chamonix 45n-2

[luis a de santos]

I have just received a Chamonix 45 N-2 or CN-2 I do not remember the exact name but it is the brand new 4x5.
It is a nice camera and all but in their web site they indicate a minimun bellows draw of 45 that will mean you could use a 47mm lens but in reality the shortest lens usable is a 72mm XL with everything brought as close together as possible including the closest placement of the front standard and bringing the back forward as much as it allows.

Any experience out there?

Luis

[Donald Miller]

Have you used the tilt on the two standards to further shorten the distance?

[John T]

Have you used the tilt on the two standards to further shorten the distance?

The Chamonix doesn't have a front standard base tilt, only axis tilt

[luis a de santos]

Exactly right

Luis

[Ulrich Drolshagen]

I've just checked with my 45N-1 but the design should not be that much different to the 45N-2 in this respect. The minimum bellows draw is indeed 45mm. The front standard and the back standard are nearly in touch then. I suppose you will need further 2mm for a bag bellows. So 47mm should be the usable minimum.
I have no experiences with such short lenses. Is the precision of the Chamonix appropriate for such a short focal lengths?

Ulrich

[stevebrot]

I just measured my 045N-2 with the "universal" bellows attached. The minimum draw I was able to manage was 47mm. I should caution that this is not a workable minimum due to interference between the base of the front standard and the rear swing mechanism. This appears to be due to a manufacturing defect on my copy resulting in reduced clearance. Due to this, the actual minimum on my camera is about 52mm.

You should be able to manage better than you describe. Did you remember to move the tensioning wheels for the rear standard to the full forward position at the far end of the adjustment slot? This is done by loosening the wheel on the bottom side and sliding the tensioner forward.


Steve

[Clement Apffel]

Just a side note :

remember that with a 47mm lens focused at infinity, the distance between front and rear standard isn't necessarily 47mm.

The distance is usualy a little more than that.
(it's the flange focal distance at inifinity)

for the super-angulon 47 XL it is around 57-59 mm
and for the non XL around 50-52 mm

you can find those info here :
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/archiv/pdf/an_su_1995.pdf