Arca Swiss 4x5/6x9 Bellows Issue

[Larry Menzin]

I purchased an Arca F-classic 4x5 format set for 6x9 from a person on this forum. It arrived yesterday and the front frame of the 4x5/6x9 bellows will not fit any of my Arca 6x9 format frames. The plastic frame of the bellows is too thick to fit in my 6x9 frame and it has a plastic tab on the top that prevents it from mounting. Could this bellows be for an earlier 6x9 version? Any ideas?

[Really Big Cameras]

Yes, that is the format frame for the older, pre F-Line ARCA-SWISS models.

Kerry Thalmann
Really Big Cameras (http://reallybigcameras.com)

[Larry Menzin]

Kerry,

Do you know if the front frame of the bellows can be replaced with a new version by Arca or one of its repair agents?

[neil poulsen]

So, help me out. The back of what you show in the photograph looks like a Classic F 4x5 back. Right? And I can tell, as Kerry observes, that the frame on the small end of the bellows is for the older 6x9 camera. (I have one of the older 6x9 cameras.)

So, it appears that you have some sort of hybrid format set, which is interesting. I wonder if they were made this way during the transition to the newer model, or if someone refit an older 6x9 frame to a newer 4x5 format set.

At any rate, I would think that it would be a fairly simple matter to get a newer frame and replace the older Arca 6x9 frame that you currently have on the bellows. This assumes that they didn't remove too much of the bellows, when they retrofitted the older frame. Anyway, it's worth a try.

At the very least, you could get a current bellows. But, that would make this an expensive purchase.

Don't discard the older frame. I believe that they're no longer available.

[Really Big Cameras]

Your best bet would be to contact Bob Watkins at Precision Camera Works (http://www.precisioncameraworks.com/). They are the factory authorized service center for ARCA-SWISS.

As Neil mentioned, it looks like someone already went the other way - installed a pre F-line format frame on an F-Line bellows (or perhaps an F-Line rear fram eon a pre F-Line bellows). You should contact the seller and ask them if they still have the F-Line front format frame. If so, you could send the F-Line format frame and the bellows to Precision Camera Works to make the swap. If the seller doesn't have the F-Line format frame, you will have to buy one.

Kerry Thalmann
Really Big Cameras

[Allen in Montreal]

......

So, it appears that you have some sort of hybrid format set, which is interesting. I wonder if they were made this way during the transition to the newer model, or if someone refit an older 6x9 frame to a newer 4x5 format set...........

Don't discard the older frame. I believe that they're no longer available.

That about sums it up, I sold this kit to Larry.
I bought it from Vistek as they were closing out the Arca line a few years back. I bought some 6x9 4x5 and 8x10 gear.

The 6x9 camera was a floor demo, and they totally misrepresented the state of the camera.

Now, years later as i sell off the stray elements to buy another 8x10, I find out they patched together the kit, it was all totally function and compatible amongst its own parts, but they could have been honest about how they arrived at building the kit. I would have still bought it no doubt.

Now, I am looking at a Microtek scanner and Vistek is the only CDN listed reseller. I phoned Microtek and told them Hell will freeze over twice before I buy there again!

Micrtek found another retailer for me.

I wrote to Arca to ask if they made the bellows like this or if Vistek had them adapted, no word back yet.

As I said, there was no need for them to lie about the kit, in the end, the kit performed beautifully and the bellows and rear standard are fine, it is just that front bellows plate I should have been made aware of, at the time of purchase.