PDA

View Full Version : suggestions for ULF bellows Manufacturer



gzinsel
9-May-2017, 05:26
asking the community to suggest Names of person(s) or company(s) that can make custom size bellows for ULF? size is 16 x20,The Priority for me is quality, followed by short lead time, followed price. LIke most people dont want to throw away stupid money, But I do not want to be penny wise and pound foolish. a few names would be great . thanks. "I'll take your comment off the air". . .. as they say..

gzinsel
9-May-2017, 06:07
I saw some previous posts with names.. I will check them out.

faberryman
9-May-2017, 06:21
Custom Bellows UK (http://www.custombellows.co.uk/)

Pfsor
9-May-2017, 06:55
Custom Bellows UK (http://www.custombellows.co.uk/)

Follow that advice and you will be a happy man. From one who knows.

Jim Fitzgerald
9-May-2017, 09:03
I had custom bellows in the UK make me 3 ULF bellows and they were all great.

Tracy Storer
9-May-2017, 12:45
Custom Bellows UK. They have made more than a dozen bellows for me, various sizes, many ULF. The Best.

Len Middleton
9-May-2017, 14:05
Custom Bellows UK (http://www.custombellows.co.uk/)

And another happy customer, but only one ULF bellows (8x20)...

Lachlan 717
9-May-2017, 18:56
ecbuyonline@foxmail.com

Save yourself a heap of $$$ over Custom Bellows.

The 7x17 bellow they did for me is excellent quality. They will mount them to the frame as well. They have a high quality Sinar front frame that I got.

Luis-F-S
9-May-2017, 20:27
ecbuyonline@foxmail.com

Save yourself a heap of $$$ over Custom Bellows.

You get what you pay for. Go with Custom Bellows, their prices are quite reasonable with the current exchange rate!

David Karp
9-May-2017, 21:05
I recommend both. I have bellows from both. The bellows I received from ecbuyonline was excellent. I got what I paid for with both - a high quality bellows.

Pete Oakley
10-May-2017, 01:43
Custom Bellows! Superb service, superb quality.

Lachlan 717
10-May-2017, 06:39
You get what you pay for. Go with Custom Bellows, their prices are quite reasonable with the current exchange rate!

Yep - I paid for good bellows and received them.

Your inference that Ecbuyonline's products are somehow inferior to CB's is simply not correct. Especially at half the price.

Can document how they are inferior, and, additionally, how they are not suitable for use?

gzinsel
10-May-2017, 12:40
thank you all.

Neal Chaves
10-May-2017, 13:02
I just had a 4X5 Toyo bellows made for me by Dynatect
http://www.dynatect.com/.
http://www.dynatect.com/protective-covers/bellows/brands-constructions/folded-bellows
The quality and design are superb, as was the customer service. This is the best work, actually even better, than I have seen since Western Bellows closed. All this comes at a price, but for some critical workers it can be money well-spent.

I have also rebuilt several Toyos with bellows from Rudy, who has been well-recommended here many times. His products have extremely good quality and workmanship and you can't beat the price - well, yes you can by buying directly from him rather than on the big auction site.
https://www.boyaetone.com/index.php/en/

https://www.boyaetone.com/index.php/en/kindle/search/bellows/results,7-6

davehyams
10-May-2017, 20:30
Thanks Neal for this link, do you mind telling us what sort of price range your new bellows for your toyo fell into? Looks like an interesting option for people here in the US.

Pfsor
11-May-2017, 03:56
I just had a 4X5 Toyo bellows made for me by Dynatect
http://www.dynatect.com/.
http://www.dynatect.com/protective-covers/bellows/brands-constructions/folded-bellows
The quality and design are superb, as was the customer service. This is the best work, actually even better, than I have seen since Western Bellows closed. All this comes at a price, but for some critical workers it can be money well-spent.


Had a bad experience with both manufactures you mention. Dynatect makes industrial bellows - their material was so thick that the bellows I got were of no use for a camera. Besides, they sent it to a wrong country and the dimension was wrong too. Somebody on a post office noticed the wrong country not matching my town and it came to me anyway. I wanted to send the bellows back but was offered it for they had no use for it. Nevertheless, I needed to look elsewhere for the bellows I needed.
Western Bellows a similar story. The material was too thick and the bellows hard to press. Complete waist of money.
Once I got bellows from Custom Bellows I never looked back at any other options. Just my mileage.

