Source for Linhof Kardan 4x5 bellows end frames

[Tommi Kähärä]

I would like to make a bag bellows for my Linhof camera and I have a used bellows of a different brand (Sinar). Now I need kardan 4x5 type bellows end frames / attaching parts. There must be some out there because I would imagine that there are plenty of worn out standard bellows that cannot be repaired. So my question is: does anyone know a place to get these or does someone have an extra pair that hasn´t ended up in a trash can? I have tried every resource here in Finland with no luck.

Tommi Kähärä, dummy@stupor.fi

[Michael Heinrich]

On German Ebay you can find sometimes bellows for the Kardan System and they are quiet cheap, so I think its to complicate to do it yourself.

In Munich you also can get it also in secondhandcamerashops, but its far from Finland

Greetings

Michael Heinrich

[Bob Salomon]

It would be far easier to try to find a used bellows that is not in throw-away condition.

However there is more then 1 type of frame for Kardan cameras and they are not interchangeable. The bellows for a GTL, GT, M, E, SC won't fit some of the lower end Kardan cameras. They had a different mount. And none of them would fit the original Kardan. What model camera do you have?

[Tommi Kähärä]

My camera model is Kardan master GTL. A new bag bellows for this model costs about 450 euros. I think it would not be so hard to glue the Linhof attaching parts to the Sinar bellows I already have. I have super-angulon xl 58 and even with the recessed lens board I can't focus to infinity without a bag bellows. Trying to find a good used original bag bellows is quite hopeless here in Finland and the official finnish importer of Linhof hasn't been very helpful, they naturally want me to buy a new one... They didn't even say/find out if I could order those frames as spare parts.

[Bob Salomon]

"They didn't even say/find out if I could order those frames as spare parts."

You can't. The bellows is only available as a complete assembly.

However it is a very inexpensive accessory compared to the cost of a GTL camera.

Have you checked how close the size of the Sinar bellows is to the size of the GTL standards? It would not be a surprise to find that the openings of the 2 cameras are different sizes.

Out of curiosity, why not sell the Sinar WA bellows and buy the Linhof bellows? That would certainly reduce the cost of the bellows.