PDA

View Full Version : Where can I buy bellows frames?



henseman
18-Sep-2012, 14:29
I've just ordered a used 30" rail for my Cambo SCII and I'm looking for someone to put me in the right spot to get a pair of bellows frames for a 30" bellows that I want to order.

If anyone has a set or knows where I can get them, please pass it along to me.

Thanks,
Brian

Dan Fromm
18-Sep-2012, 14:45
Take them from a shorter Cambo bellows.

Graybeard
18-Sep-2012, 14:46
I've just ordered a used 30" rail for my Cambo SCII and I'm looking for someone to put me in the right spot to get a pair of bellows frames for a 30" bellows that I want to order.

If anyone has a set or knows where I can get them, please pass it along to me.

Thanks,
Brian

I've had good luck with Jim Ormond at Western bellows (jwormond@yahoo.com).

He is primarily a bellows fabricator but also furnished to me installed frames on a replacement bellows for a Korona. He provided a bellows with frames when Turner Bellows was unable to provide the frames and frankly, didn't seem very interested in the job . I sent the entire camera to him and it was returned to me ready-for-use.

From my telephone converations with him, me seems familiar with special requirements for the bellows on many specific cameras (read, for example, the double taper on some Deardorff V8 bellows).

Be aware that he is an artisan craftsman and may take some time to reply to an inquiry. I've found his work to be first rate and his prices competitive.

Marc B.
27-Sep-2012, 07:46
There was also an available center standard...it's a bellows-coupling standard, available from Cambo.
It lets you put two bellows, in-tandem, for the extra length.
Using this 'middle' standard, you end up with two separate bellows, and three standards on the rail;
the film standard, center standard, and lens standard.
Depending on your available bellows, you could use two standard pleated bellows,
or a normal pleated bellows and your bag bellows.

Marc

Steven Tribe
28-Sep-2012, 03:12
I added a 90cm rail to a Cambo set (Master) and choose the solution of an intermediate standard, using 2x standard bellows (Marc B's suggestion).
No sag here!

neil poulsen
28-Sep-2012, 08:35
Custom Bellows (www.custombellows.co.uk) is very good. They've made two bellows for my old style Arca-Swiss.

Be sure that you can pay them with a credit card, which automatically takes care of the currency exchange.

henseman
31-Oct-2012, 15:44
Hi,

Can I get away with using either a front or rear standard as an intermediate standard and use two standard bellows? Those intermediate standards are waaaaayyyyy over priced. BTW, what are the differences between the front & back standards on the Cambo SCII?

Brian

Dan Fromm
31-Oct-2012, 16:53
Hi,

Can I get away with using either a front or rear standard as an intermediate standard and use two standard bellows? Those intermediate standards are waaaaayyyyy over priced. BTW, what are the differences between the front & back standards on the Cambo SCII?

Brian

Yes. I take it that you priced a 30" bellows and flinched.

None. They interchange freely. Cambo made an intermediate bellows for the SC2 that lacked movements. They're much less common than standards with movements.

I have what started out to be a 2x3 "Bertha" (long lens SLR built around a Graflex and, in my case, a Cambo SC1) and ended up as a long lens SC1. It contains three standards and, depending on the lens' focal length, a standard bellows; a standard and a bag bellows; a standard bellows and an extension tube.

henseman
1-Nov-2012, 01:11
Hi Dan,

Thank you for your reply. Yes I did price a bellows, but managed to buy a 30" here and I went and bought a (can't remember-front or rear) standard.The 30" tend to sag a fair bit, so I have 2 standard bellows to use. I am considering buying a set of cambo bellows support, but can't seem to find out if they work or not. I also looked online for the Intermediate Standard, and got blown away by the price. What focal length lens can use the maximum bellows extension of the 30" bellows?

I now have to find a machinist that can drill my lensboard out for a Compur 2 shutter. I'd like to find a retaining ring to fit, but I'm not sure of the specs of it. The lens is a Schneider Kreuznach Symmar f: 5.6 240mm/ f:12 420mm convertible that I have flange-mounted on my B & J 5x7. Would you know where I might pick a retaining ring up for it or should I use a flange on the SCII lensboard?

Brian

Dan Fromm
1-Nov-2012, 03:55
Brian, 30" bellows will let you focus a 30" lens a little through infinity. Remember that the standards (front, middle, rear) add a little extension and that the rotating back, if that's what you have, does too.

Support? I haven't looked either place but KEH recently had one and Glenn Evans (glennview.com) may still have a couple. I haven't used one but see no reason why they shouldn't perform as intended.

Machinist? I use skgrimes, who drill boards and make and sell flanges and retaining rings. FWIW, the Cambo board that you should be able to use a flange (behind the board, of course) as a retaining ring. Downside is that flanges don't have centering lips so you'll have to center the lens in the hole manually. There are worse punishments.