Custom Bellows question

[Dugan]

Hi, All,
I'm planning on getting replacement bellows for one of my cameras.
Can anybody confirm that bellows from Custom Bellows are opaque to infrared?
Thanks!

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi, All,
I'm planning on getting replacement bellows for one of my cameras.
Can anybody confirm that bellows from Custom Bellows are opaque to infrared?
Thanks!

You might want to shoot a text to Keith and he will quickly confirm. I would guess they are lighttight to Infared

[Dugan]

I asked Keith, he wasn't sure...so checking here.
Thanks!

[neil poulsen]

How would one test that?

[moggi1964]

How would one test that?

I know little about film and developing and nothing about infrared (and that may show) but here's a guess:

Seal both ends of the bellows to be lightfree after sticking a sheet of infrared film in there and then leave it out in the sun for a while. When you open it and develop the film if there is evidence of exposure then the answer would be no.

Of course, you would need to buy the bellows first.

[LabRat]

One thing in your favor is that modern IR films are much slower than old faster HIE, so will (possibly) fog slower in non-safe bellows...

Graflex bellows were vinyl and were listed as IR safe, so maybe synthetics were better than old leather???

The new bellows might be fine...

Steve K

[Dugan]

I'm pretty sure they'll be fine, but figured I'd ask around...

[abruzzi]

I have custom bellows made TK45 bellows, and I’ve shot Rollei IR400 with an R720 filter and it worked fine. That said, the dark slide was never pulled for more than ~2 minutes total.

[moggi1964]

I'm pretty sure they'll be fine, but figured I'd ask around...

If they prove not to be I am certain you can buy IR reflecting/absorbing paint so you could always give them a once over with some of that. I appreciate it isn't the perfect solution but it's nice to have options.

Good luck and let us know.

[Peter De Smidt]

In my experience, yes.

[Doremus Scudder]

When in doubt or when needed, cover the camera and bellows with your dark cloth before pulling the darkslide. Minimize the time the darkslide is out. Many of us do this as SOP.

Doremus

[Tobias Key]

You aren't going to get better bellows than Keith's so the question is moot. I would just wrap the camera in a decent dark cloth to be sure.

[Dugan]

Thank you for confirming, Peter.
I'm a member of the "Covering the Bellows with the Dark Cloth Club", so I'll be continuing to do that.
I agree, Tobias...I've purchased an excellent bellows from CB for my 5x7, but, alas...no 5x7 infrared film. :(
Thanks for the input, folks..my frames are on their way !

[Joseph Kashi]

It may be a good idea to use the white side of the dark cloth facing outward, if there is a white side, when covering the bellows and camera during IR use. Black absorbs heat, aka IR, and white/light colors tend to reflect a lot more heat/IR.