FINALLY! Pictures of the new Chamonix 45N2

John Wiegerink · Jun 10, 2022

We got another gully washer today, but it cleared up in late afternoon. I had a chance to take the little honey out for its first trial run. I only took the Fujinon 180mm f9 A and the old 165mm Eurynar. I can't try my 100mm f6.3 WF Ektar or 90mm f8 Super Angulon until I go down state and get them. I took four shots of the coal tower and then some digi pics of the camera. I must say that the 45N2 was a breeze to use. I actually didn't do any fancy movements. Basically, it was just a bit of front rise and shoot. All I can see is that I'm more than pleased with how the camera functioned. Oh, and it was certainly no burden to carry. I'm going to process the 4X5's tonight and scan when I get a chance. I'll post them on the standard gallery after scanning. Here are some shots of the camera and the subject matter it was used on.

ic-racer · Jun 11, 2022

Beautiful!

mshchem · Jun 11, 2022

That's a great looking piece of machinery. My mom grew up in Traverse City, beautiful area. I look forward to seeing your scans.
Best Regards Mike

grat · Jun 11, 2022

Lovely bit of kit. I wondered how the 45N-2 would look with the red bellows, and I'm not disappointed.

John Wiegerink · Jun 11, 2022

mshchem said:
That's a great looking piece of machinery. My mom grew up in Traverse City, beautiful area. I look forward to seeing your scans.
Best Regards Mike

When I was a kid in the early 50's we would go up to TC to visit relatives and the town was pretty small then. Now it's a different story and it's growing more and more everyday. It's one of those places where you go visit and on the way home say, boy, i'd like to live there. It has everything you want, plus.

John Wiegerink · Jun 11, 2022

grat said:
Lovely bit of kit. I wondered how the 45N-2 would look with the red bellows, and I'm not disappointed.

I think it's pretty nice looking with a black bellows too. I wanted red since my 8X10 has a red bellows and thought it neat to have both the same. Kind of like Papa and his cute little girl. Ha-ha!

Jay Schrotenboer · Jun 11, 2022

It is a beautiful camera, and looks fun to use. Michigan is a beautiful place to live with lots of photo opportunities!

John Wiegerink · Jun 11, 2022

Jay Schrotenboer said:
It is a beautiful camera, and looks fun to use. Michigan is a beautiful place to live with lots of photo opportunities!

I agree! I have been many places, but like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home". Of course, as I've gotten older, winter isn't as much fun as it used to be. My right elbow still hasn't fully recovered from a fall way back in the middle of Jan.. I think I'm going to get a loupe and a smaller backpack than the one I now have. Any suggestions on the backpack?

Arthurwg · Jun 11, 2022

Beautiful. Now if they would only come back with Readyloads, Quickloads and Polaroid 55 I would be tempted to get back into LF photography.

Andrew O'Neill · Jun 11, 2022

...and nice bellows design and colour!

Patrick Robert James · Jun 11, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
I agree! I have been many places, but like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home". Of course, as I've gotten older, winter isn't as much fun as it used to be. My right elbow still hasn't fully recovered from a fall way back in the middle of Jan.. I think I'm going to get a loupe and a smaller backpack than the one I now have. Any suggestions on the backpack?

I eschewed the back pack years ago. Too much of a pain. I use a LowePro hip pack (Orion AW) that can hold everything I need. That includes 5 lenses and filters. It also has space for a small darkcloth and a few film holders or a couple Grafmatics. If I want to carry more film I use a small Victorinox sling bag. I think it is the best way to go since I never have to place anything on the ground, and everything I need is right there. Carrying the weight on your hip is far easier than carrying it on your back.

John Wiegerink · Jun 12, 2022

Andrew O'Neill said:
...and nice bellows design and colour!

Andy,
I like the darker, muted red better than the brighter red on my 8X10. The bellows design is suppe to be much better for wide angle lenses when the bellows is fairly compressed. Won't know how well that works until I get my other lens boards on the 15th.

John Wiegerink · Jun 12, 2022

Arthurwg said:
Beautiful. Now if they would only come back with Readyloads, Quickloads and Polaroid 55 I would be tempted to get back into LF photography.

I used some of Fuji's while they were still made and it made life easier for sure. I have no problems with using two-sided film holder, but those Quick Loads sure took less space in the camera bag.

