Going to Shanghai!

[chuck94022]

My new job affords me the opportunity for periodic trips to Shanghai. My first trip will be in a couple of weeks.

Suddenly the thought of a Shen-Hao 8x10 seems very interesting. I've already got a Wista 4x5, but should I consider taking the time to check out a Shen-Hao 8x10?

(Suddenly 4x5 seems so small... )

[Dimitri]

Visited Shanghai very often in the past 10 or so years. Amazing change every year. Did nor recognize some areas.

I visited a lot of camera shops but I can't say that prices were that cheap. Then again I was looking for 35mm and 6X6 stuff, so can't say about the LF market.

Enjoy your stay there and do visit the river area (near the Telecom Tower). Touristy but, there if you look around there are good photo ops.

[Nick Zentena]

Well you'll save on the shipping-) You might ask about the ULF camera they're supposedly buidling. Or see if you can find out something about those secret Exterior cameras.

[jjstafford]

The Shen-Hao 8x10 might be very interesting!

When you get there, if you can, would you check out LF film and processing resources? I am on track to go to Chengdu and Beijing; the former for an art residence and the later to do architectural work. I just have to work out the plan to find dates when the air is clearest.

[colrehogan]

I've seen pics of the 5x12 they are building. Claytume sent me a link to their site (which is in my email at home).

[Nick Zentena]

Last I heard they're building a ULF camera. 7x17? Something like that. I forget the exact size at the moment.

[celluloidpropaganda]

Would you run into any problems with US/Chinese customs bringing back an 8x10 for yourself?

[Nick Zentena]

From what I know an export tax is imposed on forgeiners. But that's included in the price charged by Shen Hao I think. No idea how the US would treat you. Can't believe duties on cameras are that high. The US camera industry isn't huge.

[colrehogan]

Here's the link to the Shen-Hao 5x12 camera.

http://www.shen-hao.com/hzx57-IIAT.html

[chuck94022]

Well I'm in Shanghai now, and tried to visit the Shen Hao factory. The business manager for my Shanghai operation called them to try to arrange a visit (he's a local and can speak the language).

He was told there was nothing to see at their location, and we were refered to their local dealer. We proceeded to that dealer, which is in a small shop in the mall at the railway station.

At the store they had one Shen Hao HZX45-IIA on display. It was black, and the dealer claimed it was black painted oak, which I thought odd. The brochure says it is teak, and it looked like teak.

I thoroughly examined this camera, and left quite impressed. It was solidly built, and had a nice set of movements. It is heavier than my Wista, but also feels more solid, and has a longer bellows extension. The metal was a black coated metal, the brochure as printed says it is titanium, but it was hand corrected in ink to say "copper". So perhaps it is a black coated copper? Seems like a soft metal for such a purpose. I bet it is something else, but I'm no metal expert. The metal seemed appropriate to the purpose.

Speaking of the bellows, it removed very easily for swapping with the bag bellows.

Unfortunately the dealer did not have an 8x10 or any other version available in the store. She called the factory to ask about an 8x10 and was told that no 8x10 would be available within the next 3 months, all I could hope would be to provide my email address and they would inform me when one was available. Too bad, it looks like a nice camera in the brochure.

All in all, I was impressed with the HZX45-IIA. Too bad I already have a 4x5 field camera. The HZX45-IIA costs about $400 US in that store.

I should also note that next door to the store selling the Shen Hao is a shop selling used film cameras, from old folders to Nikons to Leicas to Hasselblads. All film cameras.

As far as I could tell, they were all overpriced. I've been seeing much better prices on eBay for the cameras I checked out. But still, it was nice to see a store full of great film cameras, and they had some really classic ones.

One more note: they gave me a brochure for Shen Hao. The front page says "The beauty and warmth of a hand-crafted wooden body, with today's technology inside." Huh? I pulled the bellows on the camera and found *nothing* inside, thank goodness!