I am looking for a manual or instructions in any form for the Shen Hao. I have been having dificult in closing it and it drives me crazy!! Please let me know if you have the instructions and I will reimburse you.

Thanks,

Adrian

-- Adrian Ng'asi (adrianngasi@yahoo.com), March 25, 2002

Answers

When I bought mine from Badger Graphic I specifically asked if there is one. Apparently not, or perhaps not in English. Here's how to close it. Remove the lens. (It won't close with a lens mounted.) Loosen the base tilt pivots on the rear. Loosen the front rise/fall knobs and let the lensboard sink to its low position. Loosen the front tilt knobs. Make sure the front and rear black focusing slides are unlocked and all the way back from the front and that the rack and pinion focusing rails are all the way in. Now pivot the back forward. (It helps to have the camera sitting securely on its base at this point.) The front and bellows should now arc gracefully down and be contained within the front of the base. Keep pivoting until the camera is a compact flat box. Clip the metal clamp sticking out of the top of the back over the plate on the base. Tighten knobs so that everything is secure. Loosen the lock on the rear shift and swing axis so that the lever is inside the camera frame. That should do it. Now you can stow the camera in your bag. I hope that was clear--it took me awhile to figure out too.

If you have other questions let me know--I think I've pretty much figured the camera out. Its a good little field camera and I've been getting some nice pictures with it.

-- Tony Galt (galta@uwgb.edu), March 25, 2002.

I do it pretty much the same way. After loosening all the knobs and the stops on the front standard, I slide the front standard back and fold it down, so the back is still vertical and the front has been tilted down horizontally. Now I close the back as already described.

Dave

-- Dave Willis (willisd@medicine.wustl.edu), March 26, 2002.