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Qeb
11-Jun-2018, 12:35
Hello Everyone,


Some of you might have seen my other posts, but I'm interesting in getting into 16x20 tintypes.

If I had custom bellows made so I could have 1.6 meter bellows extension/length, what would the bellows length be when compacted/compressed (Estimated - I guess it depends on material thickness)?


I inquired with a custom bellows maker and I was confused by their answer (but didn't want to keep asking the same question and bothering them).


Thanks so for reading this, and thanks in advance for your help and time, it's much appreciated!

Cheers,
Kevin H.

Len Middleton
12-Jun-2018, 03:28
Kevin,

The bellows extended length impacts the folded / compressed length in the number of folds needed to achieve the flexibility for that length. The number of folds and the thickness of the material will provide some insight into the compressed length. BUT it might also be impacted to the flexibility of the material and construction i.e. how flat does the inside and outside corners lay.

That does not give you the answer you are looking for, but that is some of the factors involved.

Hope that helps,

Len

Tin Can
12-Jun-2018, 04:05
I have 14x17” camera bellows made square by Custom Bellows.

So rear 16x16” with front 10x10” for 10” lens boards. 40” extension.

They fold to 2” thick as shipped without frames.

My camera is not completed.

I chose 14x17 since I found film holders first to use 14x17 X-Ray film.

Tracy Storer
12-Jun-2018, 13:29
It depends on how much taper there is since that affects whether the folds are stacked on top of each other when compressed, or if they "nest" as the bellows goes from large at the back to small at the front.

Mark Sawyer
12-Jun-2018, 16:00
Build/buy the bellows first, then build the camera around them. Meanwhile, start doing smaller tintypes, and take a workshop if you can. Learning tintypes in a 16x20 format is as insane as learning large format with 16x20 film...

Qeb
13-Jun-2018, 11:26
Thank you Len Middleton, that helps a bit, but I can't totally visualize the description, but thank you still!

Randy Moe, thank you for your reply. Wow, that compresses really well, this is promising!

Tracy Storer, thank you also for your reply, the bellows maker did say it would be larger at the back and smaller at the front? I think two bellows joined.

Hello Mark Sawyer, thank you for your reply! I'm looking for the minimum bellows length to make sure I can shoot at wide lens, something around 360mm.
And Yep, I know someone in my city that has workshops, but they are super pricey at $450 CAD for 2.5 hours of learning.


Thanks everyone again! I'm thankful for your help and time!
Cheers!

MAubrey
13-Jun-2018, 12:25
Hello Mark Sawyer, thank you for your reply! I'm looking for the minimum bellows length to make sure I can shoot at wide lens, something around 360mm.
And Yep, I know someone in my city that has workshops, but they are super pricey at $450 CAD for 2.5 hours of learning.
Something to consider for that would be the size of your lens board. The larger your lens board is, the deeper you can make a recessed lens board for wide angle lenses without obscuring the corners. This has additional advantages of keeping the bellows less compressed, which allows movements more easily.

Something to think about.

Len Middleton
13-Jun-2018, 12:28
Kevin,

If you have a large enough front standard and resulting lens board, it may be possible to construct a recessed lens board that is large enough to manage the lens and shutter adjustments, and deep enough to reduce the need to compress the bellows as much.

Another consideration.

Good luck in your efforts,

Len

MAubrey
13-Jun-2018, 14:07
Kevin,

If you have a large enough front standard and resulting lens board, it may be possible to construct a recessed lens board that is large enough to manage the lens and shutter adjustments, and deep enough to reduce the need to compress the bellows as much.

Another consideration.

Good luck in your efforts,

Len

Two recommendations for the same thing means the idea is twice as a good!

Len Middleton
13-Jun-2018, 15:03
Two recommendations for the same thing means the idea is twice as a good!

Looks like you posted while I was still composing.

That is a reasonable assessment though...

Qeb
13-Jun-2018, 15:17
Thank you MAubrey and Len Middleton, this is something great to think about! I didn't think of this at all!

Thank you both! Hope you all have a good rest of your week!

Bob Salomon
13-Jun-2018, 17:25
Thank you Len Middleton, that helps a bit, but I can't totally visualize the description, but thank you still!

Randy Moe, thank you for your reply. Wow, that compresses really well, this is promising!

Tracy Storer, thank you also for your reply, the bellows maker did say it would be larger at the back and smaller at the front? I think two bellows joined.

Hello Mark Sawyer, thank you for your reply! I'm looking for the minimum bellows length to make sure I can shoot at wide lens, something around 360mm.
And Yep, I know someone in my city that has workshops, but they are super pricey at $450 CAD for 2.5 hours of learning.


Thanks everyone again! I'm thankful for your help and time!
Cheers!
Take a look at the bellows on a Linhof 45 Technikardan. It has a double tapered bellows so it compacts extremely compactly compared to a single tapered bellows or a square bellows.

Qeb
14-Jun-2018, 18:10
Thanks bob Salomon! I'll inquire with the bellows maker about this. Thanks again!