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mortensen
4-Aug-2010, 11:24
Hi!

when I get rich, I want to buy a Linhof Technikardan 45S... I shoot architecture and I am very fond of my 90 Grandagon-N and 150 Sironar-W. They both offer quite extensive movements which I use a lot. But what is the max length of the linhof TK bag bellows? I'm wondering whether I'll have to switch bellows when I switch between these two lenses?

Does any of you know, whether a company like custombellows would be able to make a "universal" bellows (like those for Ebony and Chamonix), that would accomodate a range from 72-240 and fit the TK?... cause that would be nice!

thanks,
lars

John Schneider
4-Aug-2010, 11:47
I sold my TK a while ago, but as I remember the bag bellows accommodated my 180 Sironar without problems (i.e., with enough slack for the movements needed for landscapes). So, based upon that it should handle a 150 with the greater movements needed for architecture.

mortensen
4-Aug-2010, 23:42
sounds good, thank you.
Using primarily the bag bellows, would also eliminate the potential issues of folding the camera, right?

Gudmundur Ingolfsson
5-Aug-2010, 05:48
Folding the camera is no major issue if know how to and never apply force. But it is a good policy to keep the wide angle bellows on and only put the long bellows on an unfolded camera.

mortensen
5-Aug-2010, 07:26
... since I'll be shooting 80% with a 90-150mm range, that sounds like a very good policy.
thanks,
lars

Noah A
23-May-2011, 11:41
Does any of you know, whether a company like custombellows would be able to make a "universal" bellows (like those for Ebony and Chamonix), that would accomodate a range from 72-240 and fit the TK?... cause that would be nice!

thanks,
lars

I know this is an old thread but I've been pondering the same thing lately. Custom Bellows said they couldn't make one, they said they were only 'tooled up for the normal bellows'.

The Linhof bag bellows is quite a good one, and it works fine with my 90, 115 and 150mm lenses. Clearly it would also be good with shorter lenses, but it will NOT work with a 210mm. My main lenses are 115 and 210, so I do a lot of bellows swapping. Folding the camera with the standard bellows is actually quite easy, but I normally take it off because I never know which bellows I'll need for my next shot.

I'm planning on making a double-pleated wideangle bellows (like the Sinar Bag Bellows 2 or the panfield bellows) that would handle 90-210mm. I'll let you know how it goes.

mortensen
24-May-2011, 12:45
weird that custom bellows aren't up to the task. I thought you should just provide them the frames of a technikardan standard bellows and they could supply anything in between... well, I'm looking forward to see you home-made bellows. It seems you are a strictly Grandagon-N and Sironar-S user, right? Have you ever used the 115 for 5x8"/4x10" dyptychs? The TK's back should be ideal for that kind of work...

GPS
24-May-2011, 14:27
I know this is an old thread but I've been pondering the same thing lately. Custom Bellows said they couldn't make one, they said they were only 'tooled up for the normal bellows'.

...

"Normal" probably in the sense of not being bag bellows?? They can make many unusual dimensions bellows otherwise...

Noah A
24-May-2011, 16:08
"Normal" probably in the sense of not being bag bellows?? They can make many unusual dimensions bellows otherwise...

I had initially contacted them not about a bag bellows, but about a sort of universal bellows. I mentioned the toyo vx125 as an example of what I was looking for--a pleated bellows with perhaps larger pleats and a flexible material that could handle wides with movement and up to a 210mm lens. They said they were tooled up for the standard bellows. I was surprised too, their name implies that they'll make custom products.

They did say they could make a standard pleated bellows with a bag section in front, but they admitted that could lead to sag problems.

So after seeing photos of the panfield camera bellows and listening to some suggestions in another thread on this forum, I came to the conclusion that a double-pleated bag bellows might be the best solution.

Mortensen--Yeah I'm a big fan of the Rodenstock lenses. The 115 Grandagon is an amazing lens that I prefer to the 110xl I formerly used. And the Sironar-S plasmats are just great. Very sharp and beautiful color and tonality. The 115/210 combo works for me much of the time. The 90/4.5 Grandagon is great too, so I use that when the 115 isn't quite enough. I haven't tried any diptychs yet but it could be interesting.