shen hao 4x5 attached with polaroid back

[ifer]

i have 2 polaroid backs that i have been using it with my cambo. and since i bought my shen hao, i thought these 2 could fit but to my suprise, it couldn't.

is there a polaroid back (non 4x5 polaroid please as it is impossible to get it here in malaysia) that could fit the shen hao?

thanks

[IanG]

I've had a couple of Polaroid 545 backs for quite a few years, they fit all my 5x4 cameras, and will fit a Shen Hao.

Robert White, a UK dealer has posted about compatibility of Kodak & Fuji readyloads and Polaroid elsewhere on this siteonly the 545 will take all, .

The Shen Hao's are listed on Robert White (http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/shenhao.htm) as being compatible with 545, 405 and 550's after all these cameras have international backs.

It sounds like you need a 405 back.

Ian

[ifer]

after doing some googling, i noticed someone had this problem before on photo.net. and another someone suggested him to just slide the whole thing between the groudn glass and the camera ala film holder.

can it stand?

i am just afraid that the spring snapped... but according to this someone, it is fine and he has been doing it.

and yeah... i am using a 405 back

[IanG]

That's exactly how its meant to work. The springs are designed to cope and are strong enough. So good luck :-)

I was a little puzzled, as the Polaroid backs are designed to fit any 5x4 camera with a modern film back.

Ian

[Gordon Moat]

I use a Polaroid 405 back on my Shen-Hao. It will fit under the ground glass, though it seems to take a bit of force to use it that way. I worry more about moving the camera than damaging anything, since the springs are very strong. Anyway, I always remove the ground glass when I use my Polaroid 405 back. It seems to work smoother that way.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio (http://www.allgstudio.com)

[IanG]

There is a knack when using a Polaroid back, or a 120 back.

The best way of describing it is to slowly and gently pull the spring back open, much further than you would assume you need to, then slide in the film holder. This way sliding the holder in doesn't move the camera. I think I learnt the hard way :-)

My Wista 5x4 6x9 roll film holder needs the back opened quite a way, but these 5x4 backs are designed for it. I should add my Wista back is the one with a plate toprotect the ground glass.

Ian

[Donald Qualls]

I have a Polaroid 500 (the daddy of the 545) and it works fine with the spring back on my pre-WWII Speed Graphic (the cost of film to feed it is another issue entirely, but the holder is fine). The 500, at least, is only a small amount thicker than a common film holder. The same is true of my Adapt-A-Roll 620 -- slides under the ground glass just fine (which would imply that the Calumet slip-in 120 holder should as well -- it *is* designed to do so, after all).

I've heard the 405 can slide under some ground glass, too, but it's a bit thicker and would surely warrant some caution to avoid problems. The 550, if you have one, is the same thickness as the 405, within a tiny fraction.

On my Speed, I find it adequate to lift the open end of the ground glass panel and slip the holder under; the camera doesn't move enough to detect, as long as I have the tripod locked down well.