Shen Hao Europe distributor??

Hello,

I am starting L/F photography with an interest in

landscape/architecture and am thinking of purchasing a Shen Hao 5x4

but know of no dealer/distributor in europe.I live in england and

(money being one of the obvious factors)would rather not go through

the expense of purchasing outside of Europe, but can only find

distributors in america.I also dont want to clog up the forum with

the Shen Hao vs. 'other makes' debate but any advice would be

appreciated. I must add this is an excellent place for information

for the beginer(possibly a little too much-but still very interesting

and helpful).

AAron,

 

If you have not tried it yet, I'd give Robert White of UK a call. They don't list Shen Hao but I think they may be your best bet. Find them at

 

www.robertwhite.co.uk

I looked on the Shen-hao web site and found a listing for:

 

Brenner Importunt Grobhandels-Gmbh

 

Postfach 1229 D-92603 WEIDEN

 

Mooslohstrabe 60 D-92637 WEIDEN

 

GERMANY T:0961-61414 F:0961-61411

 

Hope this helps.

Although this distributor is in the US, it might save you enough money to make it worthwhile. Try www.fineartphotosupply.com. Their prices are considerably less than Badger Graphics. Here is the link to the camera page:

 

http://www.fineartphotosupply.com/fieldcamerapage.htm

 

Good luck!

You may try Taos Photographic in southern France. André Mouton speaks english and is very knowledgeable. He imports Shen-Hao for about half a year now. Here is the url :

www.galerie-photo.net

Andrew, Fine Art, if you look close, isn't cheaper than Badger. The camera they are selling is the less expensive of the 2 folding 4x5 cameras that Shen-Hao makes. Badger offers the same camera at the same price as Fine Art.

<i>Although this distributor is in the US, it might save you enough money to make it worthwhile. Try www.fineartphotosupply.com. Their prices are considerably less than Badger Graphics.</i><br>

<br>

Total BS!<br>

<br>

As Ed said, BG sells the exact same camera for the exact same price. And unlike FAPS, they haven't been banned from this forum for harvesting email addesses and sending SPAM to its members.

Thanks all for the quick response, I am still checking out my options, may go with B/G as I have a relative who will be visiting the states soon and may be able to pick one up. Post is the other option ($60) but would be looking at v.a.t tax of 15-20% making it not quite as good a deal.In the mean time will be exploring all the avenues you have given me, thanks again, hope I can help you all with a problem sometime.

Hello! have just checked out the french site, at around $1000 they are a bit more expensive than Badger so still unsure on this one. Also to add to the problem I noticed another model on its web site, a non-folding veiw camera like the ebony, I would imagine this is a lot simpler to use and set up(also lighter and cheaper), has anyone used or viewed this camera?

Hi Aaron, I had wondered about that non-folder too. I posted about it months ago with no respose. It looks very much like a copy of the Ebony SW. It has if I remember about 190mm of bellows so long lens are out.

oh BTW I've seen that non-folder on ebay a couple of times that's why I was asking about it.

I must take issue with George Hayduke's statement that we've "been banned from the forum for harvesting email addresses and spamming people"! He apparently didn't read (or understand) the explanation provided by us. We had purchased what we thought was a legitimate "opt-in" list and sent emails to people. It turns out many of them were members of this forum and were not people who chose to get information about Large Format photography. But once bitten, twice shy. We'll know more about any lists we purchase the next time.

 

If anyone would like to receive an e-newsletter about Large Format just sign up on our website www.Fineartphotosupply.com. The November issue is almost ready.

 

The Shen-Hao is a beautiful camera by the way. I'm sure our price is comparable to Badger Graphics, but probably not lower.

Ooops! Sorry to bring up a sore subject with FAPS. I didn't

realize that they carry such a negative feeling around here. Just

trying to be helpful with what I though was a good deal...

Aaron, Ed,

 

I recently bought the non-folding Shen-Hao from Taos Photographic and I'm very pleased with it. Previously I had a Wista DX, but I'm using a Cambo 6x7 rollfilm holder, which is much heavier of course than a simple 4x5 Fidelity. The Wista was not rigid enough and the rear standard would always tilt a little backwards under the weight of the holder. I measured this tilt to be about 0,2 mm in the centre of the image (with all screws and everything duely tightened). The Shen-Hao has a better rigidity, though not perfect, but I now have modified the rear part of it, suppressing every tilt and lateral shift to make it sturdier (and with some extra weight reduction). Now it's wonderful and I don't loose the focus plane after inserting the rollfilm holder. But even without this modification, the Shen-Hao is more rigid than the Wista and you will never fear to loose your settings when inserting your Fidelity.

