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Thread: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

  1. #1

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    Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Can you use an enlarger bellows for a camera bellows?
    Will an enlarger bellows sag if it's horizontal?
    Thanks, Jacob

  2. #2
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jfnphotography View Post
    Will an enlarger bellows sag if it's horizontal?
    Thanks, Jacob
    This one sat in that position from 1988 to 2008 so yes they can sag. Now that I have had the enlarger vertical for a few years the bellows still has a little curve to it.

  3. #3
    Joanna Carter's Avatar
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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Even dedicated camera bellows sag.
    Joanna Carter
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  4. #4
    IanG's Avatar
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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Not all bellows sag, some it's insignificant others terrible. I used a Johnsons enlarger horizontally for years with no bellows say.

    So it'll depend entirely on how the bellows are made.

    Ian

  5. #5

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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jfnphotography View Post
    Can you use an enlarger bellows for a camera bellows?
    Will an enlarger bellows sag if it's horizontal?
    Thanks, Jacob
    The only requirement is that they be light-tight. Check this by extending the bellows and placing a light source inside the bellows in a darkened room. If they look like a planetarium, you might not want to use them.

    Any bellows can sag. You should see my 8x10.......
    One man's Mede is another man's Persian.

  6. #6
    Deardorff Sales and service
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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Sometime around 1940 Merle Deardorff redesigned how bellows were made. The secret is in the spacing of the ribs and how the inner and outer liners adhere in that gap. The gap tapers a bit to provide some compression to force the bellow up. This was done on the side panels only. If this was a bellows for an 8x10 there could be 4 different width side ribs. The taper might be just a 1/16 inch. That was enough to force it up. Now was this done on every bellow? No. It is very time consuming to cut the ribs like that.
    And there was a constant change of fabric. It was originally done for leather. A completely different weight rib was used for the Naugahyde bellow and for each bellow they made. Of the hundreds of Deardorffs I've restored I'm thinking less than 10percent were built this way. Cameras going to the government seem to have them and some special photographers got them. And they pinhole just like any other bellow.
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  7. #7

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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jfnphotography View Post
    Can you use an enlarger bellows for a camera bellows?
    Will an enlarger bellows sag if it's horizontal?
    Thanks, Jacob
    The use depends on your camera (lens focal length you want it for) and the bellows material (thickness, flexibility). Sag? There is at least 100 ways how to easily deal with bellows sag.

  8. #8

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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    I'm picking up an 8x10 enlarger for parts so I'm going to check the bellows and see if it will fit an 8x10 camera I just received. The 8x10 has a bag bellows on it now; looks home made and sag a lot. The camera is a B&J so I don’t want to spend the money on a new bellows. The new bellows would cost more then what the camera is worth.

    Thanks for all your help. Jacob

  9. #9

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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    In all this possibly the biggest difference will be the respective length of the two bellows. The enlarger bellows could be shorter, it seems.

  10. #10

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    Re: Enlarger bellows for camera bellows?

    Quote Originally Posted by GPS View Post
    In all this possibly the biggest difference will be the respective length of the two bellows. The enlarger bellows could be shorter, it seems.
    Also in the ability to be able to allow full movements. Very few enlargers had any movement other then, perhaps, a tiltiting or/and sliding lens stage. Other then enlargers used for rectification printing.

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