Shen Hao HZX45-IIA. Improvements? Advice?

[svlindbe]

:rolleyes:
I recently acqiured a Shen Hao HZX45-IIA. It is second hand, but in good shape. There are some room for improvements, I find. Do more people have the same issues on their cameras, or is it just me? Do you have any suggestions as to what can be done?

1. The mechanism for locking the lateral shift and swing on the back is very difficult to use. Even after exerting exessive force, it doesen't lock properly, so the back very easily comes out of position when I put in the film holder. Someone suggested putting in a thicker washer in the mechanism, but I am unsure how this could be done.

2. It is not easy to remove the ground glass frame from the back, which I would like to do to use a rollfilm back (Mamiya RB67 with adapter for 4x5 Graflok backs). I seem to need three hands to lift both springs and remove the ground glass frame at the same time. Have you found a good way to do this? Has anybody come up with an improvement / modification? The Shen Hao TZ45 seems to have a better mechanism in this point, more like on other cameras. Can the back be bought separately?

3. The focusing is too stiff. I loosen the set screw, but still need to reely use force to focus. Would it be a good idea to apply some kind of wax to the wooden parts involved, or a minute quantity of grease to the rack and pinion (metal parts)?

4. How does the compendium lens shade attach to the front standard? Have any of you made your own lens shades that work well?

Svein Lindberg
Lofoten, Northern Norway, where the sun is reappering these days. What skies!

[walter23]

1. The mechanism for locking the lateral shift and swing on the back is very difficult to use. Even after exerting exessive force, it doesen't lock properly, so the back very easily comes out of position when I put in the film holder. Someone suggested putting in a thicker washer in the mechanism, but I am unsure how this could be done.

I had to do this. Ideally you'd get an identical copy of the plastic washer that is in there and double up. In practice they're hard to find, at least at stupid places like home depot. You might have better luck at a real hardware store.

The washer seems to be an odd size (at least for stupid Home Depot), and I couldn't find one, but instead I found a combination of a small metal washer with the right hole diameter and a big metal washer with the right outer diameter (which had a hole the same size as the smaller washer so they fit together seamlessly to make one big washer with the right hole size).

To actually replace it, you unscrew the handle part that sticks out (wrap it with a rag and use a pair of plier or vice grips if you can't just unscrew it by hand. Make sure to use the rag though or you'll chew it up). Once you've got the handle off, the locking thingy that the handle screws into can be unscrewed off, by hand. This will give you access to the plastic washer... just add another thin washer in there and you can screw the locking piece back on, then screw the handle back in, and you're set.

You can also just move the handle from one hole to the other (you'll see what i mean) which will let you tighten it down more without adding another washer, though I find this configuration inconvenient because it means the handle sticks straight out the back when it's locked down and so you can't lock down the back while folded.


2. It is not easy to remove the ground glass frame from the back, which I would like to do to use a rollfilm back (Mamiya RB67 with adapter for 4x5 Graflok backs). I seem to need three hands to lift both springs and remove the ground glass frame at the same time. Have you found a good way to do this? Has anybody come up with an improvement / modification? The Shen Hao TZ45 seems to have a better mechanism in this point, more like on other cameras. Can the back be bought separately?

Yeah, it's just a pain in the ass. ,


3. The focusing is too stiff. I loosen the set screw, but still need to reely use force to focus. Would it be a good idea to apply some kind of wax to the wooden parts involved, or a minute quantity of grease to the rack and pinion (metal parts)?

The rack & pinion and maybe the wood looks waxed on mine. I think they started doing this to deal with the problem; or maybe Badger Graphic did. Maybe you can contact Badger Graphic to see what they'd suggest; even if you didn't buy the camera from them, phrase it like you're trying to find out if they sell anything to wax it up. They'll probably give you some advice.


4. How does the compendium lens shade attach to the front standard? Have any of you made your own lens shades that work well?

Dunno. You should see my post in "lenses & accessories" for a flare problem that I've recently noticed. It has a pretty simple fix.

Here:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?p=308602#post308602

Despite all these idiosyncrasies I really love mine. The relatively huge range of movements for a field camera makes them worth the minor hassle of solving these small problems.

[Gordon Moat]

:rolleyes:
I recently acqiured a Shen Hao HZX45-IIA. It is second hand, but in good shape. There are some room for improvements, I find. Do more people have the same issues on their cameras, or is it just me? Do you have any suggestions as to what can be done?

1. The mechanism for locking the lateral shift and swing on the back is very difficult to use. Even after exerting exessive force, it doesen't lock properly, so the back very easily comes out of position when I put in the film holder. Someone suggested putting in a thicker washer in the mechanism, but I am unsure how this could be done.

What I did was simply place the lever into the other hole on that part. Then you pull the lever to lock it, and it sticks out the back when locked. I find this a nice visual check too, since you can quickly see whether or not the back is locked.

As far as traveling with that part of the back unlocked, and the camera folded, I have never had any trouble. That includes having my Shen-Hao on several airplanes, and even in the floor of an offroad racing car. As long as you fold the camera, and tighten the knobs on the side, there is no way I could imagine damaging the camera by leaving that rail unlocked.



2. It is not easy to remove the ground glass frame from the back, which I would like to do to use a rollfilm back (Mamiya RB67 with adapter for 4x5 Graflok backs). I seem to need three hands to lift both springs and remove the ground glass frame at the same time. Have you found a good way to do this? Has anybody come up with an improvement / modification? The Shen Hao TZ45 seems to have a better mechanism in this point, more like on other cameras. Can the back be bought separately?

