Chamonix website up and running [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

Matus Kalisky

28-Aug-2008, 05:11

I hope that this is a correct place for this. I just went to check and found the website up and running. I find it nice, easy to browse and informative. My temptations keep growing :)

BTW, here it is: http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/

Walter Calahan

28-Aug-2008, 05:47

Excellent. About time.

snaefell

28-Aug-2008, 07:01

John Powers

28-Aug-2008, 11:52

Nice site, great cameras.

Can someone explain the currency shown relative to US$?
example 12x20: $4,200 EMS

Secondly "shipping: $310" shipping to where?

Thank you,
John

Hugo Zhang

28-Aug-2008, 12:41

John,

It's a mistake. It should be $420. All estimated shipping quotes are EMS shipping cost from China to anywhere in the world.

Thanks.
Hugo

Hugo Zhang

28-Aug-2008, 13:17

Chamonix users,

If you have a website and would like to add it to the site, please post the link here.

Thanks.
Hugo

alec4444

28-Aug-2008, 13:20

Nice, Hugo. I like the "hole" you left for 11x14! =) One suggestion, if I may - can you show all grams calculations in pounds as well? The web calculators are great, but still time consuming.

Cheers!
--A

Hugo Zhang

28-Aug-2008, 14:00

Alec,

The hole will likely be filled by this time next year. But I need to know what everybody's including your dream 11x14 camera look like? Bellows draw, lens board size and etc. :)

PM me if interested.

Hugo

Matus Kalisky

28-Aug-2008, 14:12

I would love to see a two "smaller holes" there - for 5x12 and 7x11 :) But I guess like end of 2010 would suffice for me :o

Hugo Zhang

28-Aug-2008, 14:16

I would love to see a two "smaller holes" there - for 5x12 and 7x11 :) But I guess like end of 2010 would suffice for me :o

Matus,

Chamonix is actually making a 7x11 for a member here with expected delivery time early 2009. PM me if you are interested to join.

Hugo

John Powers

28-Aug-2008, 14:58

Nice site, great cameras.

Can someone explain the currency shown relative to US$?
example 12x20: $4,200 EMS

Secondly "shipping: $310" shipping to where?

Thank you,
John

Hugo,

There were two questions. You answered the "to where", anywhere in the world.

The other question was how many US$ is $4,200 EMS? I am not familar with EMS currency and cannot find it on xe.com where I usually go for exchange rates. I am not saying that you are wrong to post the price that way. I am just saying that I don't know what that price means in the currency that I use.

Thank you,

John

Colin Graham

28-Aug-2008, 15:05

John, EMS is Express Mail Service, iirc. I believe it's just the method of shipping.

Great site though. I really like the bellows bracket on the 8x10. What a slick idea.

Eric James

28-Aug-2008, 18:55

Nice initial website. It's great that Chamonix is able to fill many orders while developing new products. How's it goin' Arca Swiss.

I had an 045n-1 for a short time and found it to be a wonderful camera. When Hugo announced the longer version of the 4X5 I sold my 045n-1 in anticipation of this version that will accommodate a 450mm lens. Any idea when these will be available?

Frank Petronio

28-Aug-2008, 19:11

Put a <title> tag into the <head> so that when we bookmark it, we know what site it is rather than just "Home".

audioexcels

28-Aug-2008, 21:09

Nice initial website. It's great that Chamonix is able to fill many orders while developing new products. How's it goin' Arca Swiss.

Heh...find someone to build you a back or build one yourself and you can have any format you want with an Arca rail and function carriers. You can even use Chamonix holders;):):)

audioexcels

28-Aug-2008, 21:11

I wonder just what this site is going to do to the sales of the guy off Fleabay. Surely, Hugo's pricing looks mighty nice by comparison and you know you have first rate service from him unlike the many days it takes for the guy on Ebay to respond, and in terrible English since he only knows enough to say yes and no...

Andrew O'Neill

28-Aug-2008, 22:06

I like the gizmo to keep the bellows from sagging. Neat idea. Also, I think there is a typo...Canadian Maple, not Canidian Maple...unless such a Maple exists.

Jiri Vasina

29-Aug-2008, 00:16

Hugo,

There were two questions. You answered the "to where", anywhere in the world.

The other question was how many US$ is $4,200 EMS? I am not familar with EMS currency and cannot find it on xe.com where I usually go for exchange rates. I am not saying that you are wrong to post the price that way. I am just saying that I don't know what that price means in the currency that I use.

Thank you,

John

It should not be read as "$4,200 EMS" "shipping $310", but instead "$4,200" and "EMS shipping $310". I'd assume the $ sign means US$, just an abbreviation.

And yes, EMS is Express Mail Service...

And Hugo, thanks for linking my site. I've recently changed the ratio of shots taken on 13x18cm (5x7") and 5x8" in favor of the later. If only I had more holders, if only they were not that much expensive...

Jiri

Frank Petronio

29-Aug-2008, 04:41

Maybe Hugo could sponsor photographers with equipment, like ski companies do with athletes!?

Eric James

29-Aug-2008, 06:00

Do you have any particular photographlete in mind?

Frank Petronio

29-Aug-2008, 06:21

Well my humbleness would compel me only to accept a 5x7, 8x10, and 7x17... ;-)

And maybe a pair of 4x5s for stereos.

Henry Suryo

29-Aug-2008, 06:51

The hole will likely be filled by this time next year. But I need to know what everybody's including your dream 11x14 camera look like? Bellows draw, lens board size and etc.

I would be interested in this offering too, in response to my failed attempt of finding a Phillips 11x14. Do you have a ballpark figure of how much this will cost? I'd like a reversible back, about 24" belllows draw, 6" lensboard size, 3-4 inches of front rise, and most importantly a 15 lbs or so maximum weight. Something like this would be ideal for me. I would like all the movements that the basic Chamonix has, but would trade off the rear swing for a fixed, perhaps more rigid rear standard.

Thanks,
Henry

Ralph Barker

29-Aug-2008, 10:10

While we realize that the Chamonix models are of great interest, please take the actual business dealings to e-mail, rather than posting here. We try to keep the forum as non-commercial as possible, and all of these Chamonix threads create a bad precedent for others interested in selling to the LF community (e.g. special deals for LFers on Viagra, "enhancement" products, etc.). Remember, we try to apply the same rules to everyone.

Songyun

29-Aug-2008, 16:57

Congratulations, Hugo! Finally the website is up. :)

Don Hutton

30-Aug-2008, 08:29

Maybe Hugo could sponsor photographers with equipment, like ski companies do with athletes!?Frank Miller - Super G, Chamonix...?

Dvenosa

31-Aug-2008, 13:20

Looks like a great camera brand!

Sal Santamaura

1-Sep-2008, 07:54

perhaps i missed something. what is the price of the 5x7...

While we realize that the Chamonix models are of great interest, please take the actual business dealings to e-mail, rather than posting here. We try to keep the forum as non-commercial as possible...

z_photo

1-Sep-2008, 08:13

oops

Collin Orthner

3-Sep-2008, 10:59

Hugo,
Great to see the website! Very clean and simple. You know what would be really interesting to see would be a few images on the small factory, the making of the cameras and those craftsmen who build them.

Regards

Richard K.

3-Sep-2008, 11:10

snaefell

4-Sep-2008, 05:04

Great to see the website! Very clean and simple. You know what would be really interesting to see would be a few images on the small factory, the making of the cameras and those craftsmen who build them.

And probably also a gallery of the owner, since he uses his camera in the Himalaya. I would love to see some of his photos.

Mike Rolfe

6-Sep-2008, 17:23

Great to see the new site up, it's obviously early days for these guys so well done Hugo. I agree, it would be great to see some pics of the factory and some of the craftsmen, it's hard to visualise how many people put these beautiful cameras together, I'd love to visit the factory one day!

Francesco Gallarotti

7-Sep-2008, 17:07

And probably also a gallery of the owner, since he uses his camera in the Himalaya. I would love to see some of his photos.

That would be wonderful indeed! While it would be a great self-advertisement for those cameras, the words "Himalaya", "photography" and "large format" would work great on Google to bring more people on your site.

Great to see the new site up, it's obviously early days for these guys so well done Hugo. I agree, it would be great to see some pics of the factory and some of the craftsmen, it's hard to visualise how many people put these beautiful cameras together, I'd love to visit the factory one day!

Because of the long waiting time between the order moment and the delivery, it feels like it would be nice to see some pictures of the process of making these beautiful cameras. And, why not, some movies that you could easily have hosted on youtube.com (again would bring more traffic to you if tagged carefully).

Francesco Gallarotti

11-Sep-2008, 06:07

Any updates about the September batch of 45n1?

xmishx

12-Sep-2008, 17:04

I got a note saying 4 weeks on Sept 6...

Francesco Gallarotti

12-Sep-2008, 18:08

Interesting... 4 weeks from Sept 6th is Oct 4th, which in Italy is celebrated as the day of Saint Francis (who is the patron of our Country). Sounds like my new camera was destined to be born on a good say, :)
Thanks for sharing this piece of information. I wish whoever is in charge of the official Chamonix website decided to actually use the updates page to share these infos with all of us who are waiting.

chachahavana

13-Sep-2008, 11:32

Congrats on the web site, it's beautifully done, straight forward and clean, like the camera itself.
That would be nice if the owner could show some of his pictures and his camera in action on the mountains ( there is a small picture on the catalog I found in HK, the guy is using his 24x20 on a glacier ) and I am sure people will be interested to see.

