Folding it away between shots??

[612tom]

I remove the lens from my folding camera and carry it folded on longer hikes or whilst flying. However once on location with it unfolded and set up with the lens attached, I'm tempted to just place it in a bag (albeit a large one), and carry short distances unfolded. I can rack the standards close to each other to compact the bellows and reduce the amount of bellows wobblying around or open to damage.

Anyone else do the same? Or am I just being lazy with the 2 minutes it takes to set up?!

Cheers

[SMBooth]

Depends on how far Im walking, if I know the next shot I was looking at was only 100m then its (4x5) stays on the tripod. If Im not sure whats next then it get folded up.

[dsphotog]

Leave it ready to shoot....
It's a sure bet that in 2 minutes "the amazing light" will disappear.

[ic-racer]

My Horseman FA 4x5 is small enough that it stays opened up with lens mounted and ready to go in the bag.

[RichardRitter]

How soon do you want to change the bellows? The folding and unfolding of the bellow wear the bellows out faster. Think of the bellows as a paper clip that you keep bending in the same spot until it beaks. The bellows material acts the same way just take longer for it to happen. And it will probably happen when you go to take that once in a life time photo a pin hole will developed .

[cjbroadbent]

An Ebony SW45 (http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/main.SW45.html) never folds and is always ready to shoot.

[Frank Petronio]

Oftentimes I will throw my little kid out of her booster seat and cradle the open camera in her seat instead.

[Richard Wasserman]

Oftentimes I will throw my little kid out of her booster seat and cradle the open camera in her seat instead.

Frank, do you at least put your daughter in a bag? A Crumpler would work well I think, they have a good amount of padding and come in many sizes...

[BetterSense]

How soon do you want to change the bellows? The folding and unfolding of the bellow wear the bellows out faster.

Using the shutter will wear it out faster. Sliding film holders in the back will wear the finish off the back. Adjusting your tripod head will wear the surfaces and risk stripping the threads.

It's preposterous to worry about wearing out a bellows IMO. The function of a bellows is to extend and compress. If you are worried about wearing out your bellows I think it's time for a new bellows.

[GPS]

...

Anyone else do the same? ...
Cheers

Never cared about them...:)

[neil poulsen]

I keep my outfit in a backpack. If I carry the camera short distances, I do so with it mounted on the tripod. Otherwise, I put it away. For one thing, I use foam rubber in my backpack and have holes cut for each lens, etc. If anything's missing, it's obvious. So, it's advantageous to stow the camera as I move from one place another.

I remember carrying the standard bellows for my camera separately for a period of time. Well, I live in the Pacific N.W., and that bellows is somewhere in New England.

[Michael Graves]

Oftentimes I will throw my little kid out of her booster seat and cradle the open camera in her seat instead.

That shows an amazing lack of long-term thinking on your part, Frank. Is that camera going to be able to take care of you in your old age? Make the wife ride in the luggage carrier instead.

[Ed Richards]

I mostly carry my Ebony 45SU on the tripod. For a long haul, or climbing on rocks or the like, it goes back in the pack. Until recently I left the lens on, but I found that I then tended to take all my shots with that one lens. I have started taking the lens off, so that I have to choose a lens for each setup. Now I need a blank technika board to keep crap out of the camera.:-(

[Vaughn]

Ed -- I found the same thing happening when I had the camera set up in one orientation...I tended to see in that orientation after awhile. if one was to work in the same general area for three days, it might be interesting in having a "normal" day, a "wide" day and a "long" day, and just take one lens out for the whole day -- then compare images from all 3 days.

My 4x5 is so light that I hardly notice it on the pod -- about 2.5 pounds with the 50mm on it. I have a stuff sack that goes over it while it is on the pod -- protects it more from branches, dust, etc.

That said, when I was in NZ for 6 months, I tended to put the 4x5 back in the pack unless I was just moving a short distance. The cost of getting to NZ was too great to risk damaging the one piece of equipment that was instramental to the journey (I had only one lens, too). I carried an extra GG in a film box and a pinhole on a matboard lensboard as emergency back-ups.

Generally, I am on very uneven ground, in thick brush, around sharp rocks and thorns, and all that sort of stuff, so the camera is always at risk. I rarely move the 8x10 around on the pod.

Vaughn

[Drew Bedo]

This is why I miss my old Burk and James. The bed rails folded uo to protect the lens. I carried it mounted on the tripod for short distances. The lens stayed mounted when folded up and removed from the tripod . . .but it was heavy. Now I use a petite Wista model Zone VI. The lens must come off to fold down the camera,on or off the tripod.