Two Ebony Questions

I'm considering the purchase of either the Ebony SV45Ti or the SV45U.

I'd buy the Ti as compared with the U (mainly for weight and cost

considerations)except for the fact that owners of the 45U

consistently rave about the "asymetrical back tilt and swing."

Unfortunately I've never seen an explanation of exactly

what "asymetrical back tilt and swing" is and under what

circumstances, and why, it is so great compared with "normal" back

tilt and swing. Could an owner of the 45U please explain or point me

to a review or other place where this is explained?

 

Second, I use the "focus on the near, focus on the far, set the front

standard in the middle" system of focusing and use the distance

between the two points to determine the optimum aperture. To use that

method you need to be able to attach a mm ruler somewhere on the

camera and attach a pointer somewhere on the front standard (or on

something that moves in synch with the front standard) so that the

pointer moves forward and backward along the ruler. Does anyone use

this system with either of these two models of the Ebony camera or

know whether it can or can't be used with these two models?

Ebony has an article entitled ASYMMETRICAL MOVEMENTS on their site:

<p>

<a href="http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/assym.exp.html">http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/assym.exp.html</a>

It is simple but kind of hard to explain in words. If you look at the Sinar P cameras you will see that the tilt rides on a kind of arc. When you tilt the standard this has the effect of keeping the tilt around a central axis. On a non asymetrical tilt, you have the bottom of the standard held in position and the top part describes an arc when tilted, this makes it a little bit harder to focus since you have to focus, tilt, focus again etc, etc.

 

IMO for the kinds of tilts and swings we use in landscape it does not make any difference if you use asymetrical tilts or not, since is usually a matter of a few degrees, but given the choice and if you have the money, asymetrical tilts do make your life easier.

Brian,

 

I own the SV45U. The ebony wood adds a pound and about $300 in the 4x5 size, and the asymmetric back will add about $700. Ebony will make you a mahogany SV45U if you like, I asked Ian Wilson about this one time, as a potential weight savings for hiking, and he said no problem.

 

The asymmetric back means that the back swings and tilts not in the center, but nearer one edge. For example, the SV45U back swings about 5/8 inch from the left side and 1 - 1/8 inch up from the bottom of the groundglass. You focus along the line on the groundglass indicating the tilt or swing point, then just push or pull the back until everything's in focus - a lot of the time there's no iteration of focus and movement. It's very easy to use and quick to set up - and it is worth it. And you do have the regular non-asymmetric base tilts if you want them (but not regular swings) as the camera uses these to fold up. I'll post jpegs tomorrow to show you the back.

 

I don't see any reason why you couldn't use pointers and scales on it, although I've never tried on mine. The rails are rather conventionally constructed except that they can be tightened or loosened up depending on the temperature and humidity so that there is never much (or any) slop in the rails. E-mail me if you want a picture of the rails.

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

Brian,

 

The attached gif shows the U back with the pivot points and the approximate location of the GG pivot point lines.

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

I have an Arca Swiss F Metric with Micrometric Orbix (front center axis geared tilt). I'm wondering if the assymetric tilt on the Ebony is superior to what I have. Can anyone shed any light on this? I realize back tilts tend to emphasize the foreground over front tilts but don't always want that effect.

Thanks very much to all who responded here and by e mail. I've pretty much decided to forget the U. While I'm sure it's a very nice feature, I seldom use back movements and I think the weight savings (one of the main reasons I'm doing this is to lighten the load of my 6.5 lb Technika) of the Ti is more important to me than the asymetrical back. But then I've been known to change my mind about camera equipment, as my wife can testify.