostly). I did shoot other than those, but that made me set it up and shoot something every week. It did help me get used to it.

[ic-racer]

Does yours have the circular focus knob under the middle of the rear standard? If so, what I did was to put an index mark on the knob and determine how many millimeters of travel equaled each 'hour' of rotation. I use that information to determine f-stop based on focal spread. For example on mine an entire rotation (12 hours) is about f-32.

[Laminarman]

I'm still learning on mine, and have one lens, a 210. I have the F2, only a few days now. I just screwed into the front hole for the front standard, never thought about the others. I had to rack out focus quite a bit, and never really thought that I could just slide the rear standard out. Sometimes I miss the obvious so I appreciate that trick. I really like this camera. It's something to be proud of and it looks great in my office near the fireplace.

[Larry Gebhardt]

Does yours have the circular focus knob under the middle of the rear standard? If so, what I did was to put an index mark on the knob and determine how many millimeters of travel equaled each 'hour' of rotation. I use that information to determine f-stop based on focal spread. For example on mine an entire rotation (12 hours) is about f-32.

Is that lens independent? Seems like a great technique.

[Eric Leppanen]

Does yours have the circular focus knob under the middle of the rear standard? If so, what I did was to put an index mark on the knob and determine how many millimeters of travel equaled each 'hour' of rotation. I use that information to determine f-stop based on focal spread. For example on mine an entire rotation (12 hours) is about f-32.I do something similar with my Chamonix 57-Fs1, only I do it by touch rather than by referencing any markings. On my camera one rotation of the focus knob equates to about 10mm in bellows displacement, which is all you need to use the optimal f-stop table documented here:

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/fstop.html

I first focus on my far point, and place my index finger firmly on top of the focus knob (at twelve o'clock) as a reference. I then rotate the focus knob clockwise (while keeping my index finger in place) until my near point is in focus (let's say six o'clock). This "six hour" difference in focus points equates to a 6mm difference in bellows displacement, which equates to an f/stop of f/45.2 per the table. I then rotate the focus knob back to midway between the near and far points (three o'clock), meter the shutter speed needed for an f/45.2 f-stop, and take the exposure. I find my wrist is flexible enough to rotate the focus knob one full rotation without having to move my index finger.

Focusing in this way is relatively fast and also works well in low light, as there is no need to read markings or distance scales on the camera. It works the same way regardless of what lens is used.

[Robert Oliver]

Use it a lot. Get used to it.

I've been using a Chamonix 45 N-1 since the early days of the brand and it's been a wonderful tool over the years. I wouldn't change anything about it.

Buy the optional Universal Bellows.

Don't over-tighten any of the knobs, they will strip. If you do, Hugo and Chamonix have the most amazing customer experience I have ever experienced in the photographic industry. I stripped a knob and had a new one in the mail at no charge (the factory even threw in a couple of extra knobs) within days of reaching out to Hugo.

I can't speak highly enough of the camera, the company and their customer service.

If I ever get to the point of being able to afford an 8x10 field camera, Chamonix will be my only consideration.

[Larry Gebhardt]

I do something similar with my Chamonix 57-Fs1, only I do it by touch rather than by referencing any markings. On my camera one rotation of the focus knob equates to about 10mm in bellows displacement, which is all you need to use the optimal f-stop table documented here:

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/fstop.html

I first focus on my far point, and place my index finger firmly on top of the focus knob (at twelve o'clock) as a reference. I then rotate the focus knob clockwise (while keeping my index finger in place) until my near point is in focus (let's say six o'clock). This "six hour" difference in focus points equates to a 6mm difference in bellows displacement, which equates to an f/stop of f/45.2 per the table. I then rotate the focus knob back to midway between the near and far points (three o'clock), meter the shutter speed needed for an f/45.2 f-stop, and take the exposure. I find my wrist is flexible enough to rotate the focus knob one full rotation without having to move my index finger.

Focusing in this way is relatively fast and also works well in low light, as there is no need to read markings or distance scales on the camera. It works the same way regardless of what lens is used.

Ic-racer and Eric, thanks for the tip. I've used the knob position to focus half way between the near and far points on my chamonix, but had no idea it could also tell the optimal f-stop as well. I've always just looked at the ground glass and added a stop or so for safety. Setting the correct f-stop was certainly one of those things I struggled with, and I've missed more shots than I care to admit with either stopping down too much, or not enough.

[dkonigs]

As my 45F-2 is almost here, I also have a few questions...
- Has anyone created a general reference/howto/tips-and-tricks website for the camera?
- Has anyone made a chart of which screw-hole to use (for the front standard) for which focal length lens?
- What's the longest focal length you can practically use without needing an extension board?
- How stable is the camera with an extension board? (assuming keeping the tripod mount under the main camera)
- When is it important is it to measure bellows extension and factor it into exposure? Is there a favorite ruler/tape-measure everyone uses for this? (this being a general LF question) When I watch people doing LF work on YouTube, I basically never see them talking about this and/or doing anything about it.

