Bellows bowing inwards, blocking film :(

**hkbenji** · 13-Nov-2018, 20:47

I have a Horseman 45HD and the bellows started "bowing in" on all 4 sides (worst at the bottom, weirdly enough). It is now blocking part of the film area at short bellows extensions.

Any ideas on how to fix that? Many thanks!

**Louis Pacilla** · 13-Nov-2018, 20:53

Originally Posted by hkbenji

I have a Horseman 45HD and the bellows started "bowing in" on all 4 sides (worst at the bottom, weirdly enough). It is now blocking part of the film area at short bellows extensions.

Any ideas on how to fix that? Many thanks!

Yeah sounds like your in line for a new set of bellows. "Sag" at the top when extended happens but this just sounds like shot bellows.

**Wanderer** · 14-Nov-2018, 03:57

Hello,
Can it be that your bellow doesn't extend properly when opening the camera?
I have a bit of a similar thing with my Horseman FA: when I first open it, I have noticed that the bellow doesn't extend completely. And parts of it are blocking the edges of the film.
So, what I am doing is: pulling the front stand out as far as possible on the rails, then extending the bellow a its max with the focusing knobs. After that no more blocking of the film from it.
In my case, it looks like, that some parts of the bellow are sticking together when the camera is folded and don't get unstuck when I am pulling the front standard.
I hope it can be of any help for you.

**hkbenji** · 18-Nov-2018, 07:47

Louis - thank you - I think you are right, the bellows is quite old and will need replacement soon.

Wanderer - thanks for the tip! This definitely helps and I now only very rarely have an issue with the bellows. Great stuff!

Ben

**Wanderer** · 18-Nov-2018, 09:00

@hkbenji glad it helped.

**Tim V** · 18-Nov-2018, 12:16

My FA has the same problem. They stick at the rear and obstruct light at the bottom, so I reach in and gently pull the bellows towards the front standard to help free them up during each setup.

**ic-racer** · 18-Nov-2018, 12:59

My Horseman FA bellows had some kinks in it (not affecting the image) when I got it. I wanted to replace the bellows and I was looking at this one. On ebay. I never sat down and counted the pleats to see if it has the same mini-pleats of the original Horseman bellows. But it does look like a reasonable replacement.