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Thread: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

  1. #1
    gmfotografie's Avatar
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    Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Hi my Friends,

    can anybody tell me if i can use a Ebony 4x5 with a digital pack e.g. a cfv-50c or phaseone?

    Has the camera those smooth and accurate momevents to use it also whith a digital pack without some drawbacks?

    Best Michael

  2. #2

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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    You mean digital Back with a B.
    Ebony makes several 4x5 cameras. Which one?
    There are a couple people doing it with Ebonys.
    Of course a studio camera with geared movements is better suited for digi work.

  3. #3
    Daniel Stone's Avatar
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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Yes, you can make it work as long as you have the right tools/accessories, aka "the money".
    Here's a site with some more info.
    http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...al-ebony.shtml

    As Vinny pointed out, there are more "precision" cameras that are primarily designed for digital use, like the Arca Swiss RL3D(which can handle up to 4x5 film)

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Both arca and cambo currently make very useful all geared "view" cameras specifically designed for used with various digital backs from mamiya and hasselbald, with either propietary lenses or with standard large format lenses in shutters. These are not nearly as expensive as an ebony, and offer more usability then what an Ebony would. In any case the cost of the back and relevant lenses would be by far more then any camera...

  5. #5

    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Michael I had a CFV39 for several years and considered using it with my 4x5 Ebony SV45TE but wound up buying a Linhof Technikardan 23. What I found was even the Technikardan was a challenge to focus accurately with wide lenses. I did a lot of interior and exteriors for architectural clients and used a 35mm Rodenstock quite a lot. I also did a lot of studio product work and used a 100 Schneider and 120 Micro Nikkor. The longer the lens the easier it is to focus accurately. The problem with the Linhof was flex in the body and believe me the Linhof is ridged. Placing the magnifier on the GG caused enough flex to throw focus slightly when the magnifier was removed. In time I worked out a way of focusing without placing the magnifier on the GG. The Linhof had very precise geared focusing too.

    I struggled through using a fresnel lens on the GG. I found the 35 to produce a major hot center on the GG with very dark edges and corners if I didn't use a fresnel. The fresnel masked fine detail making focusing harder.

    I don't believe the Ebony is precise enough for precise focusing with wide glass. The Ebony is no where as ridgid as the Technikardan too so flexing of the body will be a problem. Honestly from experience and especially if you want to use wide lenses I don't think you'll have very good success.

    Another issue is wide glass on the Ebony. I had to use deep recesses boards for my 35 and 47 and while it worked it was a true pain. I don't believe the Ebony will work with anything shorter than a 47xl and a 47 isn't terribly wide on those backs. On my Technikardan I would love to have had something in the 28 range but I don't think it would fit and know I couldn't have focused it accurately.

  6. #6

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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    I've used a Sinar P2/X with digital back and lenses as wide as 35mm. I'm currently using a full Sinar digital set up and before that I used a phase one back with a flexadapter. The flexadapter allows for easy 2-3 shot panoramas within the image circle. Kapture group makes some other sliding adapters including one for quad stitching.

    Cambo has a smaller, lighter set up that is based on the sony mirrorless.

    Ebonys are nice and more portable then Sinar.

  7. #7
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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Quote Originally Posted by koh303 View Post
    Both arca and cambo currently make very useful all geared "view" cameras specifically designed for used with various digital backs from mamiya and hasselbald, with either propietary lenses or with standard large format lenses in shutters. These are not nearly as expensive as an ebony, and offer more usability then what an Ebony would. In any case the cost of the back and relevant lenses would be by far more then any camera...
    You're forgetting one major thing though, that all of these "field" cameras require lenses with dedicated helical mounts. This means $$$$$ for each lens rather than a regular lens board we are used to with 4x5 or 2x3 field cameras. The cost adds up quite quickly.

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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    I've had an Ebony 4x5 for about 15 years, and finally decided to try and fit a MF digital back to it. It fit, it worked, and it took photographs that were sharp enough. So you'd say fine, and stop there. Well, not quite. The size of the sensor area is small compared to the viewing area of the camera's GG ; you might use a 55mm as a normal lens on the digital back, not so easy to use on the 4x5. A 35mm (wide for the digital back) is harder yet on the 4x5, and wider is really not possible. One way to make wides with the digital back is by stitching, but this is not so good on the 4x5 - there is just too much flex. Unwelcome movements in the digital realm might be .1mm, tolerances in the 4x5 world are much larger. Parallelism of the front lens plane to the back is critical and its painful to see what we accept in 4x5 and with film.

    Still love the Ebony, can't bear to sell it, but didn't end up being the answer for use with a digital back. Many prefer the "pancake" type cameras for digital backs - with the helical lens mounts. They hold front/back parallelism well, and are easy to use once you get used to them.

    The Linhof Techno is another way to go - its very close to the same experience as a traditional view camera, just more precise and smaller for use with digital backs, and its written up here: http://www.gigi-photos.com/techno-re...-1-22-2013.pdf

    The Techno uses view camera lenses in Linhof boards (nice) without helicals, focus is on the GG - meaning you either have to take the digital back on and off (not a great idea, but some do it), or get a stitching back and slide back and forth between back and GG (easy enough, but its another piece of gear attached to the camera). The Techno takes a film back easily enough, has all movements in front lens plane, but only rise/fall in the rear plane - allowing for a more robust rear standard. Just to repeat - in the digital world, tolerances are much more critical.

    Ebony has responded to this by making a camera with more precise controls. Its not cheap, but its gorgeous. But the wood 4x5 Ebony is best used for film.
    Last edited by GG12; 30-Jan-2015 at 05:18. Reason: corrected the Ebony Finesse

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    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    Quote Originally Posted by GG12 View Post
    Ebony has responded to this by making a camera with more precise controls, still in wood. Its not cheap, but its gorgeous. But the 4x5 Ebony is best used for film.
    The new Ebony digicam "Finesse View" is aluminium not wood, though it looks to be a very similar construction to their wooden cameras. I haven't dared ask the price!

  10. #10

    Re: Analog Largeformat 4x5 Ebony with digital pack?!

    The biggest drawbacks would be: a set of new lenses, particularly wide angle lenses mounted on recessed lens boards [a PITA to use unless you have very slim fingers], of course the focusing as others already have mentioned and the crop factor. When I need digital MF [rarely], I just rent a Silvestri with a set of lenses and a PhaseOne digital back. For other [standard] tasks I use my 6x9 Arca and 120 film - makes more sense, because I can use all of my lenses and focus on a large ground glass.

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