and they gave me this box:
(Unfortunately, my digital camera is down for the moment, so in this space, please imagine a box of about 14x12x8, skillfully and completely wrapped in tape)
Oh, I do so wonder what could be in the box. Let me open it...
(As before, image a downward view of the box, which has been opened, showing a small sea of packing peanuts)
In the middle of all those peanuts is a sandwhich of styrofoam-object wrapped in plastic-more styrofoam, all of it held together with masking tape and quite sturdy.
Lets just move along a little more traditionally from this point on...
In the very nice box filled with peanuts and sandwhiched by styrofoam, was the nicest 8x10 film holder I have ever laid eyes on. They folks at Chamonix have really out done themselves with this. To begin, it comes in its own protective bag, which, after feeling it, is actually protective and not just for show. It is a peculiar shade of green and constructed of some sort of nylon on the outside and lined with a grey synthetic fleece. There's a flap to close things up, and the flap is held closed by something that I've never seen before. Its like velcro, a little bit weaker (which is actually nice, opening it takes just the right amount of pull), but it isn't rough to the touch and it has a glossy sheen to it. There aren't any stiff fibers sticking up from it to grab the fleece, but sure enough, it grabs well.
Getting to the holder itself, it is truly a work of art. Alan Brubaker of AWB and Lotus of Austria have some very, very serious competition on their hands now. It is constructed of Canadian white maple, has an aluminum core, and aluminum dark slides. All this works out to an amazingly light package. Although I don't have a scale handy, I can tell you that comparitively, it feels like it weighs about as much as 3 Fidelity 4x5 holders.
The fit finish is absolutely gorgeous. All the exposed wood is finished in a very nice satin clearcoat that is perfectly cured with no hint of tackyness, not even outdoors on a hot humid day like today. Not even with sweaty fingers. The core is of course black, and it is very non-reflective and evenly coated. Looking at the core, both sides are totally uniform in finish and smoothness. They are also completely level. If any discrepancies exist, they're impossible to see. The inside of the end flaps is painted a good matte black, as is everywhere else than needs to be light-tight. The joints all look very pricise and everything is very, very smooth. Running a finger over the joints I can't feel them at all. Very impressive.
As far as the slides go, they are equally nice. All the edges have been deburred and they have been anodized (i believe anodized) black. Nothing about them is sharp, nor do they feel flimsy. Rather, they feel quite unbreakable. The tabs are a lesson in simpllicity. Instead of built up handles, they have 6 holes cut into the top edge of the 'handle-like portion' of the slide, which is exactly 4.5 inches in width. The holes are a perfect touch, as they provide something to grip when pulling them out. They're black on both sides, which may seem like it would lead to confusion between exposed and unexposed holders, but fear not, Chamonix has etched their name into one side of each slide's handle. It is subtle (the text is black like the rest of the slide) but still visible.
The light traps are very smooth and excellent at keeping the light out. I tested the holder with photo paper in direct sunlight and later with a flashlight and not a single leak occured. Like I said, every joint on this thing is perfect. Even with carefull wiggling and sun hitting the traps directly, I was not able to coax a leak out of them. The slide locking tabs are a bit stiff, but should loosen up with use.
Each trap is held in place with 6 stainless steel screws, 3 on each side. None of the heads are stipped, and each is very slightly countersunk.
Down one long side on each face of the holder, Chamonix has placed its emblem, name, and holder size. For anyone who has never seen the Chamonix logo, it is very tasteful. It is comprised of a heartbeat-type line (the kind you would see on an EKG machine) showing 1 beat, and this is bracketed on four corners. The idea seems to be 'capturing the pulse' or something along those lines. I like it very much. At the top of each face, Chamonix has affixed a paper sticker identifying themselves yet again, and also labelling the sides of the holder as 'A' and 'B.' Its a nice little touch.
I'd also like to mention the flap tape on the end. It's a woven tape that's been coated in what looks like vinyl. Its very flexible, but still springy, and feels like its going to do its job for a very long time.
I tested the holder briefly in the field. Literally. I put a sheet of photo paper in each side (for super-quick processing) and drove out to a dry dusty field with some neat patterns and foliage for a couple of quick shots. In my Calumet C-1 with its bail back, it performed flawlessly, sliding in and out very smoothly and easily. One of the shots was pretty nice, the other was ruined by my forgetting to switch the shutter from T (for focusing) to B (for the 8-second exposure). What should have been 8 seconds was actually more like 20. Oh well, I'll hopefully never make that mistake again.
Overall, my impression of the holder is exactly like Hugo told me: its like holding a piece of fine furniture. It seems to be built with the amount of care and thought and item like this deserves, and is in my eyes quite perfect. Now, so I don't seem star-eyed, I have to mention just one little thing: the dark slides may not be so easy to grip for someone with very thick fingers. Not having a thickened handle means you've got to grip them betterm, so if you've got thick fingers you may find that getting a finger between the slide you're pulling and the other slide is a bit tight. That's my only 'concern.'
So, if you want a good film holder at a very good price, contact Hugo Zhang. He's a member of these great forums and will get you all squared away. Shipping is cheap (1 holder cost $10 to ship all the way from China), and scary fast. Hugo said the holder would ship Monday (Labor Day in US) and on Wednesday, it arrived, via USPS (I wasn't home to sign for it, so I had to go get it today). I can't even get stuff across the state that fast.
And finally, cost. Without putting specific names out there, the other new production wood 8x10 holders I've come across sell for $300 and up. Chamonix sells theirs for $179, and it comes with the protective case. Forget Fidelity, they're gone already. Forget Toyo, they have odor issues. Chamonix is for me, the clear winner.
Oh yes, I'll be posting pictures very soon, so be sure to check back often! Thanks for reading!
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Originally Posted by roteague
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