Ebony Camera Rigidity

[mark_muse]

My Ebony 23S, purchased new last summer, is exhibiting some lack of rigidity in the

standards. With the camera set up the standards will rock front to back a bit. The standard

assembly, including the geared rails, seem to be rigid and rock in unison. I have been told

that this is normal with an Ebony due to wood shrinkage resulting from low humidity. But I

thought one of the reasons for the choice of ebony wood is its dimensional stability and

resistance to moisture absorption. The actual amount of movement is not large but it is

more than enough to impact focus at �5.6 with a 135 Sironar S.

 

If I have it adjusted to be rigid now (in the winter) will I have problems with the rails

sticking when I try to focus in the summer when the humidity is much higher here in the

US mid-Atlantic region? If so, perhaps it was a mistake to not buy a metal camera. Or am I

expecting too much? Comments/ suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Troll]

I am going to make a nasty remark, which a lot of LF users probably think but are too nice to say aloud. "I'm delighted to hear that the highly-touted and grossly overpriced Ebony Cameras (which I would probably buy if I had that kind of extra money) have their own problems, just like every other camera." (It's called Envy!)

[emile_de_leon10]

A new one for the science of psychiatry..."Ebony Envy"!!

[tito sobrinho]

My 2x3 Horseman 985 as well as my 5x7 (4x5) Deardorff and Wista 45 (metal) are all rigid. Never had any problems with then.

 

The Deardorffs, were made of wood planks of mahogany that were allowed to naturally cure and age for 10 to 12 years before being cut and assenbled as individual cameras.

[mark_muse]

I know I asked for comments... but I really was expecting something more to the point.

Shall we include Linof, Arca-Swiss, Sinar, Canham in the envy category? The Ebony's are

thoughtfully designed and beautifully executed cameras that are a real pleasure to use. If

you keep your eyes open you might, perhaps, find a used one for sale. But it doesn't

happen often. Am I being clear enough?

[steve_hamley]

Mark,

 

I believe all wooden cameras will exhibit similar behavior - but at least you can adjust the Ebony - others you just put up with whatever it wants to do. I did have to loosen mine up a few weeks after I got it, but now I rarely adjust it. I'm in the same general area you are.

 

The official line is to adjust by tightening or loosening ALL the screws on both rail strips by about 1/8 turn at a time. If it only gets loose at one end of the travel, try just tightening half of the screws on both strips at that end.

 

However, I find that a tiny amount of movement doesn't hurt anything and ensures the camera works freely in the field. You should be able to find this happy medium where you don't have to adjust it from season to season.

 

If you adjust the rails to be very snug after days or weeks in cold dry conditions and then the camera spends a significant amount of time in a warm, humid environment (days or weeks), yes you will likely have to loosen the rails a bit, probably once every 6 months. Try adjusting it in the spring or fall and it may be fine in both winter and summer.

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

[brian_ellis16]

I'm not familiar with the 23S. But on my 45 SVTe I've found that the front and back will rock back and forth slightly unless I move the shift levers just as far to the right as possible. When that's done the front and back show no movement at all even when I try to push them back and forth with my hand. If your camera has front and rear shift you might try exerting a good bit of force by hand to lock the shift down as tightly as possible and see if that fixes the problem. The Ebony cameras aren't as rigid, tight, and smooth as a good metal camera despite some of the things you read here from time to time. But they are beautifully made and have many virtues of their own.

[michael_briggs2]

Field cameras are usually not absolutely rigid -- this is part of the tradeoff for reduced weight and sometimes of being foldable. Metal cameras can be more rigid if the parts fit more closely and precisely. Some heavy studio cameras are very rigid.

 

If normal use, such as holding a loupe against the ground glass, causes movement large enough to change the focus, then the camera isn't sufficiently rigid. If pushing harder than necessary with your hand on the standard causes some movement, this isn't a problem, particularly if the standard returns to its previous position when you stop pushing on it. Similarly, if inserting a film holder causes noticable motion but the back returns to its previous position once the holder is in place, the back is sufficiently but not ideally rigid.

 

For a given weight, careful design and precision parts can reduce looseness and springiness, but not totally eliminate these causes of the camera flexing when force is applied. Using the simple design of parts sliding against each other, there has to be some play to allow adjustments to be smooth and without too much resistance.

 

Depending on how much force is needed to get the "not large" movement that you observe, you may be expecting too much.

[harshan]

Mark

precisely the reason i got myself a walker titan XL, ABS plastic body ..light weight all weather proof and reasonably well constructed...something to think about!!

[mark_muse]

Thanks to all who contributed!

[cxc]

What Harshan said. If you want rigidity, and the weather changes, stay away from wood.

 

Also, try to overcome the desire to 'poke' your camera. It's kind of like picking your own scabs -- harmful, pointless, destructive behavior. Once you are set up, do your photos turn out ok, and the way you want them? If so, then you have the perfect camera for you.

 

If you decide to get away from wood, and want to stay 2x3, look at Linhof Technika, Linhof Technikardan, Gowland, Galvin (used), and Horseman. In 4x5, add Canham, Gandolfi Variant, and Walker. Personally, I love my Walker. Finally, I would avoid the Graphics, which can be pretty loose even though wood-free.

 

CXC

[trevor_crone4]

Hi Mark,

I have two Ebony cameras the SW23 and SW45 and they both behave in the way you've mentioned. The only way I've been able to reduce this is to tighten the rail plates. But as you rightly say any significant change in humidity can cause tighness in focusing. I live in the UK and its damp most of the time therefore the one good thing is I don't need to adjust these screws too often.

 

Regards,

Trevor.