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View Full Version : Bellows Replacement Sources, 2012



Bill_1856
29-Jun-2012, 11:54
Prices quoted for my Whole Plate Gandolfi. I presume that 4x5 and 5x7 would be less, 8x10 more. buyitjnow asked for bellows measurements, all others required the frames from the camera. S+H are extra. Everyone responded promptly and professionally.

buyitjnow, $95,
(Chinese, contact through their eBay listings).

Jim Ormond, $180,
7454 Henbane St.
Etiwanda, Ca, 91739.
jwormond@yahoo.com,
(909)- 980-0606.

Sandeha Lynch, GB £140 ($217)
4 Davies Road
Pontardawe
Swansea
SA8 4PH
UK
(member of this forum)
http://www.sandehalynch.com/isolette.htm

Custom Bellows Ltd, BP 180, ($280)
Unit 26 Camphill Industrial Estate, John Kempe Way
Highgate. Birmingham B12 OHU. England
Tel; 0121 766 7919
Website www.custombellows.co.uk

Turner Bellows ($350)
Rochester, NY,
Sales@turnerbellows.com

I received an excellent job from Jim Ormand, and can recommend his work. (I think he also lists as "Western Bellows Co.")

Joseph Dickerson
29-Jun-2012, 16:29
I posted a while back about problems I was having with a Chinese bellows I ordered for my Sinar. Service was great, good communication, prompt shipping, it's just that the bellows leak light like crazy. Same problem with the replacement they sent me. I finally had to get a refund. I was bummed as the bellows looked great and was considerably more flexible than the Sinar bellows.

I'd stay away from aftermarket Chinese bellows.

JD

Cor
30-Jun-2012, 08:04
Thus far I am quite happy with the bellows for my Tech IV I bought from http://www.ecbuystore.net/ (also present on Ebay). No light leaks, even not with IR film although he wouldn't guarantee that (I guess he did not want to be blamed).

Cannot say how long they last, but for the price of an official bellows from Linhof one can buy many of these..

I have no affiliation with him, he responds swift, shipping is slow, but goods are as described..I guess one cannot club all Chinese bellows together..

Best,


Cor

Bill_1856
30-Jun-2012, 09:35
I posted this because when trying to replace my old bellows I had difficulty finding suppliers who were still in business. These were the ones who responded to my queries. I'm sure there must be others out there.

Ramiro Elena
3-Jul-2012, 11:30
I received mine from ecbuystore this morning and I am in the process of fitting the frames. The smell is terrible and they look a bit shorter than the original otherwise look great. I paid 150€ ($185) for the Eastman View nş2 8x10, free shipping.
It got here in 8 days.

mdm
3-Jul-2012, 13:09
I am very happy with my bellows from ecbuyonline on ebay. Custom made 1m long for an 11x14, no sag, plenty of extension, compact, not identical to the original. No smell other than normal glue. USD250 I think. They will fit them to your frames if you want, not for free, just ask. The idea that something should cost more because it is made in America is just plain dumb.

Joseph Dickerson
4-Jul-2012, 15:43
OK...after all the positive comments about ecbuyonline I got concerned about my problems with the same supplier. On closer inspection, the old light inside the bellows trick, I found that the fault was mine.

I hadn't sealed the bellows completely where the plastic frames (Sinar) fit to the bellows. I'll redo it tomorrow and retest. :p

As nice as Rudy is to deal with, I'm really happy that the problem appears to be my fault.

JD

Ramiro Elena
5-Jul-2012, 00:15
Joseph did you notice a strong smell of petrol or some sort of solvent with yours? I had that same problem you had and went on shooting for a whole year without noticing. Light leaks were unbelieveable.

jb7
5-Jul-2012, 01:56
I am very happy with my bellows from ecbuyonline on ebay. Custom made 1m long for an 11x14, no sag, plenty of extension, compact, not identical to the original. No smell other than normal glue. USD250 I think. They will fit them to your frames if you want, not for free, just ask. The idea that something should cost more because it is made in America is just plain dumb.

Sounds pretty positive-
I might need something like this soon- can you tell me how small they compress between frames? Do you know if they're good for IR? Can you describe the material, what it's like? Cloth? Thorlabs fabric? Changing bag fabric? Leatherette? I've made bellows myself, but I dread having to make another set, and if I can get an acceptable set at this price, it would make a lot of sense...

Ramiro, a solvent smell shouldn't hang around for a year, should it?

mdm
5-Jul-2012, 03:10
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?91004-Chinese-Bellows-and-IR-film&highlight=ecbuyonline
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?90746-What-to-use-to-mount-bellows-%28Linhof-Technika-III-V5%29

They fold pretty slim, I can rack the front standard and the rear standard on my Korona right against each other and there is plenty give yet. Black 3M fabric with very tough to cut yellow stuff between. No smell other than a faint glue smell, I checked. They sent a small roll of adhesive tape to use in mounting or to patch, yes I put a staple through them, watch where you aim the staple gun. If you have a mahogany frame you will need a gun that takes heavy duty staples or they crumple. Stuck it together with double sided tape and then zapped it on tight with the gun. They have some installation videos to help, see the second link above.

jb7
5-Jul-2012, 10:54
Thank you- will have a look at those videos in a bit- but- I don't know the Corona- how close together can you position the standards? Thanks for the review-

Ramiro Elena
5-Jul-2012, 11:42
David, are those videos from ecbuystore? I'd like to see one for the Kodak 2D, mounting the frames seems trickier than I though.
Joseph, I'll photograph both the new bellows from ecbuystore and the original from the Eastman View side by side tomorrow. They're pretty much 1/4 of the original.
Rudy says he can do any length. I should have asked for a longer set, mine are only 50cm.

