Shen Hao HZX45 user manual

[marktweedie]

Does anyone know if there is an online user manual for the Shen-Hao HZX45? I've done a fair bit of googling with no result. Most of the camera movements seem pretty easy to master but it is such a complex masterpiece of engineering I'm sure I'm missing something.

[coriana6jp]

Hey Mark,

Glad you got the camera. There never was a manual for the camera. @pretty sure Shen Hao does not even supply them. The only thing close to a manual was some Italian gentleman made a homepage describing the cameras operation, of course it was all in Italian. I tried to find it, but had no luck.

I have a copy of the home pages around here somewhere, and if you want I can send them to you. Please let me know if you need them.

Gary

[marktweedie]

Thanks Gary, I'm not sure my Italian is up to the translation! The Shen is a real beauty. All I had to do was to drill a small hole in my lens board to accommodate the little screw projecting from the back of the shutter and now I'm ready to go. I'll will put some film through it over the next couple of days and if time permits post them in the gallery.

[David A. Goldfarb]

LF cameras often don't have manuals. If you need an introduction, a good book to start with is Steve Simmons' _Using the View Camera_, and a more comprehensive book is Stroebel's _View Camera Technique_.

[Nick Zentena]

The usual answer is to point you to the Ebony manual. Close enough.

[highpeak]

Currently studying the "book" and shooting polaroid in order to learn how to use it.

I got the camera almost 2 month now, figured out most of the movements and what those knobs do. Did few test shot, blowed away by the details and tonality in the negative (when the camera didn't shake and the focus was right). But I had quite a few bad negatives too.

Tilt, swing, shift, rise, fall, bellow factor, exposure compensation, level, cock shutter, close shutter,...... and, most important, don't forget to pull the darksilde! It is a totally different process compare to shooting 35mm. Not so sure my little brain can handle all that, but I enjoy doing it.

Good luck Mark, you will get a hang of it.

[Kobin]

OK, the Italian site is at www.nadir.it

I tanslated the page with Bablefish. At the bottom of the home page is a site map. choose "Cameras". The Shen Hao segment is chosen from "Formed Great" section on a side bar on the right.

Good luck. there is also a French site, and if I can find it, I'll post it.

K.

[Kobin]

And the French site is
http://www.galerie-photo.com/shen-hao-hzx45.html

Hope this does some good for you.

K.

[JLP]

Mark, agree with you it is a beauty for the moeny. I just received mine today and have been playing with it all evening. Not sure when i will put the first sheet in it but sooner or later i have to try.
The only thing i am a little disapointed about is the lock for the film holder, it seems that the design could be inproved a bit. What's your opinion about that?

[marktweedie]

And the French site is
http://www.galerie-photo.com/shen-hao-hzx45.html

Hope this does some good for you.

Thanks Kobin. Coincidentally, I am a French speaker so this is great.