 

Be aware however that you get for what you've paid for. Craftmanship is at best satisfactory in my opinion, the camera isn't a nice object like the Wista. Also, the tightening screws for the front and rear standard's horizontal tilt and shift (screws with a short lever) are very bad, you have to apply a huge force to tighten up (and can't loose it easily afterwards...), but it still is insufficient to stop every movement! My solution to this has been to slightly untighten the screw and adjust my setting by applying a slight force onto the standard. The friction does it all, it stays nicely in place and I can adjust it quite precisely, as opposed to other systems with lot of play (where sometime you loose your position when tightening, because the play is not "closing" the way you whished it would).

 

All in all, I'm very pleased with the camera,this is the concept that fits my taste. I once wished I could afford a non-folding Ebony! Now, I have an acceptable copy of an Ebony, and can buy many lenses with the price difference!

 

Feel free to contact me for more details or pictures of the camera.

Still one word about the Shen-Hao non-folding. It has a maximum extension of 180 mm, but can accept very short lenses (down to 35 mm with special lens board). This truly is a "wide-angle" camera, which makes it particularly suitable for working with rollfilm.

 

Here is a link with a more detailed description (in french) and some photos:

http://www.galerie-photo.com/shen-hao-tfc45.html

I wouldn�t worry about it Andrew. Some folks here are pretty unhappy with FAPS for spamming (they say it wasn�t spam) and the way they handled the reaction of the newsgroup. I for one think some people went a bit overboard. It was e-mail not a bio-toxin they sent. I say give them the benefit and a second chance.

Guys,

 

I would like to take this opportunity to say it again here: I do NOT import and sell ANY Shen Hao cameras. Therefore, I'm not able to offer any Shen Hao canera at $499 price. There are US dealers offering Shen Hao now, as you have already known. One dealer I don't see in this post is The View Camera Store. If you want to have a Shen Hao 8x10 HZX810-IIa (basically an Ebony SV810 copy, I use one), please call Photo Gizzmo. I beliebe the price is about $1450. If you want a Shen Hao 5x7, please contact the manufacture. I'd be glad to answer questions about those cameras. I do NOT sell them. Thanks!

<i>I must take issue with George Hayduke's statement that we've "been banned from the forum for harvesting email addresses and spamming people"! He apparently didn't read (or understand) the explanation provided by us.</i><br>

<br>

Yes, I read it and understood it perfectly. The original thread - <strong>Spam From Fine Art Photo Supply</strong> - can still be found at:<br>

<br>

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003s8J<br>

Marc,

thanks for the info on the non-folding model, it will definatly help in making a decision.It didn't look very rigid in the photos and a first hand opinion was helpful.Cheers!

Your best bet is contacting Brenner Imports in Germany. Brenner and Badger Graphics are Shen Hao's major contacts outside China. Seagull also distribute for Shen Hao but is a little unpredictable.

 

If any of the above places are out of inventory, you'll have to wait at least 30 days for the next production batch (plus shipping plus delays plus who knows what)

 

If you can read/write Chinese, or have a friend that does, its possible to order directly from the Shanghai office. Shen Hao keeps zero camera inventory so prepare to wait for the next production run that they can fit you into.

 

With their current staff, Shan Hao can produce about 40 of their 4x5 cameras per month. 8x10 and special orders take quite a while longer. Accessories are produced in large lots when their existing stock sells out.

 

Shen Hao is always looking for more distributors in the US and Europe. If you're interested, please contact Mr. Zhang Fu Ming (Zhang's the surname) at zhangfm@online.sh.cn or (86-21)6304-4161. Chinese language only please.

 

Me? I'm an American based out of Shanghai. Visited their office and "factory" a few times and bought a camera from Mr. Zhang. I DO NOT sell Shen Hao cameras. Happy to answer questions and relate my POV, but please do not ask me to help with private purchases.

 

A teaser for all of you. Liaoning Guohua Photography Co., a Chinese company in Shenyang, came out with an Arca Swiss Discovery/F-line Basic look alike about 6 months ago. Haven't seen one in person. I'll post a copy of the ad at a later date. Or if you speak Chinese, call Mr. Shen Ke (Shen's the surname) at (86-24)8622-7512.

Hi Aaron

 

The Brenner Versand in germany has the website under:www.alles-foto.de

But they have not at all everything on there homepage.

Good luck!

Another Europan distributer is the Norwegan company ExpoService, you can find their Shen-Hao list here: http://www.expo-service.no/kameraer/shen_hao.html

 

Note that Norway is not an EU member.