mdm
5-Jul-2012, 17:17
I thought mine were wrong, Rudy gave me the link to those videos to show me how they fit together. They were not the same as the originals for me, with a box section at the back and narrower at the front end, but much longer overall and in fact more compact than the originals. It is painstaking work putting them on but probably easier for a 2D than the video. I looked at my 2D and the bellows attach the same as my corona so if you think carefuly and watch the video before you start you shoud be fine. I did mine in an evening but spent a few days thinking and working it all out first. 50cm seems ok for off the shelf bellows, that should do a 360 at portrait distance maybe. My 11x14 has 1m extension max with extension rail and my 5x7 2D has 60cm max with extension rail but the original bellows only manage 50cm. If you are unhappy, send them back and maybe ask for a longer custom set, you could even send your frames and ask them to fit the new bellows, that would be a lot less expensive than buying a elsewhere. Once you have cut anything though, you are stuck with them.

mdm
5-Jul-2012, 17:45
Here is mine, first the original then the new one. I thought the didnt fit but I was being an idiot. Notice how the front of the new bellows attatch inside the front frame rather than outside like the old ones, so the pleats intrude on 2 sides, this is a big lens board so no problem for me. There is a cleat that the front frame must fit over when you attatch them so, because of the fabric going through the inside its a tight fit, but it makes the front 100% lightight as there is a layer of fabric clamped between the front standard and the front of the frame. Mark the top and bottom and maybe front of each frame so they go on the same way they came off.
76704 76705 76706 76707

mdm
5-Jul-2012, 17:48
Here is the beast with the bellows fitted and some details. Last one is at infinity focus for a 14 inc lens. I am pretty happy with theese bellows, I got a good 11x14 with 2 film holders for a very good price as a result and its a new world now.
76708 76709 76710 76711

Ramiro Elena
6-Jul-2012, 00:19
That's right David, the bellows in the 2D wrap around the frame. I am such an idiot, the 85-100cm version is only $15 more! I assumed it was twice the price of the 50cm and didn't even ask.


If you are unhappy, send them back and maybe ask for a longer custom set, you could even send your frames and ask them to fit the new bellows, that would be a lot less expensive than buying a elsewhere. Once you have cut anything though, you are stuck with them.

That's exactly what I was thinking...

Joseph Dickerson
6-Jul-2012, 08:34
Joseph did you notice a strong smell of petrol or some sort of solvent with yours? I had that same problem you had and went on shooting for a whole year without noticing. Light leaks were unbelieveable.

I didn't notice any odor at all with mine. I have resealed the light leaks with a marine caulk (3M 5200 marine caulk/sealant) but can't test yet as it takes 48 hours for the stuff to set. I have used Plio Bond (first time) and E-6000, both with less than stellar results.

Getting a complete light-tight seal is a bear with the Sinar frames. I replaced a Deardorff bellows years ago and it was super simple by comparison.

Fortunately, I tested with the last of my Polaroid T-52 before shooting anything serious. I really hope this works out, as the bellows from ecbuyonline is really nice and adds to the versatility of the Sinar. Plus Rudy is really nice to deal with.

JD

jb7
6-Jul-2012, 08:52
Thanks for the extra information- Ramiro, look forward to your pictures-

David, those bellows look double tapered? Presumably that's the only way to get large bellows a meter long? It's a desirable feature anyway...

The pictures don't really show how compact they fold, since they're taken from above- I'd quite like to get a set like yours that would compress to less than two inches, do you reckon yours would do that? Thanks for all the reviews-

Ramiro Elena
6-Jul-2012, 09:02
76745

Joseph, mine are 50cm long and compress to less than 1 inch.

Joseph Dickerson
6-Jul-2012, 09:10
The one I got is similar to the Ebony/Chamonix Universal bellows. The first (lens end) couple of pleats are loose so it works like a bag bellows with short lenses and a regular bellows with longer focal lengths.

It's really a cool design and, like yours, much more compact than the standard Sinar bellows.


Now if I can just solve the light leaks.

JD

David Karp
6-Jul-2012, 11:38
Jim Ormand made a beautiful bellows for my WP camera. Very satisfied.

mdm
6-Jul-2012, 13:31
The pictures don't really show how compact they fold, since they're taken from above- I'd quite like to get a set like yours that would compress to less than two inches, do you reckon yours would do that? Thanks for all the reviews-

No problem, maybe even 1 inch or slightly more.

jb7
6-Jul-2012, 14:18
No problem, maybe even 1 inch or slightly more.

Thanks David, thanks Ramiro, very useful information- and thanks for the picture, shows your judgement to be very even-handed...

So, light leaks- I presume that the leaks are at the junction of the fabric and the frames, and that the integrity of the bellows themselves is not compromised? I know it's difficult to predict with new bellows, but old bellows often fail on the exposed corners- is there any possibility that this might be a weak area? Especially since they must be relatively light weight to fold so small-

And one last thing- your pleats look like they might be about an inch wide or so- maybe more? Mine will need to be 20-22mm, so I'm guessing that I might use up the rest of my two inch tolerance with that specification- perhaps even increase the price quite a bit-

Again, thanks all for the useful info...

Ramiro Elena
6-Aug-2012, 12:49
I am getting ready to go into action with this when I noticed some kind of black tape is used in the last video of the Deardorf installation (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4954627/Deardorff_8x10_bellows_installation_guide%206.flv).

Anyone know what kind it might be? I am also trying to decide if I will use double sided tape like in the video or plain rubber cement.

mdm
6-Aug-2012, 18:10
I didnt use any on mine, Ramiro.

Ramiro Elena
7-Aug-2012, 02:41
Thanks David. I am probably making this more complicated than it actually is but I would hate to have to go backwards and re-do things.