[Larry Gebhardt]

Q: Has anyone made a chart of which screw-hole to use (for the front standard) for which focal length lens?
A: I don't know of a chart, but since there are multiple ways of setting up the camera there won't be one definitive chart. I try to push the back forward for short lenses. Each hole is 25mm from the next, so it's pretty easy to pick the correct hole by counting.

Q: What's the longest focal length you can practically use without needing an extension board?
A: I don't know. It's between 300mm and 450mm. My 300mm works without the extension and the 450mm needs it.

Q: How stable is the camera with an extension board? (assuming keeping the tripod mount under the main camera)
A: Depends on the lens. With the 450mm f/9 Nikon in Copal 3 it's very front heavy. With the 450mm Fujinon C it's very stable and doesn't feel stressed or unbalanced.

Q: When is it important is it to measure bellows extension and factor it into exposure? Is there a favorite ruler/tape-measure everyone uses for this? (this being a general LF question)
A: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/bellows-factor.html It almost only comes up for me with macro, so I find the QuickDisk (http://www.salzgeber.at/disc/) very simple to use. I also keep a rolled up fabric tape in the bag.
Q: When I watch people doing LF work on YouTube, I basically never see them talking about this and/or doing anything about it.
A: It's rarely a concern for landscape or portraiture (except head shots on 8x10 and larger).

[dkonigs]

Q: Has anyone made a chart of which screw-hole to use (for the front standard) for which focal length lens?
A: I don't know of a chart, but since there are multiple ways of setting up the camera there won't be one definitive chart. I try to push the back forward for short lenses. Each hole is 25mm from the next, so it's pretty easy to pick the correct hole by counting.

Q: What's the longest focal length you can practically use without needing an extension board?
A: I don't know. It's between 300mm and 450mm. My 300mm works without the extension and the 450mm needs it.

Q: How stable is the camera with an extension board? (assuming keeping the tripod mount under the main camera)
A: Depends on the lens. With the 450mm f/9 Nikon in Copal 3 it's very front heavy. With the 450mm Fujinon C it's very stable and doesn't feel stressed or unbalanced.

Q: When is it important is it to measure bellows extension and factor it into exposure? Is there a favorite ruler/tape-measure everyone uses for this? (this being a general LF question)
A: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/bellows-factor.html It almost only comes up for me with macro, so I find the QuickDisk (http://www.salzgeber.at/disc/) very simple to use. I also keep a rolled up fabric tape in the bag.
Q: When I watch people doing LF work on YouTube, I basically never see them talking about this and/or doing anything about it.
A: It's rarely a concern for landscape or portraiture (except head shots on 8x10 and larger).

Thanks for the answers. It didn't take me very long to figure out which screw hole worked best for each of my lenses, so less worry there than I thought. Its also encouraging to know that a 300mm will work without extensions, since I may want to get one. (I decided to start with a 210mm as my "longer" lens, because I wasn't entirely sure at the time.) Also glad that bellows factor isn't something I need to be paranoid about for most shooting.

Now I just need to get out and shoot more (as the weather improves around here), and start to get better at metering exposure (a.k.a. practice /w Velvia).

The one thing I'm still wondering about, however, is all the movements on the rear standard. It seems like there are two separate tilt knobs/movements, and there's no stop/detent with the larger knobs at the straight-vertical position. Its possible things just weren't adjusted perfectly out-of-the-box here, since unboxing videos do show one of them stopping at vertical.

[pepeguitarra]

Q: "...
Q: How stable is the camera with an extension board? (assuming keeping the tripod mount under the main camera)
A: Depends on the lens. With the 450mm f/9 Nikon in Copal 3 it's very front heavy. With the 450mm Fujinon C it's very stable and doesn't feel stressed or unbalanced.
"

I used my Nikkor-M 450/9 on the 45F2 with the extension. I was not sure if it was going to be stable and placed a second tripod couple of millimeters below the extension, just in case. However, the camera held strong and even though I was concerned, it took the picture just fine. If anything I would do, is to use a heavier tripod to provide bigger resistance to the momentum exerted. I also would like to have a 3/8 screw for the quick release plate.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7836/46882218972_e0bda1db5d.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2eqPCmd)Chamonix 45F-2 Nikkor-M 450mm f/9 (https://flic.kr/p/2eqPCmd) by Palenquero Photography (https://www.flickr.com/photos/palenquero/), on Flickr


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4856/46237925264_2e6446d2c2.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2drTsh1)CHAMONIX 45f2 + Nikkor-M 450/9 (https://flic.kr/p/2drTsh1) by Palenquero Photography (https://www.flickr.com/photos/palenquero/), on Flickr