...not to go here:
http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam.html
Oh baby, there's some pretty stuff over there.
...not to go here:
http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam.html
Oh baby, there's some pretty stuff over there.
Here is the antidote:
http://www.chamonixviewcamera.com/
Well, that's certainly something more in the range I'd be able to afford. Very pretty as well.
The vast migration to digital equipment, has been a boon for large format users.
You can get plenty of used 4x5 cameras for less than a brand new one.
Many of them have a wider range of features. If it's wood you like, they're out there too.
Maybe I can help. I've owned two Ebony cameras, a 45Te and a 45Ti. I didn't care for either of them very much. Not to say they were bad cameras but for the money and from all I read here and other places I was expecting something sturdier, smoother, with a better viewing screen and without the irritating "triple knob" focusing system that sometimes required you to stop focusing, switch focusing knobs, and continue focusing with a different knob. But sometimes you get an itch for a camera and the only solution is to scratch it. So if it's an Ebony you want, go for it, they're certainly very fine cameras.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
So true Ken. I just bought a 8x10 Deardorff with a 8x10 back & 4x5 with 4 lenses, 24 4x5 holders and a ton of un-opened film for around $900 from a funiture photographer that went digital a couple of years ago. Pretty good deal I think.
Or you might want to look around here for something made in the USA.
http://www.canhamcameras.com/
Hey, all of it is more than I can afford at the moment.
I was mostly noticing how physically beautiful, to my eye, the ebony cameras are.
You could also get Shen Hao for around 700.00 New and still have plenty of left over to buy other stuff : Happy Holidays
Lauren MacIntosh
Whats in back of you is the past and whats in front of you is the future now in the middle you have choices to make for yourself:
The Chamonix cameras are indeed pretty, but functionally they are not the equivalent of the Ebony IMO. The Chamonix design I've seen is a 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 and is based on Dick Phillips design, which worked fine for what it was designed for (lightweight rigid 8x10 and larger using mid-length lenses). But it isn't a very good design for using a wide range of focal lengths because the back won't move forward and the bed length is essentially fixed. This means that wide lenses can get the bed in the picture especially with the back in the vertical position. If you don't want to use very wide or long lenses with respect to the format, it's a wonderful design. BTW, I did speak with Dick about 3 years ago and discussed these topics with him, so it isn't like I dreamed this up, and the cameras do perform just like he designed them to.
Brian's comments with respect to sturdy and smooth are valid if you're expecting performance like a metal camera, but the Ebonys are the best of the wooden field cameras I've seen, at least in the smaller formats. The triple knob design is to keep the bed short enough so that very short lenses (55mm on a SV45U) can be used without getting the bed in the picture, and to accommodate very long lenses for the format (55mm to 480mm without changing bellows). The trade off is as Brian notes, complexity - the triple draw Ebonys are more complex and using the articulkated movements for wide or long lenses is a PITA, but you CAN do it. Ebony make many cmeras that are double draw rather than triple draw which eliminates the extra knob, but the range of usable lenses will be less. It just comes down to what you want to use with it.
What this means is that every design has limitations and no camera is perfect for everyone. But with respect to the OPs comment, yes they are beautiful cameras.
Cheers,
Steve
Last edited by Steve Hamley; 30-Dec-2008 at 11:18. Reason: confusing wording
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