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View Full Version : Bellows leaks - does it need to be zero tolerance?



Vick Ko
6-Sep-2012, 05:49
I tried to seal my Linhof Tech Master bellows a couple nights ago, using liquid shoe polish. It was a "nothing to lose" trial.

Well, it has worked out really well. It looks beautiful, and 99% of the leaks are gone.

I can find tiny pinpoint leaks if I fully extend the bellows, but if I rack it into "using" length, I can't see any leaks.

Is that "good enough"?

Vick

MIke Sherck
6-Sep-2012, 06:03
Most likely, no. Even one pinhole leaking light onto your film will leave its mark. What you can do at this point, though, is wrap your focusing cloth around the bellows after composing and focusing. You need a new bellows but wrapping them is a sometimes serviceable alternative while you're waiting for the new bellows to arrive.

Mike

Frank Petronio
6-Sep-2012, 06:03
Probably for Ottawa, maybe not for Utah. All you can do is shoot and see. Throw the dark cloth over before you draw the dark slide.

I've shot with small light leaks, if you are a Photoshopper you can even retouch them out sometimes. Obviously you don't want them but oftentimes you won't get them unless the bellows is extended and it is very bright. If the leaks are along the seam on the bottom of the bellows - well that is why the seam is on the bottom ;-p

Mark Barendt
6-Sep-2012, 06:05
Having none is better, obviously. Perfection though isn't required.

What you describe would not deter me, I might simply drop my dark cloth over the bellows when done focussing and before I pulled the slide.

I would though be starting my search for a new bellows.

E. von Hoegh
6-Sep-2012, 06:45
I tried to seal my Linhof Tech Master bellows a couple nights ago, using liquid shoe polish. It was a "nothing to lose" trial.

Well, it has worked out really well. It looks beautiful, and 99% of the leaks are gone.

I can find tiny pinpoint leaks if I fully extend the bellows, but if I rack it into "using" length, I can't see any leaks.

Is that "good enough"?

Vick

"Good enough" isn't. Patching a bellows is at best a method of buying time. I'm not familiar with the product you used, however the liquid shoe polishes I have seen and used are far from being suitable for patching bellows. I have patched bellows which had a leak in one corner by cementing a patch cut from very thin glove leather over the damaged corner, while the bellows was minimally extended so the patch would have some slack when the bellows was extended. I used 'Barge' brand contact cement, and the patch has held for quite a few years. But - this bellows had been damaged by mishandling, not worn out.

Vick Ko
6-Sep-2012, 06:56
Okay, thank you all for your experienced advice.

regards
Vick

vinny
6-Sep-2012, 06:57
no. a few holes are always good to let air in and out when folding up/opening the camera.

Richard Wasserman
6-Sep-2012, 06:58
Maybe become a nocturnal photographer?


I wouldn't want to take a chance with pinholes—they will only be a problem on your most important images.

Ivan J. Eberle
6-Sep-2012, 07:41
If you're doing your own processing and can see the results immediately, what fogging damage may be done from (worsening) pinholes could perhaps be limited to a single session of photography. If you're farming it out--where multiple sessions of film accumulate before sending it off--you'd best not have any pinholes.

Bob Salomon
6-Sep-2012, 09:11
The worse part of pin holes and leaks is that once they start you will get more. Patching or taping might be a stop gap but it is not a cure and it does constrict a very flexible bellows like a Linhof one. Replace it and eliminate current and future problems.

E. von Hoegh
6-Sep-2012, 09:12
no. a few holes are always good to let air in and out when folding up/opening the camera.

Silly wabbit. That's what the cut corners on the GG are for.

Zaitz
6-Sep-2012, 09:33
For me it'd be good enough. My C1 had a bunch and I never saw a problem. Draped my big dark cloth over the bellows when the film holder was in. Same with my CC400.

Bill_1856
6-Sep-2012, 10:25
I tried to seal my Linhof Tech Master bellows a couple nights ago, using liquid shoe polish. It was a "nothing to lose" trial.

Well, it has worked out really well. It looks beautiful, and 99% of the leaks are gone.

I can find tiny pinpoint leaks if I fully extend the bellows, but if I rack it into "using" length, I can't see any leaks.

Is that "good enough"?

Vick

Once your Technika bellows starts to go, it will soon explode with light leaks, (probably when you're on a trip or asignment and don't have time to fool with it). Bite the $400 bullet and get it fixed NOW!

vinny
6-Sep-2012, 11:04
Maybe become a nocturnal photographer?


then wouldn't the light leak out of the bellows? that's just as bad. I always keep my darkroom door closed for just that reason.

Vaughn
6-Sep-2012, 11:47
Its the dark that leaks out of the bellows and darkrooms, silly wabbit...

E. von Hoegh
6-Sep-2012, 12:46
Its the dark that leaks out of the bellows and darkrooms, silly wabbit...

Yes. You have to be very careful to weatherstrip the darkroom door. I once slipped in a puddle of dark and fell, badly bruising my coccyx.

jk0592
6-Sep-2012, 17:22
If the leaks are along the seam on the bottom of the bellows - well that is why the seam is on the bottom
As a complete beginner, is there a reason to put the seam in the bottom? Should I rotate the bellows? Will the life of the bellows be shortened if the seam is on top? My 4x5 Cambo bellows has the seam on top...

Frank Petronio
6-Sep-2012, 17:41
If the seam comes undone (very unlikely) then there is more sunlight on the top than the bottom. Especially on a folding camera like his Technika, which has a base underneath the bellows, not very much light would enter from the bottom of the bellows. It's a minor detail but given the choice, why not stack every odd in your favor? Plus it looks neater.

jk0592
6-Sep-2012, 18:30
Another problem solved, my bellows now has the (very faint) seam on the bottom. Things are really getting top notch here, thanks to really good information/experience sharing.

Vick Ko
8-Sep-2012, 20:37
Okay, old bellows are off.

Interesting to explore the guts of a Tech Master.

New bellows will go on another night.

...Vick

fecaleagle
12-Sep-2012, 01:31
Good call on the replacement. I have a 5x7 Agfa View on the way that's going to need replacement bellows. In the meantime, a good substance for patching bellows is called black silicone "gasket maker." It can be purchased from any auto parts store, and it remains pliable when dry. I patched a few pinholes and a minor tear on a junker Anniversary Speed Graphic almost 9 months ago, and it has remained light leak free for now.

Vick Ko
15-Sep-2012, 19:32
Okay, it is now fixed. Very straight-forward job, but plenty of areas to pay attention to, especially in dressing the front of the bellows. The back of the bellows is dead simple but I did end up losing one washer to the god of lost camera parts that possess my kitchen floor.

Craig Roberts
17-Sep-2012, 14:20
I'm in the camp of 0 tolerance for light leaks. The bellows should not leak at all. Craig

Kuzano
17-Sep-2012, 18:17
I'm with the "throw the dark cloth over the bellows crowd". Having never been classified with the Anal Retentive crowd, I take a dim view of perfection. Otherwise, I would have never dated, or probably never married. Requirements like having a wife who cooks well and often, or looks good on my arm have never been high on my list of requirements. So a few pinholes fit my style. Haven't wasted a sheet as far as I know,,, at least not due to too much light from undefined sources.

It's also clear, I would not be invited more than once to any photographic outings from some of the members here. Can you imagine trying to explain to bystanders why I throw my dark cloth forward before pulling the dark slide and clicking the shutter?:confused: