Ebony SV45

History

Ebony Camera Company was established in Japan and operated as a small specialist manufacturer producing high-end wood field cameras for the professional and serious amateur market. The company occupied a niche at the top of the Japanese wood-field-camera segment, above the Tachihara and Wista SP in both price and build specification.

The choice of African ebony as the primary body material was a deliberate differentiation. Ebony is denser and more dimensionally stable than the cherry or mahogany used by competitors, and its characteristic near-black color with fine grain gave the cameras an immediately recognizable appearance. The stability of ebony is particularly relevant to large-format camera construction, where wood movement under temperature and humidity changes can affect the precision of the focusing standards.

The SV45's geared movements were the key specification advantage over simpler field cameras. On cameras without gearing, movements are made by loosening a lock, repositioning the standard by hand, and re-locking; on the SV45, rise, fall, shift, tilt, and swing could all be adjusted by rotating calibrated knobs, with the movement held in position by the gearing itself. This made fine incremental adjustments - particularly front tilt for depth-of-field control via the Scheimpflug principle - considerably easier in field conditions.

Ebony ceased production in approximately 2010 when the principal maker retired; no successor operation continued the line. Used Ebony cameras have appreciated in price on the second-hand market as a result.

Why It Matters

The Ebony SV45 represented the furthest development of the Japanese hand-built wood field camera concept. It demonstrated that a wood-bodied camera could offer monorail-grade movement precision in a field-portable form, using materials chosen for both mechanical and aesthetic merit.

The camera attracted professional landscape and architectural photographers who required the portability of a field camera but could not accept the approximate movement adjustments that characterize simpler wood-field designs. For architectural work where front rise and front shift corrections must be precise and repeatable, the geared standard was a substantial practical improvement.

The combination of ebony and titanium also produced a camera that aged well aesthetically; unlike painted metal cameras or lacquered wood bodies, the ebony develops a patina with use, and titanium hardware does not corrode. Used examples in good condition often look nearly new despite years of field use.

Lenses & Accessories

The Ebony SV45 uses Ebony's own lensboard standard, which is specific to Ebony cameras and not directly compatible with Linhof Technika boards. Adapters exist but are uncommon.

• Schneider Apo-Symmar 150mm f/5.6 - standard field lens; Copal 0 shutter
• Rodenstock Sironar-S 150mm f/5.6 - high-performance standard lens with large image circle for movement use
• Schneider Super-Angulon 90mm f/8 - wide angle; sufficient image circle for 4x5 with moderate movements
• Rodenstock Grandagon-N 75mm f/4.5 - very wide angle; requires bag bellows
• Schneider Apo-Tele-Xenar 400mm f/5.6 - long telephoto; requires extension bellows
• Bag bellows - required for lenses under ~75mm; sold as a Ebony accessory
• Extension bellows - extends maximum bellows draw for telephoto and macro use
• Roll-film backs - 6x7 and 6x9 backs; third-party (Horseman, Calumet) fit the Graflok standard
• Fresnel screen - optional; brightens ground-glass image for easier composition

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Used by professional landscape photographers in Japan and internationally through the late 1990s and 2000s who required precise field movements for large-format transparency work.
• Frequently cited in large-format photography publications and forums as the benchmark for wood field camera quality.
• Adopted by studio and location photographers transitioning from monorail systems who wanted comparable movement precision in a field-portable form.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Ebony