The new camera that I ordered about five weeks ago finally arrived. This is an Ebony SV45TE wood field camera made of ebony wood and titantium. It is a new camera, hand made by a specialty manufacturer in Japan. It is quite a bit lighter and folds down to a much more compact size than the Sinar F1 monorail camera that I have used since 1996. I have put together a back pack with this camera and a selection of smaller lenses. This kit can be made light enough for some long distance back country hiking. I will no longer have to compromise with medium format cameras when I want to go further out into the field. I will still continue to use my Sinar, but mostly for subject matter that does not require much walking. Any time that there is any distance involved, the Ebony will be the instrument of choice. Initially I put together a kit with the camera, six lenses [65mm, 90mm, 125mm, 210mm, 300mm and 400mm], 12 film holders, meter, filters, cable release, loupe and focusing hood. Including a light tripod the whole kit weighs in at about 40 Lbs. It arrived and I got everything together in time to give it a try on the Labor Day long weekend. It was very comfortable and easy to carry and it was a pleasure compared to the 75Lb pack that I am used to carrying. I don't think I would attempt to carry this pack on a really long strenuous hike and could easily lighten it up to 25 to 30Lbs by scaling back to three lenses and fewer film holders. I did find the light Berlebach wood tripod that I tried it out with to be a little too flimsy and unstable. The next time around I will try it with my heavier Ries tripod but will have to establish through trial and error which is the best tripod and head combination to use with the camera.
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