Long/tele lens for Ebony 45s

[Roger Richards]

Hi folks, are there lenses usable on my Ebony 45s that will achieve a telephoto range without the extension back? The standard 45s is usable with lenses up to 240mm and my longest is 210mm. Are there special lens designs that will allow for this? Thanks for any responses.

[Vick Vickery]

Roger, look for lenses with "Telephoto" or "Tele" in their names/designations/descriptions...this normally indicates that the lens has a effective focal length longer than the bellows draw required to use it at infinity. Read the description carefully, though, because it could just be a seller's description rather than the manufacturer's designation...ask if you're unsure if the lens is a true telephoto or a long-focus model. Photographic dealers will know the difference (most of the time), but eBay sellers, etc., might not.

[jeff_5604]

The spec sheet on the Ebony website(http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/main.45S.html) suggests up to a 400mm telephoto.

[George Hart]

Roger, please tell us what focal length you wish to use, and whether at infinity or closer. I have this camera and I use a 300 mm non-tele lens mounted on an extension panel.

[steve simmons]

A true telephoto lens requires a bellows extension approx 2/3 of its focal length. A Telephoto lens will have the word "Tele" somewhere in the name of the lens. A 400mm telephoto lens will require an extension of about 270mm for a subject at infinity.

Fuji has a 400mm telephoto lens that is good. Nikon made a series for the 4x5 that has lengths of 360/500/720. The front element stays in place and the rear element is changed to vary the forcal length (this is not the same as a convertible lens). The older tele lenses such ast the Tele Arton, Tele Xenar, etc. are not very good optically (IMHO).

steve simmons

[Eric Leppanen]

Roger,

As Steve mentions, the Fuji 400T f8.0 (252.4mm flange focal distance, which is the bellows displacement required to focus at infinity) and Nikkor 360T f8.0 (261.0mm) are your best long lens candidates. Your 45S supports up to 270mm of extension, so in either case you'd be limited in terms of how close you can focus (normally the rule of thumb is to have 25% additional extension beyond the flange focal distance to have close focusing capability). But for subjects close to infinity either lens will work fine.

I would personally lean toward the Fuji since you get a bit more focal length (the availability of longer focal lengths with the Nikkor convertible doesn't help you as your bellows extension is already maxed out). Alternatively, if you purchase the Ebony 452 extension back (which provides another 90mm of extension), you could accommodate the Nikkor at both 360mm and 500mm focal lengths. I haven't met anyone who uses the 452 back, though, presumably because it is rather bulky and because most folks prefer to obtain greater extension by buying a larger camera.

Here is one example of a lens kits used by a professional 45S owner, please note he uses the 400T:

http://www.radiantlandscape.com/information6.html

(I presume Ron uses a lensboard-mounted extension tube to support his Nikkor 300M. Using an extension tube with a telephoto is not practical since it would be unstable given the weight and bulk of the lens, plus the lens rear element may not even fit in the tube.)

[Roger Richards]

Thank you Vick, George, Jeff and Steve. I had read about the tele lenses but was not quite sure. My experience with LF extends back a few years but only with 150mm and wider lenses. I hope to find a lens for a bit extra reach for tight head shots. I appreciate your suggestions.

Steve, I just bought the most recent issue of View Camera, please keep up the good work. I get mine on the newsstands and look forward to them. I will probably become a subscriber :-)

Roger

[Roger Richards]

Thanks, Eric, your response came while I was composing my previous reply. I will have a look at the Fuji and the link you posted.
-RR

[mark blackman]

Roger,
the 45s was not designed to take a long lens, it's a minimal camera aimed at landscape photography. I'm not questioning your choice, it's clearly upto you what you buy, but if you want to use longer lenses often, you may be better off in the long run to sell the 45s and get something else. Tele lens will give you some extra length, but they are not as common as standard lenses

[Roger Richards]

Hi Mark, thanks for your response. The 45s was selected because the lenses I use most often are 150mm and wider, and because the non-folding design fits my requirements. I think that one of the tele lenses will do the trick for me as it is not one I will use very often, but still a good one to have in the bag. I currently have a pair of 90mm Super Angulons (5.6 and 8), a Rodenstock APO Sironar-S and a Fuji 210 5.6 W.