Long Bellows - Why?

[Rafael Garcia]

Just bought my 4th old LFcamera, a 4x5 Korona I with full movements front and tilt/swing back. Like my other Korona in 5x7 I got the rear extension, so that my bellows can stretch about a mile.

My Asanuma King I extends about 3/4 of a mile on it's triple extension.

Now, what possible use does the heroic length of these bellows have? I would have to mount a telescope on the cameras to use that much extension, something like a 900 mm lens! Does anyone do this? What was the purpose of so much bellows lenght? Am I missing something obvious here?

[jnantz]

Just bought my 4th old LFcamera, a 4x5 Korona I with full movements front and tilt/swing back. Like my other Korona in 5x7 I got the rear extension, so that my bellows can stretch about a mile.

My Asanuma King I extends about 3/4 of a mile on it's triple extension.

Now, what possible use does the heroic length of these bellows have? I would have to mount a telescope on the cameras to use that much extension, something like a 900 mm lens! Does anyone do this? What was the purpose of so much bellows lenght? Am I missing something obvious here?

hi rafael

i guess it is always better to have too much bellows than too little.



john

[David A. Goldfarb]

Long lenses and close up work.

[Walter Calahan]

Well if you owned a Nikkor 1200-mm . . .

[stompyq]

4x5 wildlife photography with a modified telescope perhaps?

[Robert Oliver]

close up shots of products and head and shoulder portraiture....

[Eric Woodbury]

WHY don't you post a better, more discriptive title?

[Ed K.]

Hmmm, in LF, a long bellows is like a man having a long "third member" - usually more of an asset than a detrement, that's for sure. Hope this thread is not a troll.

If the camera is rigid at full extension, what a joy to be able to use longer lenses, and also as said, do portraits with those longer lenses too.

The TED 1200 needs about 800mm or so, and that stretches my Deardorff a bit tight - at infinity! I had to build an extension box for it for more comfortable work, and better balance without racking the camera out all the way. Extension boxes are very handy for this, because most cameras are more solid when not racked out to the max.

Be grateful for what you have, and remember, it's how you use it that counts!

[phil sweeney]

pickup a 7 x 17 korona and you will wish the bellows is longer!

[r,l, Vigurs]

I have a Korona 4x5, and I love it. I have the rear rail extension,although I rarely use it. If I want an extreme closeup using my 300mm Dagor, it becomes neccesary. I tend to shoot landscapes however, and my problem was not extreme extension, but instead bringing the front standard close enough to the ground glass to facilitate using a 90mm Super-Angulon. I had to make a wooden recessed lens board to do this. I replaced the bellows two days ago, and now have room to play with at infinity.