When is an Ebony not an Ebony? Is the company a victim of its own success?
Sometimes when it is an RW45. As many know I had to switch out of my long used Horseman FA system recently and after much thought decided on an Ebony. I settled on an RW45 because 1) I wanted a folder and 2) I had no need for all the additional movements offered by the higher priced models. Based on all I had heard here, additional private correspondence and Ebony’s own advertising I fully expected the RW45 to have superb fit and finish, the exact same as that of its higher priced siblings but with fewer movements. Wrong, at least in the case of the one I got. Clearly I can’t speak for every camera that leaves the factory but there have been enough minor undertones from unhappy users here and there to indicate that all is not always as it should be in Ebony land. I thought it was worth a discussion here on what I recently found as illuminating to those considering an Ebony. What follows is specific to a single camera and to the RW45 model. I understand that some of my comments extend throughout the line in some instances but not necessarily.
First, I was somewhat disappointed in the fit and finish of the camera. The woodwork was superb, no question. The finish, to my eye, was no better than I have seen on Wista and Wisner cameras I have owned, well maybe a teeny bit better but not much. The metalwork was another story. One of the metal focusing tracks had a longish scratch (say 2-3 inches, right out of the box and the metal base plate was full of ugly discolorations. I understand that this discoloration problem occurs in a fair number of Ebony cameras these days, not all of them but not just mine. The discoloration takes the form of mottling for want of a better way of describing it. Of course it has no impact at all on the functionality of the camera but I suspect it could have a significant impact on resale and, in any event, is not something you expect to see on a brand new camera. My understanding is that Ebony is now jobbing out their metalwork and that may be the problem. I understand they are getting complaints from their large US and UK dealers and, hopefully, that will solve the problem. Maybe and maybe not. The underlying problem here is that a huge portion of Ebony’s sales are domestic and they are appealing both to the serious Japanese LF photographer market and to the status conscious Japanese consumer market. Given the near cult status of the Ebony in some folks minds the straight consumer market may continue to buy no matter what (although I hope I am wrong about that).
Second, even given the differences between “tightness” of metal and wood cameras IMO the tightness of the RW45 leaves something to be desired. It takes more effort than it should to get this camera “locked down.” Once there, however, it is rigid; rigid enough that I used a 360mm lens in a #3 shutter in mild wind and experienced no problems at all. In the case of my camera there were also issues with the front standard not staying parallel with the film plane without pushing it back in place just as you were locking it down. There was also an issue with the focus track running loose without a stop at the end of it (I am told that was a problem with my camera only and that there is a stop screw on the RW usually). Note I say “my camera” with both of these issues but that also begs the overall QA/QC question when taken together with the metal finishing issue.
Third, a niggling point perhaps, but Ebony in their ads notes that you can use rather wide angle lenses with the camera and the universal bellows in the “wide angle configuration” (extreme backward tilt, etc.). It works for the 75mm SA but just barely and you must get the camera configured before you mount the lens. Given how it worked with the 75 I am not sure it would work at all with a 65. Others may have experience here.
In conclusion the Ebony RW45 with the universal bellows is a fine camera but it may not be worth what you pay for it. I am not sure that the RW45 really is built to the same standard as Ebony’s other offerings and that is not a criticism, just an observation that disagrees with their advertising. I expect that for the additional $$ for the other models you get more quality control and better fit and finish as well as additional movements. Nothing wrong with that, just not what is advertised. Also, given my own experiences, there are other cameras that offer the same flexibility and movements as the RW45, although perhaps not at the same weight.
For those who want to know the Ebony discussed above is on its way back to the factory and I am now using a Walker Titan. Heavier and a bit bulkier but far more to my liking in terms of the precision of its operation, even without the problems that were specific to my RW45. More on the Walker in another post, I believe it is a vastly under appreciated camera.
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