Hello! New here, requesting help with camera

[sharktooth]

The bellows in your Master Technika have the "dreaded zebra cracks". Linhof bellows from the 70's were prone to this type of cracking, but it may take many years to happen. It seems to be a function of the right (wrong) mix of temperature and humidity. The outer bellows leather cracks or splits, and exposes the white stiffener material. In any case, the bellows will have light leaks that are not repairable. The whole bellows will need to be replaced. You can buy replacement bellows from eBay made in China, or from Custom Bellows in the U.K.. You'll also need to pay a repair tech to actually replace the bellows, if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.

[Ol Burns]

The bellows in your Master Technika have the "dreaded zebra cracks". Linhof bellows from the 70's were prone to this type of cracking, but it may take many years to happen. It seems to be a function of the right (wrong) mix of temperature and humidity. The outer bellows leather cracks or splits, and exposes the white stiffener material. In any case, the bellows will have light leaks that are not repairable. The whole bellows will need to be replaced. You can buy replacement bellows from eBay made in China, or from Custom Bellows in the U.K.. You'll also need to pay a repair tech to actually replace the bellows, if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.

I just watched the motion-lapse video of the bellow change on YouTube and I'm quite confident I could get through it without issue. I'm a luthiers by trade so hand coordination and tool skills are something I'm very adapt at.
The question seems to be, as you've eluded to; where to get the bellows. One video I've watched has someone insisting on Linhof bellows. I came across eTone, which Google tells me are Chinese made and have mixed results. Custom Bellows is a name I've ran across a few times in the last week or so. And I see a place offering replacement with genuine Linhof as well as some tinkering of alignment for about $300usd. I'll have to keep reading up on that.

I'm wondering, can someone explain the Technika-Flex to me? I'm having a bit of trouble with Google on what exactly it is...

Thanks,
Doc

EDIT - nevermind about the Technika-Flex, I guess it's meant to convert (in a way) to a twin-lens reflex setup

[sharktooth]

I've had good luck buying Linhof compatible bellows from ecbuyonline2008 on eBay. They are based in China and are quite inexpensive. They're not as thin as the "real" Linhof" bellows, but they do the job. I found out about them on this site, so search for bellows replacement here. Custom Bellows in the U.K. also has a very good reputation from people on this site, and I think they actually make the bellows for Linhof. They're more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I think Laflex is the official Linhof repair place in the U.S., and they will likely have replacement bellows, but I think you have to send the camera to them to do the replacement.

Linhof in Germany also sells replacement Technika bellows, and they were are 226 Euros from the latest 2023 price list. What I don't know is how you can actually purchase one from them when you're outside the EU.

[David Lindquist]

And I see a place offering replacement with genuine Linhof as well as some tinkering of alignment for about $300usd. I'll have to keep reading up on that.


Doc

Guessing you mean Laflex: http://www.laflexcamera.com

I sent my Master Technika 3000 there for a bellows replacement plus a general going-over a year ago. He (Austin) is an official Linhof repair place; Laflex is shown as such on Linhof's website, so he could probably also replace your slide buttons if you wanted. He gets his genuine Linhof bellows directly from Linhof so they cost him (and us) a lot less than if he got them from the US distributor for Linhof. As you can see he won't sell you a bellows so that you can do it yourself. I don't know if you as an individual could buy one directly from Linhof. (I see sharktooth already commented about this). Possibly Linhof Studio in England could get you one.

I have the aluminum case Rox made for Linhof for the Technika, I like it a lot. Unfortunately Linhof no longer offers it.

BTW that three-way tripod head you show in the last two pics in post #14 is considered quite desirable. I have one (bought used).

David

[Jim C.]

In post #14 the three armed base with a center hole and bolt circle looks like
the base of a studio stand, did he give you the column and cross arm ?

That's quite a haul of Linhof stuff !

[Daniel Unkefer]

Ooooooo You have a Technikaflex! That's RARE and I'll bet it's complete. Turns the Technika into a twin lens 4x5. Uses twin matched pair lenses. Good for speedy shooting

[Ol Burns]

Guessing you mean Laflex: http://www.laflexcamera.com

I sent my Master Technika 3000 there for a bellows replacement plus a general going-over a year ago. He (Austin) is an official Linhof repair place; Laflex is shown as such on Linhof's website, so he could probably also replace your slide buttons if you wanted. He gets his genuine Linhof bellows directly from Linhof so they cost him (and us) a lot less than if he got them from the US distributor for Linhof. As you can see he won't sell you a bellows so that you can do it yourself. I don't know if you as an individual could buy one directly from Linhof. (I see sharktooth already commented about this). Possibly Linhof Studio in England could get you one.

I have the aluminum case Rox made for Linhof for the Technika, I like it a lot. Unfortunately Linhof no longer offers it.

BTW that three-way tripod head you show in the last two pics in post #14 is considered quite desirable. I have one (bought used).

David

Yes! LaFlex is the shop offering the re-bellowing+. For $300, I may just consider it. Thank-you.
That tripod is the one I thought would be the appropriate mate for the Master Technika. The very small one is quite robust as well. I'm putting it to use with my simple DSLR.

Doc

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Ol Burns]

In post #14 the three armed base with a center hole and bolt circle looks like
the base of a studio stand, did he give you the column and cross arm ?

That's quite a haul of Linhof stuff !

Oops, I forgot a photo. Yes, that's the enormous thing I don't know what to do with. I'm pretty certain I have all the stuff for it.

Doc

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Ol Burns]

Ooooooo You have a Technikaflex! That's RARE and I'll bet it's complete. Turns the Technika into a twin lens 4x5. Uses twin matched pair lenses.

Yes! I finally figured it out with Google. My friend has so many catalogs and other flyers etc that I wasn't exactly sure what I had among the items. I *think* all of the Technika-Flex is there. I'll go over the manual and various pieces to match things up soon.

Doc

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Daniel Unkefer]

Oops, I forgot a photo. Yes, that's the enormous thing I don't know what to do with. I'm pretty certain I have all the stuff for it.

Doc

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

That's a Studio Camera Stand. Every studio needs a good camera stand. I see you have the base section above ^^^