5x12/7x17/12x20 Shen-Hao

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Hi All,
Just a quick note to let you know Shen-Hao is now in the process of making 2 new ULF formats, 7x17 and 12x20 as well as their 5x12. These will be priced very, very, competitively. The 7x17 will be available in Sept. and the 12x20 later in the year. If anyone is interested I'm taking camera orders now to be shipped all at the same time to reduce the considerable air freight charges from that area of the world. I'm a Shen-Hao dealer now (Wisner/Deardorff too) so if you are in the mood for a Shen-Hao ULF camera or 4x5 to 8x10 please let me know. Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Emile,

Any idea what the prices will be (other than very, very competitive)?

Also, can you provide specs (weight, min/max bellows extension, etc.) for the 7x17 and 12x20 models?

Thanks,
Kerry

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Hi Kerry,
$2700.00 for the 7x17. The price for the 12x20 is to be determined soon but I'm guessing at least 1 grand less than anyone else. Not bad for titanium and teak. They will take the S&S filmholders too. All the specs will be available soon. Best, Emile

[Christopher Perez]

I'm a little behind the curve on all this. What's the price of the 5x12?

[Clayton Tume]

Emile

I have the 5x12, I'm not in the US so I bought directly from the factory agent. If I did it all over again I would by from a US dealer like yourself because the language barriers are not insignificant. My camera had some assembly issues which made it unuseable, once I'd figured out what they'd done wrong it wasn't too difficult to remedy.

While I can say the factory agent is very helpful and honest his email replies are hard to interpret. So I'd recommend everyone support Emile and let him sort out the technical problems.

Emile, I asked them awhile back for reducing backs, they said sometime soon (at least that's the way I read it). Can you find out for me what they'll have and when? I'd like 4x5, 5x7 and 4x10

Clayton

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Clayton,
Fortunately I have a good Chinese friend who is always traveling to and from Shanghai on business and will be there in a few days to make sure things go as planned. I will have him ask about the reducing backs. These backs are for the 5x12, correct?
Christopher, if memory serves, the 5x12 is $2450.00.Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com

[Clayton Tume]

Emile.........yes for 5x12........I'm happy to buy them through you when they become available.

thanks

Clayton

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

I'd like 4x5, 5x7 and 4x10

Clayton,

Unless you already have some 4x10 holders, I recommend you get the holders FIRST and then have the back made to fit the holders (send the maker a sample holder to properly size the back). There are at least three different sizes of 4x10 holders currently on the market - Canham, Lotus and Wisner. The Canham and Lotus holders are close enough that one back could probably be made to accomodate both sizes. The Wisner 4x10 holders are a completely different size (based on old 4x10 x-ray holders).

If you don't yet have a good supply of holders in a different 4x10 format factor, I highly recommend the Canham holders for 4x10. They are by far the cheapest 4x10 holders ("cheap" being a relative term). They are readily available, well made and rugged.

Kerry

[Clayton Tume]

A good point Kerry.........not one I'd thought through.

Currently my stock of 4x10's is zero so I have a few options.

Did Mido also make them?

Clayton

[Kerry L. Thalmann]

Did Mido also make them?

Yes, they did and I have some. They were made in the "Wisner/x-ray" size. They are thinner (using a clamshell adapter) and lightter than regular holders. Unfortunately, I never found them as reliable as regular holders.

I recently finished part 1 of a 2 part article on the 4x10 format for View Camera magazine. Part 1 covers 4x10 cameras and film holders and will run in the Sep/Oct issue. If you get a chance, check it out. It includes a discussion all the 4x10 holder options I know of, including pictures of 4x10 holders from Canham, Lotus, AWB, Mido, S&S, Lisco and Graflex/Kodak.

Kerry