Nikkor-M 300mm on Ebony 45s

[wind_long]

I just got a nice Nikkor-M 300mm for my Ebony 45s, to my amazement, it won't

focus! I thought the bellow could at least allow lens up to 360mm. Can any

Ebony users comment on this? Also, Calumet type of roll film won't fit the Ebony

back. The back can be modified to allow it to go in all the way but I don't want to

decrease the resale value of the camera, so I guess I will have to go with a

Horseman back. I should say that I love my 45S. I have tried Toyo 45CF and

Tachihara before but this is the real keeper.

[ashton_lee3]

The max bellows extension on an Ebony 45s is listed as 270mm on the Ebony web site. So youy may be SOL.

 

You might be able to get to an infinity focus with the 300mm by tilting the front standard all the way forward and then tilting the lens board back into parallel with the rear standard. This trick gives most cameras just a bit more "draw". But it looks like you'ld really need to consider telephoto type lens construction to get a longer length on this camera. (A telephoto is a lens which has a shorter lens to film plane distance than its focal length. They a 14" telephoto may only need 8 inches of bellows draw. Most large format telephotos have tele intheir name... tele-Xenar, tele-Optar etc. Very few are made now, they were once common for press type cameras, and can be bought on E-Bay fairly inexpensively).

 

Your other possible choice is to get the lens extender made by Wista which should fit your camera.

[michael_briggs2]

How far does your bellows extend? You can measure it yourself.... To focus on infinity with a regular (i.e., non-telephoto) 300 mm lens, you need about 300 mm of extension. (To know the exact figure, you have to know the flange focal length, which I can look up for the 300 mm Nikkor-M later.) To focus closer, you need more extension. To focus reasonably close, about 20 or 25% more then the lens focal length. On cameras that have both base and axis tilt, a trick if the bellows is long enough but the basic extension of the camera isn't, is to tilt the front standard forward, then use the axis tilt to bring the lens board back to vertical. This will get you a bit more extension.

[stefan_geschke]

The max bellows draw of the ebony 45S is, as someone already mentioned,

about 270mm. So you won't be able to focus a 300mm normal lens like the Nikkor,

which needs around 300mm of bellows (probably a bit less because the center of the

lens is a bit in front of the lensboard).

However, there are companies out there who sell Linhof-compatible extender-

lensboards (an extension tube that on one end mounts to the camera like a usual

lensboard and that accepts a lens in, say Copal 1, shutter).

(Ebonies take Linhof Technika lensboards, right?) These things come in different

lengths and usually you can combine different tubes to get various lengths.

You should probably get at least 50mm of extension.

 

On the other hand, Ebony sells an extender back, specifically for the 45S and

the SW models, I think. This should get you enough enough extension.

I am guessing that some Chinese made extension tubes will be far cheaper than the

Ebony extension back.

[randy_larson]

Ebony makes a couple of extension lens boards that should do the trick. Check their

website and order from Jeff at Badger Graphics or Jim at Midwest Photo Exchange. I

use one on a Fuji 450mm lens on my SV45Ti and it works well. Much less hassle and

cost than back extension. By the way, the Nikkor-M 300mm is terrific on 4x5.

[wind_long]

Thank you for your answers! Looks like I will need a tube or tele type of lens. Considering how small and wonderful the Nikkor is, I might go for a tube. It will be a lot of trouble. BTW, Cambo reflex viewer hood works great on Ebony. Once you have tried one, you will never want to leave without one. A guy sells adaptor brackets for $100 but you can cut a small piece of metal and do the trick just fine. It will stay on Ebony very tightly.

[michael_briggs2]

The Flange Focal Distance (or Length) of the 300 mm Nikkor-M is 290 mm. This means that when the lens is focused on infinity, the distance between the back of the shutter and the image (film or ground surface of the ground glass) is 290 mm. So 290 mm is the required extension to focus on infinity. Additional extension is needed to focus closer.

[friedemann_pistorius]

You probably mixed things up.

<br>The Ebony 45S has a listed bellows draw of 270mm, whereas the Ebony 45SU (with asymmetric back movements) has 360mm bellows draw due to an additional front extension.