Yes, I would like that to be different too. Perhaps several of us Shen-Hao users could convince Richard Ritter to make a bail back modification. As it currently works, I am lucky to have large hands.




3. The focusing is too stiff. I loosen the set screw, but still need to reely use force to focus. Would it be a good idea to apply some kind of wax to the wooden parts involved, or a minute quantity of grease to the rack and pinion (metal parts)?


Wax on the wood rails helps, and you can also use wood oil. On the gear track, either some candle wax, pencil (graphite), or try some white lithium grease (like bicycle lube). You could also use Vasolene, but it can be a little messy. I suggest using Q-tips to apply, to minimize anything spreading too much.

After you do this, remove the bellows, then move the front standard several times back and forth using the focus knob. Doing this will spread any lube, wax, or grease, and only a short time everything will move much smoother. Parts seem to be a bit tight, so repeated usage will allow for smoother movements. This applies to all the other moving parts on the Shen-Hao too.



4. How does the compendium lens shade attach to the front standard? Have any of you made your own lens shades that work well?

Svein Lindberg
Lofoten, Northern Norway, where the sun is reappering these days. What skies!

The compendium needs to be mounted to the front standard. You can do that by carefully drilling small holes into the top of the standard, and using screws to connect the mounting.

You might want to investigate the Lee Bellows Shade instead. This fits onto a threaded carrier that mounts on the filter ring threading of your lenses. Cokin also make something similar, or you could get their hard plastic lens shade for the Cokin system; plastic, but works nicely.

I also use a few older Nikon lens hoods. Probably not cost effective unless you already own several. They are small, simple, and wind proof, though only a little better than no lens hood in some conditions.

Also, in case you have not moved the rear standard much yet, that could probably use some lubrication too. Same as setting up the other parts, apply and then move the parts through the full range of motion numerous times.

It also seems that this should be done annually. The exception would be if your camera seems to be getting too dirty, collecting sand, or if any wax or lube dries out. Just consider it basic maintenance.

On the wood, you can use furniture polish, wood oil, or even oil for wooden food holders (cutting boards, bowls, etc.). I think the Shen-Hao looks quite nice after doing this, and it probably protects the wood nicely.

I have almost three years with my HZX45A-II now. It works quite well still, without any looseness. About the only thing I would like to change would be to put some different knobs on it, perhaps something better like the ones on the TZ.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography (http://www.gordonmoat.com)

[svlindbe]

Thank you very much, bouth of you! Your answers are very useful to me and probably many others, including users of other wooden cameras. I'll take your advices and try to do some careful improvements to my toy - which I took with me for a hike today. The camera and I went uphill for a while, until we were about 450 m higher than the starting point. The view was great, some usable pictures would be a bonus.

I unscrewed the nut from the shift/swing lock of the back. There was no washer at all! I understand from Walter23's posting that the washer is located immediately over the nut. I'll try to find one and see if it makes any difference. I don't have the impression that the thickness of the assembly is the problem, as the screw/nut part is possible to tight down very well - the nut turns until it is too tight to go any further. Only trouble is that the aluminium bottom part of the back still slides far too easily on the transverse aluminium part below it.

The locking handle/pin already points backwards when in the locked position, so I get a very good grip.

The screw sits in a piece of aluminum, about 4,5 cm (1 3/4 inch) wide. When locking, most of the compressive force will be at the screw, that is almost at a point. Would it be wise to put some kind of material immediately under the part that holds the screw, this new piece being thicker at the ends? In this way, most preassure would come on TWO points, say 4 cm apart. In theory, this should make the locking better. Do you agree?

Svein

[Bogdan Karasek]

Hello,

and Thanks for all the information about the problems in regards to the Shen Hao. Serves me as a reminder NOT to buy a ShenHao HZxxxxxxx. Last time I tried to use a SH HZxxxx was in 2005 when I was in Beijing and attending the annual camera show. They had three SH HZxxx models on the table, brand new from the factory with a factory representative manning the table. I wanted to buy one but one camera won't close properly, another one had the focusing problems mentioned above, and another one had problems with the rear movements. I see that in 8 years, nothing has changed. You would think that a brand new camera would work properly. It's like buying a brand new car and having to take it to the garage to have it fine tuned so that it runs properly, doors and windows work properly, etc.. Why do we photographers put up with this nonsense. I tried three brand new cameras and all I got was three lemons. Really....

[Steve Goldstein]

Umm, Bogdan, this thread is from 2008. Perhaps things have improved in the intervening 5 years.

I purchased my HZX45AII new, in Guangzhou (Canton) in 2004 and have never had any of the problems mentioned in this thread, nor have I felt the need to make any modifications. I don't have the compendium, so never dealt with that aspect.

Agreed the gg frame is a pain to remove, but this is a non-issue for me as I haven't yet needed to remove it, except for when I got the camera, just to figure out how to do it.

[Kuzano]

Look in the plumbing section of any good home improvement store. Ace Hardware is good.

The range of washers that seal or lock against each other, nylon, rubber or hard composite is huge. If you can't find something in the plumbing section of a well stocked hardware store, go talk to a plumber.

Another positive.... Plumbing gasket, seals, washers, etc are measured pricewise in pennies.. not dollars.