I bought a 8x10 in Beijing during the Olympics and I found the camera is super well made, world class standard. The film holder is just amazing too. I am new to large format and attached is my first 8x10 picture, the lens is Fujinon 300 mm f/5.6 and Shooting at wide open, the film is China made ERA iso100.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2811989882_553022915b.jpg

www.flickr.com/photos/chachahavana

Richard K.

13-Sep-2008, 12:35

[QUOTE=chachahavana;391152
That would be nice if the owner could show some of his pictures and his camera in action on the mountains ( there is a small picture on the catalog I found in HK, the guy is using his 24x20 on a glacier ) and I am sure people will be interested to see.[/QUOTE]

Yes we would...where can we see this?

xmishx

13-Sep-2008, 15:33

Chachahavana,

I really love that image. Very nicely done. I am one waiting for my Chamonix to come and really want to get started!!! Time moves too slow on this occasion...

Ted

Francesco Gallarotti

14-Sep-2008, 11:19

Slightly OT: Does anyone know how much will US customs charge for the Chamonix 45n1? Will they call at home and accept credit cards? I have never purchased any large items from abroad and I have no idea how it works.

Eric James

14-Sep-2008, 11:28

Chamonix calls the camera a "frame" and values the package at $10.

Francesco Gallarotti

14-Sep-2008, 11:31

Thaks for the info... I wonder how they can do that and at the same time insure the package for 700+$... they are insuring it, aren't they?

Dave Wooten

14-Sep-2008, 15:12

Havana, that is a great photo! Film is nice also!

Chris Dunham

14-Sep-2008, 21:25

Been trying to find a price for the viewer (pictured on the site, monocular type), has anyone bought one of these or happen to know the price?

Chris.

roteague

14-Sep-2008, 21:57

AndrewL9

15-Sep-2008, 16:47

At Cahmonix, we are always working on new things, constantly trying to improve
our products and make them works better together.
Noticed the company name was misspelled on the Accessories/Coming Soon page. Other wise the site looks like a great way to market a very tempting set of products.

buze

16-Sep-2008, 17:33

Chamonix calls the camera a "frame" and values the package at $10.

I loved that bit. "Picture Frame" on mines -- which is, literally, entirely and totally 100% true :)

Chris Dunham

18-Sep-2008, 05:59

Does anyone know how long a lens can be used on the 4x5 with the the extension rack and universal bellows?

Is there another source of info on these fine cameras? Having trouble finding details or getting info back from them.

Chris.

snaefell

18-Sep-2008, 06:00

Does anyone know how long a lens can be used on the 4x5 with the the extension rack and universal bellows?

Hugo wrote me, that 450mm should be possible.

Francesco Gallarotti

29-Sep-2008, 19:05

I guess the October batch has been already shipped! Because today, to my big surprise I finally got my beautiful Chamonix 45n1!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2900855110_e71d5ff452.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/gallarotti/2900855110/)

It's a marvelous piece of engineering, well crafted, extremely light and wonderful to look at. I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but I am very very excited! The best wedding gift I could make to myself!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3037/2900008785_5fb5f34397.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/gallarotti/2900008785/)

Thank you Hugo for the quick shipping!

Anupam

29-Sep-2008, 21:02

Hey ho! Has the October batch shipped? Anyone else get theirs?

xmishx

29-Sep-2008, 22:09

Francesco,

I'm so jealous that you have yours all ready. :o) I just sent in my payment over the weekend, so from the sound of it, I'll be getting mine a little later. I really can't wait to get my hands on mine! Looking forward to see what you photograph with yours!

Ted

snaefell

30-Sep-2008, 06:08

I guess the October batch has been already shipped! Because today, to my big surprise I finally got my beautiful Chamonix 45n1!

Oh, no notification of shipment? Anyway, I am waiting for mine. And it would be great, if it reaches me until end of next week, since I have a few free days then...

Hugo Zhang

30-Sep-2008, 10:11

Francesco Gallarotti

30-Sep-2008, 23:24

Yes, the Octomber batch were shipped week and I am in the middle of moving and won't have my internet service at my new home till tomorrow. So some people will receive their cameras before getting their EMS tracking numbers from me.:)

Which is an even cooler surprise, especially because it arrived the day in which I got my marriage license, exactly a week before my wedding... when I was absolutely not even thinking about the Chamonix, all busy as i was in the last minute preparative.