Neal Chaves
12-May-2017, 20:11
Dynatect is a large company that makes all types of industrial covers and bellows, most of which are stock items. However, all their camera bellows are custom made.
Light tight bellows for photographic, camera or imaging equipment
http://www.dynatect.com/protective-covers/bellows/custom-bellows/rectangular-tapered-bellows
Ask for Cindy Marlosek at Dynatect and she will put you in touch with the right department.

Toyo folded bellows are made from one layer of a thin fabric material covered with a black coating. The coating cracks first on the corners, creating pin holes, then later starts peeling all over. Because it is only a single layer of fabric, the Toyo bellows is very thin. A more traditional design uses two layers of fabric with cardboard stiffeners in between. This was the approach taken by Western Bellows and with the bellows supplied by Rudy (which I think come from Shen Hao). These bellows are about 50% thicker than stock Toyo bellows. In order to mount Rudy's bellows to the current Toyo plastic frames with the original screws, the screw holes in the frames must be carefully countersunk or the screws will not bite.

Dynatect uses two layers of Nylon with stiffeners made from thin PVC. The PVC stiffeners are not folded along their full length as is done with cardboard, but are skeletonized and joined by narrow tabs. Because no card board is used, the bellows are completely waterproof and fold more compactly than Rudy's. Dynatect bellows are also only slightly thicker than the Toyos and mount easily to Toyo frames with the original screws and countersinking the frame holes is not required.

I found another US supplier of industrial bellows which is actually a Japan-based company whose founder started making bellows for the photo industry. Nabell http://nabell.com/?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CPmd9IPu69MCFdRyfgods-cAuA has a product line like Dynatect's and both companies use the same order forms and manufacture to the ISO 9001 standard. As with Dynatect, camera bellows are a custom item with them. I think that they would supply exactly the same product I obtained from Dynatect, but Nabell's price was slightly higher and lead time was longer.

Dynatect supplied me with the 16" Toyo 45G bellows for $238 plus $18 shipping. Rudy charged $90 delivered.

rdenney
6-Jun-2018, 09:10
We have been informed by Mr. Arturo Rivero at Dynatect that their website links have changed. Here are the updated links:

https://dynatect.com/
https://dynatect.com/product/protective-covers/bellows/folded-bellows/

Rick "we report, you decide" Denney

Whir-Click
27-Jun-2018, 18:01
+1 For Custom Bellows.

Just had my 12x20 Korona bellows replaced. The price was reasonable, the craftsmanship and service were superior.

Ron (Netherlands)
6-Jul-2018, 14:41
Can the members which bought bellows shed some light on the fabric used:
so is the fabric the bellows are made of more
a. like the old Russian leather, i.e. very thin leather?
b. more like linen? or
c. more like nylon?

Guess the fabric is not so important if you use a modern LF platecamera, but for members restoring an old one, the kind of fabric matters more

Nodda Duma
6-Jul-2018, 14:54
Custom Bellows just finished up replacement bellows for a whole plate project camera. Quick turnaround and perfect fit. I installed it on Tuesday and haven’t had a chance to shoot yet, but the camera looks awesome.

My nose says it’s leather and it feels like soft leather, but you can certainly ask them directly.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180706/2da7cd46567b1191f7d666d827805c51.jpg

Tin Can
6-Jul-2018, 16:54
RED!

Custom Bellows told me a couple years ago RED was not available.

The beautiful bellows they made for me are definitely not leather.

We need a show off your bellows thread!

I have some really nice old ones.

Tracy Storer
8-Jul-2018, 12:53
Custom Bellows don't do red bellows bigger than 8"x10".
Their standard synthetic material is called "hypalon" available in black and red.
They also have a lighter weight red synthetic material that can be used (up to 8"x10"?).
11"x14" and larger bellows are always covered in a woven black cotton cloth.
If I have any of this wrong, Keith Lowe from Custom Bellows can correct me.
I have been a happy customer for many years, and many bellows.


RED!

Custom Bellows told me a couple years ago RED was not available.

The beautiful bellows they made for me are definitely not leather.

We need a show off your bellows thread!

I have some really nice old ones.

Tin Can
8-Jul-2018, 14:21
Thanks for clearing that up. My last order was 16x16-10x10-40”.

Very nice work.

But I am also glad I got 3 Turner bellows that match OE S11. Very heavy duty as they should be. Too bad they quit.

I now try to buy only cameras with perfect Bellows.

The self casing Cycle boxes preserve their bellows well as many similar boxes do.

Linhof Kardon Color post war are unbelievably well made and delicately bell shaped. Nobody will ever replicate those.

Drew Wiley
9-Jul-2018, 15:54
I think Custom Bellows can offer you a choice. Just contact them and ask. I had great service from them.