Question about Ebony SV45Ti

I just bought a SV45Ti (that's what Badger Graphic calls it). I

wonder if this was a better choice over the Canham DLC. This

particular model does not sport base-tilt, only axis-tilt. Am I going

to miss anything without base-tilt? Also, is the assymetric tilt

worth the extra dollars? I would love to have had it but wanted to

keep it cheaper since I am just starting out with LF. In the few

hours I have had it, I exposed a few Pola Pans to test it out and so

far, I like it. The ground glass is very bright, even with the 80mm

Schneider and even brighter with the 150mm Nikkor (is the Nikkor a

comparable lens to a Schneider or Rodenstock in color and

sharpness?). The camera is very light-weight overall, can't wait to

take it on a hike. Though, I wonder if the Canham would have been

lighter!

Last but not least, where does one service a camera like this in

California, when I need to?

Thanks a lot.

Avi das,

The SV45ti has both base tilt and axis tilt on the front and rear standards. If you don't have that you don't have a Sv45ti. You have no reason to worry about how this camera compares to the Canham. The Ebony has less flex on the standards and weight is close to the Canham. Both are good cameras, but are different in style, feel and operation. The SV45ti I had was rigid and well constructed, but it had a few problems I didn't like. The focus seemed to move by tightening the lock nut so I had to be very careful and the ground glass holder moved slightly. The rear standard did not lock down tight. The three focus knobs seemed fussy.

I opted for a Wisner Technical Field which has non of these problems and is tight as a drum. I have heard of few problems with the Ebonies. I must have gotten the lemon. The DLC's I've played with all had to much flex for my taste. If you have an Ebony Sv45ti you will enjoy it. I wouldn't second guess your choice if everything works fine. If you need waranty work, I think you need to send it to the dealer who will in turn send it to Japan for repair. Repair times I have heard are reasonable, 1 to 2 months. Local repair may may cost even if your camera was under waranty. The nice thing about wood cameras, much repair work can be done by the owner, assuming he is not a total klutz or doesn't have tools.

The lenses are all good that you mention. Nikon's tend to have a bit more contrast, but unless you do a very critical test you are not likely to notice a big difference.

Gary, Thanks for your response. I have noticed the same problem a few times (with the rear standard only) that sometimes the focus moves when I am tightening the lock nut. I had to hold the focus knob in place and then tighten. I thought that it was perhaps something I was doing wrong. Anyone else experience that with an Ebony? I will have to take it up with the reseller or Ebony reps in the US. However, the model I have says 45Ti on the front of the camera but surely does not have the base-tilt feature. Rather strange! Is the base-tilt important for certain occasions? Can someone explain the pros and cons of it? The Toyo 45G that I had did not have base-tilt either. Thanks again.

Avi, an SV45Ti definitely has front base tilt; AFAIK, every folding Ebony has that feature. The controls for this are the lower set of knobs on the front standard; the upper sets of knobs are for rise/fall (round knobs) and axis tilt (rectangular knobs mounted outside the round knobs). BTW, most photographers prefer front axis to front base tilt; in the end you'll get the same result, but axis tilt is often quicker and more efficient to use (i.e. not as many iterations needed since your plane of focus isn't altered as much with each iteration).

 

Asymmetric tilt is great, and very quick to use, but your end result will be the same with other types of tilt. If you must use front tilt to keep verticals aligned (architecture, tall trees, etc.) then you can't use asymmetric tilt, which works only on the rear standard. I use a mixture of the asymmetric (rear) tilt and front axis tilt, depending on what I'm shooting.

 

I have an SV45U2 and there is never a change of focus when I tighten the knobs. Everything is extremely rigid and tight. If this is an ongoing problem with your camera, speak to Jeff about it and he may want to have a look at it. As Gary suggested, he must have had a lemon because an Ebony is extremely rigid and precise (I've seen quite a few of them). On the other hand, I once had a Wisner Pocket Expedition and to this day I consider it one of the worst cameras I've ever seen: poorly designed and terrible quality control.

 

Regards,

Danny www.dannyburk.com

Quoted from the <a href="http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam.html" >Ebony website</a>:

 

"All SV cameras are foldable, with a 30? drop-bed, and have center (or asymmetrical) and base tilts at back, and center and base tilts at front."

 

There's a pdf of the "SV User's Guide" on the website. It may help.

