Who wants a Chamonix 5x7?

herb · May 30, 2008

I hope this does not draw the wrath of the administrators, but it occured to me that there is a pretty big group who likes 5x7, and the only way to find out what the interest is to ask: If you could buy a Chamonix 5x7, with its light weight and decent price, what is your interest level?

I could pay somewhere in the $2 grand area, as long as it would handle fairly short lenses with movement, say 110mm or maybe 90mm, and horizontal/vertical would be a must. Their 5x8 only does horizontal. My longest lens would be 360mm, and that would be rare. Mostly 240mm.

anybody? I have no clue as to how to set up a counting thingy on this site.

david b · May 30, 2008

Your best bet is to ask this question over at the Large Format Forum where there are a lot more people interested in LF than here.

I have the Chamonix 4x5 and would love to have the 5x7 but the price point is too close to their 8x10.

Frank Szabo · May 30, 2008

david b said:
Your best bet is to ask this question over at the Large Format Forum where there are a lot more people interested in LF than here.

I have the Chamonix 4x5 and would love to have the 5x7 but the price point is too close to their 8x10.

OK - so get an 8 X 10.

I'd considered a 5 X 7 some time back and decided that while it was a quite worthy format, very effective and practical in size, availability of film and other odds and ends could be likened to ammunition availability for a 16 gauge shotgun, another good but bypassed item.

david b · May 30, 2008

yeah...5x7 film holders are ridiculously expensive.

The Chamonix 4x5 is $800 and the 8x10 is $2500.

Shouldn't the 5x7 be somewhere $1650 ?

I asked that question and was told because of the extra materials and the bellows the price could not be under $2000.

Dave Wooten · May 30, 2008

david b said:
yeah...5x7 film holders are ridiculously expensive.

The Chamonix 4x5 is $800 and the 8x10 is $2500.

Shouldn't the 5x7 be somewhere $1650 ?

I asked that question and was told because of the extra materials and the bellows the price could not be under $2000.

I have always wondered that myself, one could argue I guess that 8 x 10 covers 4 xs the real estate of 4 x 5 ...20 sq inches as opposed to 80 sq inches, however, other than the cost of the material parts, is nt the labor costs about the same?

david b · May 30, 2008

Dave,
I too wondered the same thing. I just don't get it.

If the camera design is the same in both 8x10 and 4x5, then it should not take too much of anything to make it in 5x7.

But when I said this all out loud on the LFF, one thought I had just cursed them all out.

If Chamonix put the price of the 5x7 right in the middle, say $1650, it would sell as quickly as the 4x5.

The Chamonix 4x5 that I have, is a well built, well designed camera and well worth the money.

matt miller · May 30, 2008

I've been pondering the Shen Hao 5x7 that lists for $1400 at Badger. If Chamonix would sell a 5x7 around that price I would seriously consider it.

Dave Wooten · May 30, 2008

There are several Shen 5 x 7 users on the forum.

herb · May 30, 2008

Chamonix 5x7

I have an 8x10, it is more than 2x the 5x7 in the same camera to deal with, while the 5x7 is about 1.5x the 4x5.

Posting question on LF

smieglitz · May 30, 2008

From my limited (very limited) knowledge of woodworking and materials, I suspect there is a bit more care than cost involved in finding stock to build a larger camera, i.e., it is harder to keep the pieces from warping or splitting, etc. The actual cost of materials is probably not much higher between a 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 and the machining may actually be easier on the larger pieces. A bigger bellows would reflect a much higher cost for a larger camera but otherwise, I don't understand why the larger rigs would cost that much more to manufacture . To sell perhaps, but not to manufacture.

That is unless the hardware was gold-plated, guaranteed for life, and sank to the bottom of the washer.

Joe

Tom Hoskinson · May 30, 2008

herb said:
I hope this does not draw the wrath of the administrators, but it occured to me that there is a pretty big group who likes 5x7, and the only way to find out what the interest is to ask: If you could buy a Chamonix 5x7, with its light weight and decent price, what is your interest level?

