bag bellows needed with Schneider 110 xl ?

[alex sjoeberg]

Hello everybody,

Keeping in mind the purchasing of the acclaimed Schneider 110 ss xl f5.6, do you know if this one DOES require Bag Bellows ? or does not ?
(I will use movements, on a Gandolfi 4x5 Variant L2).

Many thanks for attention. Alex

[Steve Hamley]

Alex,

I'm using an Ebony and not a Gandolfi, but I'd say no for field cameras where you're not using radical movements. I use the lens on a flat board and have not needed a bag bellows for anything 80mm or longer on flat boards. 65mm and shorter, a bag bellows would be useful (but not always required) with my camera.

Steve

[Eric Leppanen]

Alex,

I think the general answer for most cameras is: if you need only moderate movements, no bag bellows is required. If you want to use the entire image circle, then a bag bellows may be required.

I suggest setting your current bellows to 117mm of extension (infinity focus for the SS110XL) and see how much movement you can achieve. Compare this with the capabilities of the lens (the SS110XL supports a maximum of 75mm front rise in portrait orientation, 83mm in landscape orientation) and your likely applications, and I think you'll get a pretty good idea as to whether you'll want a bag bellows or not.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

It works fine for me on a 4X5 Wisner Technical Field (which are not known for being great to use with wide angles) without the bag bellows.

[Daniel luu Van Lang]

hi Alex,
I use a 90mm Super angulon on my Gandolfi Variant 3 and I need bag bellows, I guess you will really need one with a 110XL. On gandolfi cameras, bellows are pretty rigid and even with 20mm more extension it will be hard to get any movement. IMHO the best thing to do is to buy your lens, try it and if your work requiers loads of movements, you can built a custom made bag bellows. I have done mine, easy to do with wood and leather and lighttight.

[KenM]

I used a 110xl on my Gandolfi Variant L3 with the standard bellows with no issues. While I didn't use a lot of movements (landscapes really don't require a lot), there was never an issue. I only had problems with the bellows when I tried to use a 75. That didn't work so well with teh pleated bellows, so I had to use the bag bellows.

[CXC]

The thing about bag bellows is that they are expensive, they are another thing to schlep around, and they are a drag to put on and off. Despite these drawbacks, they exist, because they make using an ultra-wide possible, and a very wide easier. If you owned a bag bellows, and had it with you when you wanted to use the 110, and it was in fact already on the camera, you would be glad, because it would be easier to deal with, and you would know that the camera was not limiting your use of the lens.

I own 3 bag bellows, for various cameras. I can't remember the last time I ever used any of them.

[ronald moravec]

I use the bag only when need extreme movements with my 90 SA. Almost all reasonable work with the 110 can be done without on my Zone 6 without the bag.