John Wiegerink · Jun 12, 2022

Patrick Robert James said:
I eschewed the back pack years ago. Too much of a pain. I use a LowePro hip pack (Orion AW) that can hold everything I need. That includes 5 lenses and filters. It also has space for a small darkcloth and a few film holders or a couple Grafmatics. If I want to carry more film I use a small Victorinox sling bag. I think it is the best way to go since I never have to place anything on the ground, and everything I need is right there. Carrying the weight on your hip is far easier than carrying it on your back.

I never thought of hip-carrying a 4X5 and when I get a chance this evening I will look into your suggestions Pat.

Jay Schrotenboer · Jun 12, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
I agree! I have been many places, but like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home". Of course, as I've gotten older, winter isn't as much fun as it used to be. My right elbow still hasn't fully recovered from a fall way back in the middle of Jan.. I think I'm going to get a loupe and a smaller backpack than the one I now have. Any suggestions on the backpack?

My father (who recently turned 71) started wintering in AZ a few years ago, so there are ways to deal with it . I am glad I have (finally) started my large format journey at a young ish age so I can try and capture as much of Michigan’s beauty as is possible

John Wiegerink · Jun 13, 2022

Jay Schrotenboer said:
My father (who recently turned 71) started wintering in AZ a few years ago, so there are ways to deal with it . I am glad I have (finally) started my large format journey at a young ish age so I can try and capture as much of Michigan’s beauty as is possible

I really like Arizona, but have my eyes on southern New Mexico. I can take cold pretty well, it's the snow and no sunshine for sometimes weeks that bothers me most. My negatives are still undeveloped since my good developers are at home. I thought I had my Pyrocat HDC up here, but no. I have Rodinal, but rather not use it on these negs. I'll post them after the 15th.
John

Patrick Robert James · Jun 13, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
I never thought of hip-carrying a 4X5 and when I get a chance this evening I will look into your suggestions Pat.

I wasn't very clear it seems John. The hip pack is for the lenses and such. I carry the camera on the tripod. Minor detail I forgot to mention. Sorry about that.

John Wiegerink · Jun 14, 2022

Patrick Robert James said:
I wasn't very clear it seems John. The hip pack is for the lenses and such. I carry the camera on the tripod. Minor detail I forgot to mention. Sorry about that.

Pat,
Thanks, cuz I went looking at some of the hip bags you suggested and kept scratching my head as to how you could fit all those lense and a 4X5 camera into one. Now it makes sense. I already have several over-the-shoulder bags with belt loops I could use for the lenses, dark cloth, loupe, meter and film holders. I'll give those a try. I'm not real keen on carrying the Chamonix out in the open on a tripod. If it was my well used Toyo I'd be OK with that, but the Chamonix is just too nice to mess up. Besides, when I was in Vietnam I got very sick with an extremely high fever that left me with nevre problems and no inner-ear balance. Yes, I fall alot and can't walk at all in near total darkness. That means I like my camera and lenses protcted as much as possible. Things like film holders or even a good light meter are easier and cheaper to replace than cameras and lenses. They don't get the same protection from me as the camera or lense.

Alan Edward Klein · Jun 14, 2022

I have the f64 backpack for my 45H-1. The two side packs will hold 5 Chamonix film holders each. Inside I have the camera, 4 lenses, filter,s a small digital camera, reflex viewfinder, meter, and assorted other crap.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/91695-REG/f_64_BPXG_BPX_Extra_Large_Backpack.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjw46CVBhB1EiwAgy6M4kZ3j-A7gwO471NUHQMOOHHN4okyyVqIJeXXZUb0k5Y8wntSD9NV3hoCVW0QAvD_BwE

Alan Edward Klein · Jun 14, 2022

The side holders are demountable and can be carried separately with their straps. You can move one to the other side to balance the pack.

Patrick Robert James · Jun 14, 2022

Yeah, I figured I might have confused you so I corrected it.

John you might want to consider a pull cart. Sounds like that might be a help, or even a baby stroller. With your balance issues, a stroller might be the ticket. Give you something to hold on to. If I went to shooting a bigger camera I think I'd do that.

Good luck.

John Wiegerink said:
Pat,
Thanks, cuz I went looking at some of the hip bags you suggested and kept scratching my head as to how you could fit all those lense and a 4X5 camera into one. Now it makes sense. I already have several over-the-shoulder bags with belt loops I could use for the lenses, dark cloth, loupe, meter and film holders. I'll give those a try. I'm not real keen on carrying the Chamonix out in the open on a tripod. If it was my well used Toyo I'd be OK with that, but the Chamonix is just too nice to mess up. Besides, when I was in Vietnam I got very sick with an extremely high fever that left me with nevre problems and no inner-ear balance. Yes, I fall alot and can't walk at all in near total darkness. That means I like my camera and lenses protcted as much as possible. Things like film holders or even a good light meter are easier and cheaper to replace than cameras and lenses. They don't get the same protection from me as the camera or lense.

