What is the name of the Shen Hao look alike?

I read a post somewhere in the past few weeks about a 4x5 camera which

seems to be a Shen Hao look alike, but sells for less money?

 

Does anyone remember this post, or do youknow the name of this camera?

 

Thanks,

Jim

Sun Photo from Midwest Camera Exchange.

I just popped over to <a href="http://www.mpex.com/">Midwest Photo Exchange</a> to compare the Sun with my Shen Hao (I vaguely remember that the Shen Hao has more movements) and they now list the Shen Hao itself, but no Sun.

I was told they are waiting for a new shipment.

There's also the Osaka - see:

 

http://www.bromwellmarketing.com/osaka.htm

The Osaka is a Tachihara.

Thanks for the clarification Richard - I did not know this but thought that the 4x5 looked familiar although the 5x7 did not.

AFAIK, Osaka = Tachihara = Nagoaka = Ikeda But those are all Japanese. Their main advantage is weight, some being less than 3 pounds -- though equally flimsy.

 

There is also the Raja which is something else.

 

For nearly the same cost of most any of the above you can buy a Toyo 45 CF -- adn IMO the Toyo will be a much better camera.

Yes Jack, as I remember the Raja was (is?) made in India, a very poor and flimsy imitation of a Deardorff.

The Toyo 45CF may be a better camera than the Ikeda/Osaka/etc set, but it is not as versatile or as robust as the Shen Hao. It is very lightweight, being made of carbon fiber, but it feels like cheap plastic when you use it. When you fold it up to close it, you have to de-mount the front standard from the focusing rail, and it is easy to get it separated from the body entirely. It also has very limited movements - some front rise/shift/swing, rear tilt. That's it. And only a 12" bellows. I'd get a Shen Hao instead. Solid teak, more movements than some monorail cameras, 14" of bellows, available bag bellows for extreme wide-angle lenses.

The Toyo 45CF has 14" of bellows draw!

How much cheaper than a Shen-Hao can it be?

 

I have used a Nagaoka, which was nice because of how light it was. But, like others have said, the Shen-Hao is so much more robust and has ALOT more movements, not to mention nice amenities like a bag bellows. Since I'm already carrying around a 3221 with a 3047 head, the extra weight of the S-H isn't much of an issue for me.

 

In my opinion, just save your pennies a little longer and buy the Shen-Hao. You'll be MUCH happier with it in the long run, as it is a much more "growable" system. That's what I did, and I don't regret it.

Just for the record, the Osaka/Tachihara is not at all the same as the Nagoaka/Ikeda/Anba. The Tachihara is somewhat larger and heavier and probably more rigid than the Nagaoka.