Shen Hao and accessories

Being in Shanghai, I'm thinking about buying a Shen hao. But I never

used such cameras.

I'd like to know about the accessories : what is necessary, what is

superfluous ?

Hi Bernard,

I have a Shen-Hao HZX-45 II A and I like it a lot. I use a 90mm and a 150mm with it. I bought a recessed lens panel and wide angle bellows to be more confortable when using the 90mm. The folding focussing hood is another interesting accessory that will also protect the ground glass.

When I bought mine from Badger Graphic I got a plexiglass protector for $20 instead of the folding focus hood. I have never liked the hoods because they just get in the way and I end up removing them. You really do not need any of the accesories, except the wide angle bellows if you use wide lenses.

www.badgergraphic.com has the full line of Shen-Hao accessories for the HZX-45IIA on the website, so you can see what's available. Using a 90mm lens on the Shen Hao, I found movements to be very restricted with the standard bellows and ended up with the bag bellows (which I also generally use with my 150 mm lens unless I want to do macro). I also use a ground glass protector that I picked up at Calumet Photo rather than the folding hood.

I bought a Shen-Hao in Shanghai a few years ago. I bought it with a bag bellows and

case. The Bellows are very useful, and the case was pretty cheap, good for carrying

the camera back to the US. If I redid it, I would probably buy the same things.

 

I suggest not buying any lensboards. I found that Shen Hao's lensboards were pretty

crudely made. You are probably better off buying Wista or Nikon boards.

 

The 6x12 roll back looked pretty shoddy, and the compendium hood was too bulky

for my liking.

Just one small issue: Don´t buy the Nikon brand lens board in copal 1. The hole is rather low, and the f stop indicator in your lens will touch the lens board bottom holders.

<i>I suggest not buying any lensboards. I found that Shen Hao's lensboards were pretty crudely made</i><p>

 

When was the last time you bought or saw a Shen-Hao board? I recently got the Shen-Hao and expressed to Badger that I'd heard the boards were 'crude', as you say. Badger suggested otherwise, and sure enough, the boards I got were just fine and not 'crude'.

Perhaps Shen-Hao is now producing properly made lensboards. My apologies if I have

led others astray. When I bought my Shen-Hao, about three years ago, the boards I

got were useless; not only ugly but warped, and scratched. Seemed rather odd in

comparison to the camera. I am glad that they have improved upon the lensboards.

I went to Shanghai last year for my 8x10 camera because it is a cheaper option than what were available in the market and I doubt that I would use the camera as much as I do with my 4x5 due to its weight so I did want to invest too much in 8x10. I think the 8x10 camera is beautifully made, although the quality is not as high as the 4x5 wooden folding cameras they make. The 4x5 are very pretty and well made. I was tempted to buy one but I decided not to because the extension is not as lengthy as my Technikarden and I can get hold of the camera quite easy if I need one. I lives in Hong Kong and there is a retailer of the camera just across the Hong Kong- China borders in Shenchun. In the end of the day, the camera is a light tight box with moveable front and back, I think it is the best buy for the price-range. The bellow is a bit stiff but according to the boss, it is made to sustain the rains. I think the lens board I seen is quite nice, but the lens hood, right angle reflex hood ( I hope you know what I mean) are quite bulky.

 

Concerning the accessories, do you means accessories from Shenhao or what accessories is need for largeformat photography? Well, in the most basic team: you need I cameras and a lens with lens board, film holders and a piece of dark cloth, a luope of focuing and a light meter. I think you can get the camera and lens board from Shenhao, and the others (top lenses, film holder and light meter.etc.) are available in the "photo-city" in Shanghai.

I checked with Badger Graphics and they confirmed that the Shen Hao uses Linhof technica boards. I want a body and bag bellows for when I go hiking. My linhof is a little heavy. I would suggest Linhof boards would be the best bet.

 

Adrian Twiss