Toyo VX125 Ultra Flex Bellows Repair

[scooter]

I purchased Toyo View VX125 (jade green) off ebay and the bellows show some signs of wear and tear on the interior where slight light leaks through when the bellows are extended. Since replacement bellows are hard to find for this camera or cost $700 for a refurb from B&H, could I use spray on black plasti-dip to fix this?


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[Bob Salomon]

I purchased Toyo View VX125 (jade green) off ebay and the bellows show some signs of wear and tear on the interior where slight light leaks through when the bellows are extended. Since replacement bellows are hard to find for this camera or cost $700 for a refurb from B&H, could I use spray on black plasti-dip to fix this?


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No. The only complete cure is a new bellows. Once you repair the current leak others will appear.

It is far cheaper to correct the problem properly then find out that future light leaks ruin future shots.

[Pfsor]

Custom Bellows in England will make you a new bellows. You will happily use it for many, many years of good service.

[scooter]

Custom Bellows in England will make you a new bellows. You will happily use it for many, many years of good service.

As I understand, these bellows negate the need for a bag or wide angle bellows so they are very specific.

[Oren Grad]

The question is whether Custom Bellows can match the characteristics of the VX125 original bellows, which is specified to allow an unusual degree of flexibility at short extensions. That was part of the unique selling proposition for this camera.

If you don't care and are willing to give that up, then no problem. If that does matter, then ask Custom Bellows specifically about whether they can match that with the materials they use. Or just pay up and get the manufacturer's replacement part.

EDIT: messages crossed in posting! I see you do understand the issue.

[Pfsor]

As I understand, these bellows negate the need for a bag or wide angle bellows so they are very specific.

In the case they didn't know the special bellows you need you would send them the old one and they would match it. I had several very special bellows made by them according to my individual needs which even to me seemed to be well, too special (long throw and very collapsible, one specification going against the opposite one.)

[tgtaylor]

Of course you can always us a regular Toyo 4x5 bag bellows with the VX125. I bought a used leather one in good, light-tight condition for my ROBOS for $50 on ebay where they show-up on a regular basis. I also use a bay bellows when using a 120mm lens on the Toyo 810. Just make sure the bellows doesn't vignette the lens by looking through the lens to make sure all four corners are visible.

Thomas

[scooter]

Of course you can always us a regular Toyo 4x5 bag bellows with the VX125. I bought a used leather one in good, light-tight condition for my ROBOS for $50 on ebay where they show-up on a regular basis. I also use a bay bellows when using a 120mm lens on the Toyo 810. Just make sure the bellows doesn't vignette the lens by looking through the lens to make sure all four corners are visible.

Thomas

Thanks for the reply Thomas - What is the downfall of using a bag bellows instead of the bellows that were originally intended for the VX125? I would assume that with longer lenses or closer subjects the standards wouldn't be able to expand enough?

If I'm shooting mainly with 75-150mm lenses and architecture and interiors should I be ok? Most of the times my standards are pretty close together, hence why I like the bellows that originally came with my camera as they allow for extreme movements without expansion.

[David Karp]

If you choose not to go with the bag bellows, I believe that Custom Bellows makes the bellows for Canham cameras. Their DLC and MQC models have extremely flexible bellows. The DLC reportedly works with lenses from 75mm to 450mm with the standard bellows. That is a longer range than the VX125, I think, so that material should be plenty flexible for use with your camera. I am sure that they could tell you if they think that material would work for your application.

[tgtaylor]

It's been a while since I used the bag bellows on the 4x5 but from what I remember it made the 90mm lens (with movements) much easier to use and was probably mandatory for the 75mm lens which I seldom used. With the 8x10 the longest usable lens with the bag bellows is 240mm so I would expect that the longest usable lens on a 4x5 with the standard Toyo bag bellows would be 120mm. So if you went that route with the VX you would need both a bag bellows for lens shorter that 120mm and a normal bellows for greater extension. Both are readily available used or new on ebay.

Thomas

[Oren Grad]

The DLC reportedly works with lenses from 75mm to 450mm with the standard bellows. That is a longer range than the VX125, I think...

The VX125 is specified for lenses down to the 58 SA XL with a flat board and 45 with a recessed board.

[David Karp]

Thanks Oren. I was focused on the long end of the scale.

[Cor]

A cheaper alternative ( but of good quality AFAIK and from personnel experience) might be Rudy, present on Ebay as ecbuyonline (not sure on that though, search the forum). You might contact him to see what he can do..

Good luck

It's a pity that it is almost always a recurring phenomena that Toyo, otherwise very nice camera's, their bellows are below par..

[Tobias Key]

It's been a while since I used the bag bellows on the 4x5 but from what I remember it made the 90mm lens (with movements) much easier to use and was probably mandatory for the 75mm lens which I seldom used. With the 8x10 the longest usable lens with the bag bellows is 240mm so I would expect that the longest usable lens on a 4x5 with the standard Toyo bag bellows would be 120mm. So if you went that route with the VX you would need both a bag bellows for lens shorter that 120mm and a normal bellows for greater extension. Both are readily available used or new on ebay.

Thomas

I have a Toyo 45c and a 75mm with both bag bellows and standard bellows. I have the 75mm on a recessed board and even then it is horrible to use with the standard bellows, it don't take much in the way of movements at all and the bellows start to pull at the rear standard. It is much easier to use with the bag bellows. You can still use a 150 with the bag bellows the extend to somewhere between 200 and 250mm so would cover the OP's lens selections. The only thing is they have gone sticky to the touch but are still perfectly light tight.

[Jeff Keller]

The Canham bellows on the DLC and MQC are superb for working over a wide extension range. I suspect part of the short extension capability is due to the lens board being 110mm x 110mm and thus the bellows is tapered. The VX125 has a huge lens board and uses a non-tapered bellows.

A bellows using the same material as the Canham but following the design of the VX125 would probably work almost as well as a the original VX125 bellows. With a 300mm max extension for the VX125, a bag bellows should be a very good choice.

[B.S.Kumar]

With a 300mm max extension for the VX125, a bag bellows should be a very good choice.

While the telescoping rail of the VX125 does max out at 300mm, regular Toyo G standard and extension rails can be used when longer extensions are needed.

Kumar

[Neal Chaves]

Dynatect may be able to duplicate the original Toyo urethane bellows. Send them the old one to evaluate. Their standard bellows is very thin and flexible. I had one made for my 4X5 Robos. More expensive than Rudy, but worth it I think.

https://dynatect.com/categories/protective-covers/bellows/

[Neal Chaves]

Here's a photo of the Dynatect bellows. There are no cardboard stiffeners. Everything is synthetic, two layers of nylon with a PVC "skeleton" in between. The folds are joined by narrow webs of PVC you can see in the photo.

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