After 2 months of agonizing over my decision to purchase a new 4x5, I made a ver y impulsive decision. One afternoon, I was driving in the car and said "the heck with it" I picked up my cell phone and ordered an Ebony SV45U. The camera arri ved a week later and I have been shooting non stop with it for almost 3 weeks.
My first impression on the camera was one of awe. The camera is made of beautifu lly grained ebony wood and titanium metal. The hardware is commercial grade, imp ecably finished and amazingly strong.
Opening the camera is a simple operation. Release the retaining tab, lift out th e rear standard, lift out the front standard lock it down, insert a lens and you are on your way. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.
The amazing thing about this camera is that it is as solid as any monorail I hav e used. The movements are generous, the universal bellows will acommodate lenses from 47mm to 720mm (telephoto). A 35mm, (yes a 35mm) lens can be used with a re cessed lensboard. Now for the best part, in addition to base tilts, there are as symetic tits and swing. I have found this feature allows me to maximize depth of field and not have to re-focus over and over again. A real time saver.
The camera uses the Linhof type lensboards that are widely available. Ebony also makes one other neat device. A bellows viewing hood that allows you to look at the ground glass without a dark cloth. You press your eyes up to the hood and ca n use a loupe to focus. Really pretty neat especially in hot climates where a da rk cloth is torture.
The viewing screen is thr brightest I have seen. In fact, it is rare that I have had to use either a dark cloth or the viewing screen at all.
For anyone interested in a compact, first quality, relatively lightweight (5lb r ange) with huge bellows capability camera, the Ebony is a very worthy competitor .
-Bill
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks