Possible Candidate for Linhof TK Universal Bellows?

[Ari]

I just got my TK today, and it's quite amazing.

One thing I have to adjust to is how short the bag bellows are; I can squeeze a 121 into use with them, but my next longest lens is 210.

With that in mind, I was wondering if anyone has tried these bellows:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Made-...ht_3709wt_1165

Do you think these would work as a good all-around bellows on a TK?
I realize that the camera might not fold as compactly with these Chinese bellows, but the seller of my camera advised me anyway not to store the camera with the bellows on, if I could help it.

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

[Noah A]

Check out this thread for more info:

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=76149

To summarize, I had the same question. My most-used lenses are a 115 and a 210, and I really wanted one bellows to work for both (and give lots of movement with the 115). The Linhof bag bellows works very well up to 150mm, but it won't work with a 210 even at infinity.

I really wanted a double-pleated bag bellows like the Sinar or the one that came with the rare Panfield camera. Alternatively, something like the Toyo VX125 or the Arca-Swiss field universal bellows would be great, one with large pleats and a soft material for flexibility.

But I found none of those things. I thought about making a double-pleated bag bellows but I never got around to it.

Custom Bellows said they could make me a bag bellows with a few extra normal pleats grafted on. Because it's a true bag bellows with something extra, it would probably work well for a large range of lenses. I don't remember the cost they quoted me, but it was more than the Chinese one and much less than a Linhof OEM bellows.

I ended up just sticking with the OEM bellows. The normal bellows works fine, and the bag bellows is great, it never gets in the way or needs to be fiddled with and is very flexible.

At the time I hadn't seen the Chinese Universal bellows. For the price it may be worth a try, even if it's not perfect you can always save them as a backup. Let us know how it works out.

As a side note, there's nothing wrong with storing a bellows on the camera. If you follow the directions and fold it properly it works fine. I do store my camera without a bellows, but only because I never know which bellows I'll need for my next shot, so I'd rather start with a clean slate.

[Ari]

Noah, I read and followed that thread as well; at the time I was thinking of getting something for my Toyo G, but that has since been sold, and I have a TK to contend with.
I tried using the regular bellows; they compress very well, but they're stiff as hell, so not much in the way of movements, and I had the SA 121 on.
I've ordered bellows from this maker before; the 810 bellows he made for my Toyo 810G were great, and he's a pretty nice guy to deal with.
I'll shoot him an email and see what he can do in terms of customizing his universal bellows, and I will keep you posted.

[Noah A]

That has been my experience as well--the standard bellows won't allow all that much movement with the medium/wide lenses. It compresses fine and will focus a very short lens, but it won't take all that much movement with lenses shorter than 150mm

I think a shorter, single-taper bellows might work, and the universal bellows you linked to could be even better.

Thanks for the general feedback on that seller. I was thinking of ordering a backup bellows for my MT2000. I'd love to hear/see what you come up with for the TK.

[Ari]

Yes, good seller; over the summer I ordered about $350 worth of stuff from him, and only had one item to return, a loupe for $65.
He took it back no questions asked, and the bellows he made for my 810 were excellent.
There's a bit of a language barrier, but he said he'll customize the bellows, i.e. make the bag longer and pleats shorter if needed.
The bellows is made from nylon, and available in red and black.

Btw, Noah, how much did your TK bellows frames cost to buy?

[Noah A]

I never purchased the frames. Actually, to be more accurate, I asked Martin (at Marflex) to send them to me and he never did. But I decided against making the bellows, so I never followed up.

I think they were supposed to be around $100.

[Ari]

Would you go with those bellows as is?
I'm thinking of asking for one more inch of bag section.

[Noah A]

Good question, but I don't know the answer. I've never worked with that sort of bellows--it's not really a bag on the front, more like a section of large, less-structured pleats. Too many of those and the thing might sag, especially with longer lenses. Not enough and you may not get the flexibility you need for your wide lenses. (And I'm still not sure anything short of a genuine bag bellows will let you take full advantage of your 72XL.)

You might ask some Chamonix users, this looks like their 'universal' bellows.

An extra inch probably wouldn't hurt anything, but I'd hate to steer you wrong since I really have no idea.

[Ari]

And I'm still not sure anything short of a genuine bag bellows will let you take full advantage of your 72XL.

Damn, I hate it when people get all sensible on me
Well, you've got me re-thinking this because I now suspect the current bag bellows are not roomy enough for the 72XL's movements. When I get the lens, I'll know.
I really like the Arca-Swiss bellows with the very wide pleats, they look like the perfect solution, but they're $500 a pop.

This might also be a solution, but it isn't pretty:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Linhof-Wide-...#ht_500wt_1204
Graft part of a regular bellows to the back of a bag bellows; see photo #2.

[Noah A]

Yeah, the Arca field universal bellows is nice. What kept me from selling the linhofs and switching was that the Arca F field doesn't offer much direct rise.

The auction you linked to shows, more or less, what Custom Bellows suggested that they could make for me for the TK45. I suppose it is ugly, but it probably works.

I have a feeling that the Chinese bellows will be a compromise, it'll get you most of what you want with most of your lenses, so you only have to switch to the bag for occasional tough shots. This may be all you can hope for really.

Keep in mind that even though lenses like your 72XL can handle extreme movements, you may not actually want to use movements that severe. Things can start to look a bit funky or exaggerated. So a universal bellows that can work for 75-85 percent of your images is a good compromise that can keep you from switching bellows every other shot.