Posted by Kent Staubus on May 28, 2006 at 12:52 AM
Well, I went a little crazy tonight and bid on a Shen Hao camera on eBay. In addition to the camera/regular bellows, I got enough lens boards, a bag bellows, a pop up viewer, dark cloth, and misc. I got this for $560. Not sure if this was a super deal, but at least I should be set now. How useful is the pop up viewer? Anybody use one? This might be something I sell so I can then buy a lens hood. I have a 90mm Super Angulon lens as my widest and use a bag bellows on my Cambo 45NX, but not sure if I need a bag bellows on the Shen Hao. I might someday buy a 75mm, possibly. The ground glass on the Shen Hao is broken and taped together. I think I'll replace it. How would I get one? How about the Fresnel glass--what are the pros & cons?
The camera was being sold by one of our own--Matthew Cromer. He said he was selling off his camera stuff to pay for a horse barn or something. He will keep a digital camera. Now, I need to sell my Cambo things I guess. Don't need two LF systems.
You might give Jeff at Badger Graphics a call regarding a GG. Since you already have 90 and and are considering a 75, a high quality Fresnel will be pretty much required due to the extreme light fall-off with these lenses.
Dan Baumbach used a Shen Hao with wide angle lenses until be got his CannedHam. He can probably give you some good info.
Kent, I will second giving Jeff a call about parts availability. I use a 90 F8 lens on my Shen with the normal bellows and haven't ran into any problems. Things do get a little restricted, but not so much that I wish I had bag bellows.
The GG on the Shen seems a little dark on the 90, but I still have no trouble using it. I have never looked at any other glasses before so Im not sure if the brightness the Shen allows it good, bad or equal to other cameras. If you do get a fresnel let me know how it works out and I may purchase one as well.
You'll see a big improvement with a good fresnel. The best is made by Maxwell Precision Optics; it's the most evenly lit and least grainy that I've seen. You want the "general purpose" fresnel, not the dedicated wide angle version, which doesn't work well with normal or longer lenses.
Google "Maxwell Precision Optics" to find a phone number; I think they have a website but it's very minimal.
I'm definitely in agreement about calling Jeff at Badger for GG info.
Kent: I'm offering no help for the Shen Hao questions, but you may want to take a look at TinyURL http://tinyurl.com/ That monster ebay URL is screwing up the display of this page.
Posted by Kent Staubus on May 30, 2006 at 10:57 PM
Gordon--
I deleted the eBay url, but what the heck is "TinyURL?"
It's site with a free service that converts url's into ones that won't break across a carriage return. You copy the big url you want to make small, and then paste it into a box on the site.
The 'engine' converts the url, which you can then copy and paste elsewhere. When a person clicks it, it sends a redirect to Tiny URL, which the finds your original one and opens the page. It's really pretty cool, and it only takes very short time to use.
Kent, over on APUG people are singing glory to satin snow ground glass. You might check it out (I don't have it, since Arca's GG/fresnel combination is fantastic).
Marko
Posted by Kent Staubus on June 1, 2006 at 10:34 AM
Martin was typing while I was sleeping. But if you decide to go to APUG, watch your language. Folks over there are allergic on word "digital" in all possible ways.
Discussion
10 repliesThe camera was being sold by one of our own--Matthew Cromer. He said he was selling off his camera stuff to pay for a horse barn or something. He will keep a digital camera. Now, I need to sell my Cambo things I guess. Don't need two LF systems.
Kent in SD
You might give Jeff at Badger Graphics a call regarding a GG. Since you already have 90 and and are considering a 75, a high quality Fresnel will be pretty much required due to the extreme light fall-off with these lenses.
Dan Baumbach used a Shen Hao with wide angle lenses until be got his CannedHam. He can probably give you some good info.
-PB
The GG on the Shen seems a little dark on the 90, but I still have no trouble using it. I have never looked at any other glasses before so Im not sure if the brightness the Shen allows it good, bad or equal to other cameras. If you do get a fresnel let me know how it works out and I may purchase one as well.
Google "Maxwell Precision Optics" to find a phone number; I think they have a website but it's very minimal.
I'm definitely in agreement about calling Jeff at Badger for GG info.
D.
I deleted the eBay url, but what the heck is "TinyURL?"
Kent in SD
"...what the heck is "TinyURL?" "
It's site with a free service that converts url's into ones that won't break across a carriage return. You copy the big url you want to make small, and then paste it into a box on the site.
The 'engine' converts the url, which you can then copy and paste elsewhere. When a person clicks it, it sends a redirect to Tiny URL, which the finds your original one and opens the page. It's really pretty cool, and it only takes very short time to use.
-PB
Marko
Can you link me to APUG? What is APUG?
Kent in SD
http://www.apug.org its a photosite/forum for film photography
Regards
Martin was typing while I was sleeping. But if you decide to go to APUG, watch your language. Folks over there are allergic on word "digital" in all possible ways.
Marko