JPlomley
1-May-2007, 09:37
I'm interested in hearing from other Ebony users about their feedback concerning the rail focus locking mechanism as well as the tolerance in movement (sag) when locking/unlocking the front and back standard. I am finding on my particular unit that the centre focus lock when engaged still moves the rail. In other words, after focus is achieved, the act of locking nudges the rail and the focus point is thrown off. The only workaround is to hold the focus knob while tightening the locking knob. A two handed operation I would like to avoid, but perhaps more importantly I am concerned the rail will nudge when I am inserting a film holder since I am questioning the efficacy of this locking mechanism. As an aside, the focus locks work perfectly on the front and back rail-there is no further movement of the rail when tightening.
Concerning sag, the back standard tilts back when loosened, and the front standard moves forward (to a lesser tilt angle than the back movement). For lateral shift this is a non-issue. However for swings, it throws the focus point off when the standard is re-tightened after the movement, since the back moves forward and the front moves backward. So there needs to be some focus re-adjustment after completing this movement, or I need to push forward on the rear standard when making a rear swing (to compensate for the sag) or pull slightly on the front standard. Finally, for lateral shifts on the rear standard, forget it. There is just too much friction unless I push the standard forward to correct for the rear sag.
I guess the big question is, is all this normal for an Ebony SV45? Is this inherent to the design, or does this particular unit simply require some tweaking? Oh, and one last issue-the screen is terrible. I just received a Maxwell screen and will install it if I decide to keep this camera....
Cheers,
Jeff
Concerning sag, the back standard tilts back when loosened, and the front standard moves forward (to a lesser tilt angle than the back movement). For lateral shift this is a non-issue. However for swings, it throws the focus point off when the standard is re-tightened after the movement, since the back moves forward and the front moves backward. So there needs to be some focus re-adjustment after completing this movement, or I need to push forward on the rear standard when making a rear swing (to compensate for the sag) or pull slightly on the front standard. Finally, for lateral shifts on the rear standard, forget it. There is just too much friction unless I push the standard forward to correct for the rear sag.
I guess the big question is, is all this normal for an Ebony SV45? Is this inherent to the design, or does this particular unit simply require some tweaking? Oh, and one last issue-the screen is terrible. I just received a Maxwell screen and will install it if I decide to keep this camera....
Cheers,
Jeff