John Wiegerink · Jun 14, 2022

Patrick Robert James said:
Yeah, I figured I might have confused you so I corrected it.

John you might want to consider a pull cart. Sounds like that might be a help, or even a baby stroller. With your balance issues, a stroller might be the ticket. Give you something to hold on to. If I went to shooting a bigger camera I think I'd do that.

Good luck.

Pat.
My balance is fairly good in the daylight, but nightfall is a whole different ballgame. I think I'm going to go for something like Alan suggested for daytime use and a tow-behind for lowlight hours. I just remember that I have a special tow-behind computer repairmans hard case that should work just fine. It's downstate and I'll get it tomorrow after my Doctors appointment.

Tim Stapp · Jun 17, 2022

John, we need to meet up sometime and go shooting together. I'm now living on the north side of Big Rapids, about half way between both your summer and winter residences.

There is a scrap yard between Mancelona and Bellaire that I really want to wander around and photograph. I suspect that the early spring would be best because of the vegetation.

Another photo opportunity that I want to explore is the Buckley Old Engine show in August. One of the largest shows of old steam traction engines and tractors in the country.

Pere Marquette 1225 is also one of my favorite subjects. Sadly, my only credible photo of her was captured digitally. I missed focus on the two motion shots that I've attempted analogue.

I love the old Pere Marquette coal towers. They were standardized across the state. Similar in construction to the Ann Arbor RR.

BTW, I'm envious of the new Chamonix!

John Wiegerink · Jun 18, 2022

Tim Stapp said:
John, we need to meet up sometime and go shooting together. I'm now living on the north side of Big Rapids, about half way between both your summer and winter residences.

There is a scrap yard between Mancelona and Bellaire that I really want to wander around and photograph. I suspect that the early spring would be best because of the vegetation.

Another photo opportunity that I want to explore is the Buckley Old Engine show in August. One of the largest shows of old steam traction engines and tractors in the country.

Pere Marquette 1225 is also one of my favorite subjects. Sadly, my only credible photo of her was captured digitally. I missed focus on the two motion shots that I've attempted analogue.

I love the old Pere Marquette coal towers. They were standardized across the state. Similar in construction to the Ann Arbor RR.

BTW, I'm envious of the new Chamonix!

Tim,
I've been up to the Buckley show, but was with family/future in-laws and so only brought a small digicam. many good photo opportunities there and especially when those steam engines and oil-pulls demonstrate their field work. You really should go if you get the chance. They have a daily parade where all, or almost all, the big engines slowly parade around the big grounds single file. Great place to go with a slightly more portable camera than a 4X5 view camera. If I went again I would probably take something like my Zeiss Super Ikonta C and leave the Pentax67 or Hasselblad home. No need for interchangeable lenses there since you can get as close as you want to your subject.
I have a shot or two of the PM 1225 when it was in Clare for a St. Patty's Day celebration, but it was a really bad day weather-wise and the shots are not very good at all. You know what they say, "it's all about the lighting". If you don't mind a staged looking shot, the PM 1223 with coal tender and coal tower(dock) is on a display track in Grand Haven. Grand Haven and it's pier are a great place to go shooting also. We do live in a state that offers endless photo opportunities for sure.
The Chamonix is just a little fancier(lighter) than my other 4X5 cameras, but it can't take any better pictures than my Orbit monorail, Toyo Field or Super Speed Graphic. It's like cars, one with air-conditioning will get you to the same destination as one without, but you will enjoy the ride more with air if it's a hot day.
JohnW

Jay Schrotenboer · Jun 18, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
If you don't mind a staged looking shot, the PM 1223 with coal tender and coal tower(dock) is on a display track in Grand Haven. Grand Haven and it's pier are a great place to go shooting also. We do live in a state that offers endless photo opportunities for sure.
JohnW

I will have to keep an eye out for that tomorrow when I go for some early morning shots of the lighthouse there! I live about half an hour’s drive from Grand Haven. I might be wishing for something lighter than my Cambo Legend monorail, but at least I have a wagon to transport it!

FINALLY! Pictures of the new Chamonix 45N2

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