As others have said, your SVTi has base tilt, you just need to study the instruction sheet that came with the camera (or visit Ebony's web site) to learn how to use it. You would definitely lose something without base tilt. You need base tilt with the normal bellows in order to get wide angle lenses close enough to the rear standard to foucus. Without it you wouldn't be able to focus some wide angle lenses. But don't worry, if your camera is an Ebony SVTi it has base tilt.

 

Was the Canham a better choice than the SVTi? Who knows, that's a personal thing, only you can decide. Both are fine cameas. However, you wouldn't have achieved a significant weight saving with the Canham DLC, both it and the SVTi weigh around 4 pounds. I've owned both the Ebony SVTi and the SVTe. I preferred the SVTi because of the weight difference between it and the SVTe.

 

Is the asymetrical back worth the cost? I didn't think so, I think the asymetrical back is hideously overpriced. The Wehman 8x10 camera has an asymetrical back and cost of the camera - the entire 8x10 camera - isn't a whole lot more than the added cost of the Ebony asymetrical back alone. But obviously some people must think it's worth the cost, otherwise Ebony wouldn't make them.

 

Nikon lenses in general are very comparable to Schneider and Rodenstock lenses of the same design.

 

Unless you can find a local repair person you would send the camera back to the factory for any repairs that you can't do yourself. I had a defective bag bellows and sent it back to the factory for reprair. They fixed it and got it back to me in about two weeks, which I thought was pretty good. Some local repairs take that long.

Brian Ellis wrote "Is the asymetrical back worth the cost? I didn't think so, I think the

asymetrical back is hideously overpriced. '

 

He's absolutely right, it isn't worth the cost, because it's so expensive, just like cruise

control and air con. However, it is a superb feature that I wouldn't want to do without on

my 45SU. The benefit is purely one of convenience and speed and you can do without it.

Given the choice I'd pay the price again as it takes a lot of frustration out of 4x5.

 

If you can afford it have it and recover the investment the day you sell it. Net cost will be

negligible.

"He's absolutely right, it isn't worth the cost because it's too expensive, just like air conditioning and cruise control."

 

Of course I didn't say it wasn't worth the cost, I said I didn't think it was worth the cost. That's called expressing an opinion, not making a statement of fact.

 

Just like air conditioning and cruise control? Not exactly. I can't offhand think of a car maker that charges about the same thing for those two accessories alone as another car maker charges for an entire car including those accessories.

I don't believe a folding camera exists without front base tilt -- that's how they fold up. As an advancing beginner, I had been using exclusively center tilt, being under the impression that it was 'easier'. Well, I have since discovered that in many situations rear base tilt is way easier to get right. I would not buy a camera without base tilt. My opinion.

 

And it does sound like you may have a damaged or lemony camera.

I guess it was my mistake in thinking that it was a SV45Ti. Correspondence from Ian at Ebony clarifies it to be a 45s model. The Ti on those models stand for Titanium and not the model designation. However, it seems that the bellows in the 45S extends a little less than the SV models. But the camera came with an extender back for close-up work. Just an extra bit of camera part to carry around it seems. The price for the whole was the same as a SVTi model. I guess if anyone suggests that it is better to go for the SVTi instead, I will probably get it changed but unfortunately will have to wait 3 weeks to receive it.

To correct my previous statement about the locking nuts moving my focus mechanism it works fine once I understood how it works.

I have to say, Ian at Ebony was very helpful in demystifying the camera as I emailed him several times and he was extremely kind in answering my questions. Aside from the awesome camera, the people at Ebony are why anyone should invest in one of these cameras.

Brian,

"Of course I didn't say it wasn't worth the cost, I said I didn't think it was worth the cost.

That's called expressing an opinion, not making a statement of fact."

 

So do you recommend someone to buy this feature, or not? Not being picky, but many of

us buy things that are not worth the cost.

 

Brian, do you have an Ebony, or other, with an asymmetric back, or are your comments on

this an observation? I do own a 45SU and investing the extra for the back was painful, but

it's a joy to use. I heartily recommend it to anyone.

"So do you recommend someone buy this feature or not."

 

I wouldn't make a recommendation, I simply expressed my own opinion. Anyone interested can agree or disagree as they see fit. Whether anything is "worth" the price being asked is obviously a personal decision, it will be worth the price to some people and won't be to others. I investigated this feature thoroughly at the time I was debating between an SVTi and an SU. I concluded that for me it wasn't worth the extra $1,000 cost so I bought the SVTi. I again considered an SU when I decided to replace the SVTi and came to the same conclusion again (so I replaced the SVTi with an SVTe rather than an SU). You think differently and that's fine. I have no problem with your opinion, I did object to your incorrect summary of what I said.