Ebony 45 RW Ti and longest lens option with top hat

[croppitt]

Hi John
Perhaps not exactly what you asked for, but a possible compromise option which would give you a bit more length than a 180 and probably not as much weight/bulk as your existing 210, is a Nikkor-M 200 f8.
I have that lens on a 30mm top hat which works well with the RSW45. It's a great lens and small - about 180grams without lensboard/tophat. Photo attached.
With the 30mm tophat, I can focus the lens between 2m and infinity. Good coverage on 4x5 too.
Ian

Attachment 244950

Hi Ian - I have just seen your informative post and last night I bought a Nikkor 180mm W F5.6 from Japan at a decent price - before I saw your post!!
do you think I will still need a 30mm Top hat on my RSW45 ?? - if so, where would I get one? A ebay seller in Italy ( I have bought from him before ) only does 50mm ones ( which I have) for Ebony sized panels. I could buy some Walker cameras ones at Robert whites in UK but they are £150!!! Do let know where you got yours and if I might need one - Cheers and Happy Chrismas John

[Ian David]

Hi John
You work fast!
Yes, I got my tophat from Robert White a while ago and it was definitely a bit pricey. The advantage is that it is very nicely made and can be used in various configurations - eg 17mm, 35mm or potentially stacked. (So although I said mine is a 30mm tophat, it is actually 35mm.). Another option might be to get a 3D printed tophat from somewhere...
I believe the lens you bought needs about 177mm of extension to focus at infinity. My RSW45 allows about 180mm of extension. Assuming yours is the same, I think you will probably be able to focus from about 10m to infinity without a tophat. (With just a 17mm tophat you could probably focus from about 2m.)
Ian

[B.S.Kumar]

John, I can offer you Linhof Technika type Copal 1 lens boards with 15, 20, 25 or 35mm top hat extensions. Sorry, no 30mm extension.
See Ken Lee's excellent discussion on all things related to bellows extension: https://kennethleegallery.com/html/tech/bellows.php

Since your camera has a maximum bellows draw of 190mm, a 15mm extension will let you focus to about 1.5 meters, while the 35mm extension will get you down to 0.9 meters.

Kumar

[xkaes]

Hi Ian - I have just seen your informative post and last night I bought a Nikkor 180mm W F5.6 from Japan at a decent price - before I saw your post!!
do you think I will still need a 30mm Top hat on my RSW45 ?? - if so, where would I get one? A ebay seller in Italy ( I have bought from him before ) only does 50mm ones ( which I have) for Ebony sized panels. I could buy some Walker cameras ones at Robert whites in UK but they are £150!!! Do let know where you got yours and if I might need one - Cheers and Happy Chrismas John

As suggested WAY back in Post #3 & #5, don't jump into the lake if you don't need to. Put your new 180mm on the camera and see if you need a "top hat". Perhaps it gets close enough already for your needs. If not, the above posts give you options. Figure out how close you want to get before you buy another "top hat". It might turn out the one you have is the one best for you. If not, or if you want more "reach", it time for another camera.

Join the crowd.

[croppitt]

Thanks Ian - great info Happy christmas - John

[croppitt]

good point - i'll see how it goes without any top hat and go from there -many thanks

[croppitt]

good info - how much would they be sent to the UK please- john

[B.S.Kumar]

good info - how much would they be sent to the UK please- john

I sent you a message.

Kumar

[croppitt]

Thanks for this - I'll report back once I have tested the new lens to see what I might need. Many thanks John