"ecbuyonline" Sinar 8x10 Bellows

[Cletus]

I think I have a bellows light leak in my Sinar F2 8x10. I don't know for sure yet, but there has already been some 'repair' work near the rear mount, so iffy at best.

I've been shopping EBay looking for a replacement and I've dealt with ecbuyonline before (never for bellows) and been pretty happy with them. I have a few questions about this, I hope someone can help:

I understand that for all Sinar's famed interchangeability, the 8x10 bellows for metering and non-metering backs are NOT interchangeable. Can anyone confirm this? What's the difference? I have a metering back on my camera and ecbuyonline's bellows are sold as made for "Sinar P2" and show a photo of their bellows on an 8x10 P2 with a metering back. Surely this would be the same back as my F2?

Also, I emailed them and they told me the max extension for the 'normal' bellows is 700mm. Does this sound about right? I don't imagine I'll ever use anything much longer the a 450 (or maybe an APO Ronar 600?) but I do often do close-ups with a lot of bellows extension. Would it be advisable to look into the extra long bellows, or should 700mm be versatile enough for most uses?

Last question - has anyone ever seen ecbuyonline's bellows, or owned a set? Are they of decent construction and reasonably durable? How do you think they compare to OEM (Sinar) bellows for this camera?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I'd hate to go through what promises to be a lengthy ordering process, only to learn on delivery that these aftermarket bellows won't be suitable. Thanks for your advice!

[RichardSperry]

What's lengthy about the purchase process?

Click buy it now, then pay. (I would assume).

[Bob Salomon]

Why not call Sinar and ask them?

[Cletus]

I figured there were enough Sinar users here that someone could tell me the difference between meter back and non meter back 8x10 bellows. Or maybe this is just a myth and I got bad info.

Leigh? Rick?

[Cor]

..not for a Sinar, but the one I got from them for my Technika IV is thus far excellent, the material looks very sturdy ( I can only assume they use the same stuff for Sinar bellows)

Best,

Cor

[Peter De Smidt]

The bellows for metering back and non-metering back Sinar cameras are not the same.

[genotypewriter]

Last question - has anyone ever seen ecbuyonline's bellows, or owned a set? Are they of decent construction and reasonably durable? How do you think they compare to OEM (Sinar) bellows for this camera?

I got two for my 8x10 Linhof Kardan. The quality is not worse than what I have on my Chamonix 8x10. They're not going to win awards for finish but they do the job just as good as anything else.

Also the seller is a nice guy. No issues there.

[B.S.Kumar]

I'm also interested in the quality of the "ecbuyonline" bellows, though for a 4x5. Cor and genotypewriter, can you comment on the construction? Does it look like a single-layer synthetic material, or a conventional three-layer construction? Is it as flexible as the original? Thicker or thinner than the original?

Kumar

[Cletus]

Kumar - That's a good question - On my current Sinar 8x10 standard bellows, there is enough flexibility for pretty full movements, while focused at infinity for my 210 lens, which is fairly wide on 8x10.

I don't plan on going any wider with this format and I certainly don't plan to buy an additional bag bellows either! 4x5 is another story, I have to use a bag bellows on my Sinar F2 4x5 to get any rise or shift using 125mm or less. The 8x10 standard bellows seem to tolerate quite a bit more movement with short lenses. I hope the ecbuyonline bellows are as flexible as my current leaky Sinar ones!

[Amedeus]

I figured there were enough Sinar users here that someone could tell me the difference between meter back and non meter back 8x10 bellows. Or maybe this is just a myth and I got bad info.

Leigh? Rick?

The bellows for a metered and regular 8x10 Sinar back are different. The standards for a metered and normal 8x10 back are different too. Reducing backs and some accesories for metered and regular Sinar 8x10 backs are different also due to the different frame size

Don't have my backs in front of me but I can provide frame dimensions if needed