Hugo, good luck with your move!

snaefell

1-Oct-2008, 02:11

Yes, the Octomber batch were shipped week and I am in the middle of moving and won't have my internet service at my new home till tomorrow. So some people will receive their cameras before getting their EMS tracking numbers from me.:)

Doesn't matter. My camera is at customs and I will pick it up later today. So I know without EMS where it is :)

snaefell

1-Oct-2008, 05:15

Doesn't matter. My camera is at customs and I will pick it up later today. So I know without EMS where it is :)

Got mine. Since I had only a little time to play with it, no big things, but I am amazed. Well crafted and designed camera. I will definitely have fun using it.

Dominique Cesari

1-Oct-2008, 05:32

Having had a look to the website, I'm somewhat astonished that, among a wide choice, there isn't a camera in the 11x14 size, which is the first step in ULF, and popular for that.

Don Hutton

1-Oct-2008, 05:42

Having had a look to the website, I'm somewhat astonished that, among a wide choice, there isn't a camera in the 11x14 size, which is the first step in ULF, and popular for that.I believe that an 11x14 is in the pipeline. I suspect that 11x14 is not as popular as most people think - I think 7x17 is the most popular ULF format.

Richard K.

1-Oct-2008, 06:26

|||||....So some people will receive their cameras before getting their EMS tracking numbers from me.:)

Hugo, twice in a row now I've been online with EMS tracking and seen that my camera made it from one city in China to another and was not yet in North America, when I was interrupted by a knock on the door....you guessed it - my Chamonix camera! :)
By the time the tracking shows it entering the country, it's probably delivered... a nice surprise! :D Enjoy your new house!

Songyun

1-Oct-2008, 07:41

Which is an even cooler surprise, especially because it arrived the day in which I got my marriage license, exactly a week before my wedding... when I was absolutely not even thinking about the Chamonix, all busy as i was in the last minute preparative.

Hugo, good luck with your move!

you should shoot your wedding photo with that.:)

Anupam

1-Oct-2008, 09:01

Jeffrey Sipress

1-Oct-2008, 09:03

I received mine yesterday. Thanks, Hugo, for the excellent honest service. This is an excellent piece of engineering, and very intuitive to operate. I'll be exposing films this weekend.

snaefell

1-Oct-2008, 09:13

Got mine. It's lovely. I did notice though that there is a rectangular area of splotchiness on the screen as if there were some moisture trapped between the fresnel and the GG. This roughly corresponds to the the 6x9 frame. Anyone else have this? How do I remove one of the screens to fix this?

I noticed the same. I will see, if this disturbs me, when I have a lens in, before I try to fix something, what has no effect.

Jeffrey Sipress

1-Oct-2008, 13:02

Pretty easy fix. Just remove the four screws and round black retainers and then the glass. I just puffed my breath on the glass and wiped it with a lens cloth or tissue, and the splotch was gone. Carefully re-assemble, and the whole affair took me 3-4 minutes.

Francesco Gallarotti

1-Oct-2008, 22:16

(alert: newbie question!)

so I was just playing around to get familiar with the movements and I noticed that the ground glass is *very* dim. I was at home and pointing the camera at a cup that was standing right under a 60W bulb and I could barely see it and mostly from one single position (as soon as I look at the ground glass from a different angle I see nothing).

Here is an image that shows the contrast between the actual 60W light (in the background) and the image on the glass:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2901244578_71c333016b.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/gallarotti/2901244578/)

(and btw, this image is a little photoshopped to bring out the image on the glass)

Is this expected behavior with any 4x5? Do I need to always use some black cover even indoors? Is there a way to improve the visibility of the glass itself? I looked it up and people were talking about putting drops of oil in the center of the glass to get a stronger image but I am not inclined to do anything like that. Do I just need to learn to live with it?

My lens is a 135mm f/5.6 by the way.

Anupam

1-Oct-2008, 22:18

Do I need to always use some black cover even indoors?

Yep, that's it.

snaefell

2-Oct-2008, 02:07

Is this expected behavior with any 4x5? Do I need to always use some black cover even indoors?

Yes. A believe me, this screen is very bright. Which lebs did you use?

Is there a way to improve the visibility of the glass itself?

You could use a folding hood, which is offered on the Chamonix website. I use one with my Wista, and sometimes I can work without dark cloth.

xmishx

2-Oct-2008, 09:01

I would imagine for critical focus, you'd want a dark cloth and loupe under most circumstances...

I just received news my payment has reached Hugo and that my camera will be shipped next week! I'm dying here!!!

Ted