I could pay somewhere in the $2 grand area, as long as it would handle fairly short lenses with movement, say 110mm or maybe 90mm, and horizontal/vertical would be a must. Their 5x8 only does horizontal. My longest lens would be 360mm, and that would be rare. Mostly 240mm.

anybody? I have no clue as to how to set up a counting thingy on this site.

I'm not interested at any price close to $2K (even if the hardware is gold plated). Also, I already have a 5x7 Deardorff and a 5x7 back for my 8x10 Wehman.

rmann · May 30, 2008

At $2000 - why not a Canham 5x7? Made in USA and backed up with outstanding service.

Akalai · May 31, 2008

Scales of economy.

It would appear to me the Chamonix cameras are built in batches. More 4x5 orders, than say 5x7 (and in turn 8x10), mean in comparison larger batches and lower per unit costs. It is also much easier to maintain and manage manufacture and parts by building on a, even scaled down, assembly line.

Hugo Zhang has also previously mentioned that the Chamonix camera was designed and built in such a way to keep prices low and be an entry level camera, albeit a high quality one at a very fair price.

...from this link, post #12:

"Before 45N-1 model was born, Chamonix had mainly been an ULF camera maker. About two years ago, local photgraphers from Chinese LF forum asked Chamonix to make an entry level 45 camera for them. Most of them were first time LF users and wanted an affortable camera. Hass designed one and told them the factory cost and most of the first batch was sold out within 48 hours through the Chinese LF forum...

They posted their findings here <LFF> and Chamonix had more orders.

Chamonix could raise the price, but they decided not to because they were not losing money on the 45N-1 model due to the healthy demand. It's a nice way for people to get to know Chamonix too."

Think it sums things up.

Akalai · May 31, 2008

There is also quite a good review of the Chamonix 5x8 for those interested, along with well taken and detailed pics, at this site;

http://www.vasina.net/?p=94

poutnik · May 31, 2008

There is no problem ordering a 5x7 camera. Actually I think they would manufacture camera in any size you specify. You only have to settle the price and then wait until they make it. It would be easier to order a 5x7 camera, because more people are likely to order a similar one. And btw. a 5x8 camera has some considerable advantages, is only 1"x1" larger than a Shen Hao FCL 57A, is actually lighter than this Shen, has longer bellows. For more info you can follow the link in previous post.

Thanks Akalai for mentioning this link and considering the review useful.

Nick Zentena · May 31, 2008

poutnik said:
And btw. a 5x8 camera has some considerable advantages, is only 1"x1" larger than a Shen Hao FCL 57A,

If it's only horizontal then why is it bigger all around? The FCL can flip the back to verticle can't it? The 5x8 Chamonix should be smaller not bigger.

BradS · May 31, 2008

I'll stay with the Canham traditional wood field. Fantastic camera, made in the USA and comes with great customer service.

Ole · May 31, 2008

I can't really see why I would want a Chamonix 5x7" - when I already have a Gandolfi 7x5".

poutnik · May 31, 2008

Nick Zentena said:
If it's only horizontal then why is it bigger all around? The FCL can flip the back to verticle can't it? The 5x8 Chamonix should be smaller not bigger.

I have the reversible back model - therefore it being larger in both dimensions. I can not comment on the horizontal only one.

And to be exact, I don't care for US customer service when I am across the ocean anyway. For me the customer service in both cases is the same. Actually communicating with Hugo is very good. In the first package I got, the factory forgot to include the holders, and there was only the camera. It took only 1 single email to Hugo and less than 2 weeks of waiting for me and both holders arrived with apologies for the delay.

Right now I'm waiting for a 4x5 reduction back for the camera...

butterflydream · Jun 1, 2008

I bought Canham 4x10 ($3,100) after comparison with Chamonix 4x10 ($2,500), and then I bought 5x7 back+bellows kit ($1,375) later as well. Changing between two format backs and bellows is very easy and quick. Chamonix 5x8 now on ebay is $2,300 incl. two film holders.

I'm happy and I think I made right decision for my case.

Now I'm suppressing myself from purchasing 4x5 back for Canham and leave my Arca Swiss 4x5 at home.

Who wants a Chamonix 5x7?

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