Are Bellows Mounts Standard?

[Jeffrey Sipress]

Will the bellows from a Horseman fit onto an Arca Swiss, for example? From what I've seen, many builders use the 'international' type of mount for belows and lensboards, too. I'm determining what components are generally interchangeable to help me make buying decisions. Thanks for any input.

[Bob Salomon]

There is no International mount for 45 lensboards and bellows.

There are some companies that may copy someone elses board. For instance the Linhof Technika board is used by several companies and Horseman uses the Sinar board on their monorail cameras. Other then that each company is pretty much unique. A Technika board may fit the Linhof TK as well as a Wista RF but the TK bellows and back won't fit the Wista.

Even ground glass sizes are not standard.

[Jeffrey Sipress]

Thanks, Bob. I suppose I was referring to the common upper and lower sliding retainers that often hold on a film back. My Horseman uses them to retain the lensboards, film back, and bellows.

[Oren Grad]

Jeffrey -

Those sliders and the specific end-of-bellows dimensions are not a standard design. It happens that many system accessories, I believe including bellows, are interchangeable between Horseman and Sinar monorails, but that's about it. Arca Swiss is different, and indeed most brands use proprietary systems that don't swap with anybody else's.

[Jeffrey Sipress]

Darn it. But thanks for the answers, everyone.