Viewing bellows for ebony.

[Former Member 8144]

Hi,

I often shoot in windy conditions and also like to compose a short way back from my camera screen as opposed to hidden under a darkcloth...just a personal thing I guess...

How have users found open ended viewing bellows such as those made by ebony or robert white or ineed anything similar?
I like the idea of a bellows over a metal fold out hood as this would allow for the use of a lupe for focus checking and for the reasons above woud not want one of the magnified bellows.

Thanks,

Marc

[darr]

I had the Ebony focusing bellows with magnifier and did not like it. I did however like the loupe it used for the focusing and decided to keep it when I sold the bellows. My biggest problem was I could not see the entire image and it was not as sharp as using a Cambo viewer which I had been using since the '80s with my first 4x5. If you can try an Ebony focusing bellows before you commit, I would. Best of luck.

[Aender Brepsom]

Hi Marc,

I have sent you an email about this matter. I have got such an item.

Aender

[Brian Ellis]

I had the Robert White viewer and used it on two Ebony cameras. I didn't like it. With any lens wider than about 150mm it was impossible to see the entire image at once. It also wasn't very good in dim light. Finally, even in bright light and with a long lens, it reminded me too much of squinting through the viewfinder with a 35mm camera. In other words, it took some of the pleasure out of LF photogrphy.

[Former Member 8144]

The version with the magnifier I know I woud not like as I like to sit back and see the whole image.
Most of my work is with wider lenses so from what Brian says perhaps it may not work...but Brian are you talking about the robert white open ended one or the closed magnifier one?
I may be able to pick an open ended one fairly cheaply so I can at least try it out.

If it does not work for me then I guess its velcro and weighted down dark cloth for me...I've always used simple black out material but are there any particular darkcloths that for whatever reasons just work better than others, yet are still fairly lightweight, etc?

Marc

[Brian Ellis]

The version with the magnifier I know I woud not like as I like to sit back and see the whole image.
Most of my work is with wider lenses so from what Brian says perhaps it may not work...but Brian are you talking about the robert white open ended one or the closed magnifier one?
I may be able to pick an open ended one fairly cheaply so I can at least try it out.

If it does not work for me then I guess its velcro and weighted down dark cloth for me...I've always used simple black out material but are there any particular darkcloths that for whatever reasons just work better than others, yet are still fairly lightweight, etc?

Marc

Hi Marc - I'm sorry but I don't remember for sure which kind I had, I only used it a few times about six years ago and then sold it. My best guess is that it was the magnifier version. I never liked the traditional "horse blanket" type dark cloths. I've used the BTZS "tubes" for many years and have always liked them. They're much lighter and much smaller than a traditional dark cloth plus they seem to me to do a better job of darkening the ground glass. You might investigate using one of those instead of the viewer or the traditional dark cloth.

[Miguel Curbelo]

Marc, I work with a 45SW and mostly wide angle lenses (47, 58, 72, 90, 110) and use the focusing bellows with a magnifier much more frequently than a darkcloth. I initially bought the focusing bellows because I felt vulnerable (and hot) under a darkcloth in the urban environments I usually work in. It is true that with wide angle lenses it stops you from seeing the whole picture, but I suspect that with those very same lenses you'd have difficulties seeing anything with the focusing bellows that come without a magnifier. After a while working with the bellows + magnifier becomes second nature, and nowadays I resort to the darkcloth only when I am particularly uncertain as to the composition of a picture, or if I don't feel particularly exposed sticking my head under the darkcloth. They also take hardly any space in the bag and weigh next to nothing.
As to a recommendation for a good darkcloth, what I use is a thick black old T-shirt. It rolls neatly into a corner of my bag, is very light and works.

[Former Member 8144]

I've managed to pick up an open non magnified bellows at a great price here so I'll give that a go in combination with my lupe and see how I get on.
Thanks for the help, etc.

Marc