Ebony SV45TE and Linhof Reflex viewer Modification

[Ronan]

Hello,

I have been trying to find a reflex viewer for my ebony but my search has not been fruitful. Does anyone know if I could modify a Linhof viewer to attach to my ebony in the same way that it attaches the ground glass protector of could I take the entire back off my ebony and have a Linhof glass attached attach to compose and focus then swap back to take a photo. My issue with the ebony is that its very hard to compose or see the image in full and i often shoot from low angles.

I am also curious if i can attach and horseman rotating 6x9 international back to my ebony the same way my horseman 6x9 attaches?

Thanks for all the help.

[Keith Pitman]

I don’t know about the Linhof viewer, but the Cambo viewer can be made to work. It requires a simple bracket on each side. The brackets started as simple 1/2” (?) aluminum angles that were bent slightly open. Then a large notch was filed in the side to fit into the Ebony ground glass protector retainers. Screw it together and you’ve got a viewer. My implementation is a little crude and I always wanted to re-make the brackets, but it fits tightly and works, so it hasn’t changed after many years.

[darr]

I sometimes use this when I shoot under a hot Florida sun (my home). It is made with this bellows viewer with carbon fiber frames + the top part of the Linhof Reflex Viewer pushed in.
It is stable, packs well, and is better as far as darkness goes than the Reflex Viewer alone when used on my Linhof MT, as it always has light leaking in at the bottom, but this does not.
This is convenient for me as I prefer a bellows viewer for composing, but under the bright sun, the Reflex closes off all the light. YMMV

[Ronan]

this is a great idea, would the entire finder fit inside the frame and so stay rigid in a studio setting? Maybe add some velvet to the cover to keep it light tight?

Does this solution work in landscape and portrait? Nice seeing your camera, I just bought a 47mm for mine now i hope i can use it on my camera...

Regards, ronan

[Ronan]

Keith this is great! Can this rotate? Cant see any of the cambo units on ebay. Do you know if the horseman rotating 6x9 back and angle viewer works on the ebony? i have a regular horseman 6x9 back that works a treat but would love to have a viewer for fast composition. tryin to work low angles with a little cardboard mask is breaking my back haah

[Keith Pitman]

darr’s posting reminded me that I also have this bellows fixture with a magnifier lens. I think this probably came with my camera when I bought it. I have rarely used it, preferring a dark cloth. I think the bellows is an original Ebony accessory, but the lens is not as you can see.

[Keith Pitman]

Keith this is great! Can this rotate? Cant see any of the cambo units on ebay. Do you know if the horseman rotating 6x9 back and angle viewer works on the ebony? i have a regular horseman 6x9 back that works a treat but would love to have a viewer for fast composition. tryin to work low angles with a little cardboard mask is breaking my back haah

Yes, the Cambo viewer rotates a full 360 degrees. See picture with the camera back in vertical position. Cambo viewers used to be common on Ebay. I’ve seen Chinese knockoffs in the same design so you might widen your search criteria. I don’t know anything about Horseman viewers.

[Tin Can]

None of them Aid me

[Ian David]

I’ve seen Chinese knockoffs in the same design so you might widen your search criteria.

I have seen these ones, and I think Badger Graphic sells the same or similar:

https://www.etonephoto.com/en-au/pro...89%AF%E6%9C%AC

[Keith Pitman]

None of them Aid me

Well, that was certainly a helpful addition to the dialogue! Pretty usual for you!