If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Sagging Bellows On Deardorff 8x10
I recently purchased a Deardorff 8x10 camera that has a new bellows
installed. I discovered that with a 400mm lens on the camera, the lens panel raised to its top position, the camera tilted up about 15 degrees to include the top of a building in the photograph, and the lens and back brought to vertical postions parallel to the front of the building, the bellows sags quite severely and gets in the way of the photograph. I lose about an inch of the photograph at the bottom of the photograph (top of the negative). The sag is pretty much in the middle of the bellows. If I use my hand to push the bellows up from the bottom the problem is reduced but not eliminated (I still lose about a half inch of the photograph). Is this something other Deardorff users experience? I used to own another Deardorff camera with a much heavier bellows material than this one and never encountered a sagging bellows problem though I'm not sure I ever used it in this configuration with a lens this long. I know there are workarounds to sagging bellows but none that I've seen have ever been very appealing to me. At this point I can return the camera but I don't want to do that if the problem is one I would encounter with any other Deardorff and any other bellows material. I'm not sure what the material of this one is, it feels very light, soft, and pliable so it may be leather. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Sagging Bellows On Deardorff 8x10
Worked in a catalog studio where all the cameras were 8X10 and 11X14
Deardorffs. The bellows sag is a familiar problem but by no means limited to 'dorfs...I have a Lotus 4X5 and the extra long bellow that it came with (which is a benefit in some cases) has a tendency to sag. Fortunately, the good folks at Lotus put a velcro strap and a "D" ring in the middle of the bellows so that you can pull it forward and hook it on a stud on the top of the lensboard assembly...they also make a great "hybrid" wide angle bellows with accordian pleats on either side of a "bag" assembly. We used to just stack 8X10 film boxes between the bed and the bellows to jack the bellows up...real high tech! Probably still the most efficient and low cost solution that you'll find. You'll find that any extra long bellows will eventually sag...you might consider having a shorter new bellows made and installed but i don't remember the bellows being easily interchangeable on the Deardorffs so you'd be limited to whatever exchanged the original bellows for. They're still as excellent a field camera as you're going to find...I doubt that any other comparable camera would be much different. As distasteful as any of the work-arounds might be to you, it's just another of the eccentricities of shooting LF...lots of jerry-rigging in order to get the shot you want. argon |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Sagging Bellows On Deardorff 8x10
You need to fashion a "bellows clip" to make it work. Many cameras have
these already on them. The idea is that maybe 5 or 6 pleats behind the front standard you glue a little piece of fabric with a small ring attahced and then place a small screw vertically in the middle of the front standard. When the bellows sags, you hook the clip on the screw, thus pulling the bellows tighter. My description might not be that clear; just look at different 8x10 cameras and you're bound to find one with this already on the camera and you can copy it. Far more efficient and handy than other methods. In article , Argon3 wrote: Worked in a catalog studio where all the cameras were 8X10 and 11X14 Deardorffs. The bellows sag is a familiar problem but by no means limited to 'dorfs...I have a Lotus 4X5 and the extra long bellow that it came with (which is a benefit in some cases) has a tendency to sag. Fortunately, the good folks at Lotus put a velcro strap and a "D" ring in the middle of the bellows so that you can pull it forward and hook it on a stud on the top of the lensboard assembly...they also make a great "hybrid" wide angle bellows with accordian pleats on either side of a "bag" assembly. We used to just stack 8X10 film boxes between the bed and the bellows to jack the bellows up...real high tech! Probably still the most efficient and low cost solution that you'll find. You'll find that any extra long bellows will eventually sag...you might consider having a shorter new bellows made and installed but i don't remember the bellows being easily interchangeable on the Deardorffs so you'd be limited to whatever exchanged the original bellows for. They're still as excellent a field camera as you're going to find...I doubt that any other comparable camera would be much different. As distasteful as any of the work-arounds might be to you, it's just another of the eccentricities of shooting LF...lots of jerry-rigging in order to get the shot you want. argon |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Sagging Bellows On Deardorff 8x10
"Vladamir30" wrote in message .com... I recently purchased a Deardorff 8x10 camera that has a new bellows installed. I discovered that with a 400mm lens on the camera, the lens panel raised to its top position, the camera tilted up about 15 degrees to include the top of a building in the photograph, and the lens and back brought to vertical postions parallel to the front of the building, the bellows sags quite severely and gets in the way of the photograph. I lose about an inch of the photograph at the bottom of the photograph (top of the negative). The sag is pretty much in the middle of the bellows. If I use my hand to push the bellows up from the bottom the problem is reduced but not eliminated (I still lose about a half inch of the photograph). Is this something other Deardorff users experience? I used to own another Deardorff camera with a much heavier bellows material than this one and never encountered a sagging bellows problem though I'm not sure I ever used it in this configuration with a lens this long. I know there are workarounds to sagging bellows but none that I've seen have ever been very appealing to me. At this point I can return the camera but I don't want to do that if the problem is one I would encounter with any other Deardorff and any other bellows material. I'm not sure what the material of this one is, it feels very light, soft, and pliable so it may be leather. Use the ring on the top of the bellows. For long extension do _not_ clip it to the hook on the front. Rather use a section of dowell run through it and supported on the back and front standards of the camera. This will lift the bellows and make them straight. If the bellows does not have the tap with ring on it you can either support it from underneath in a similar way or use the rod above with some cord looped around the bellows to pull it up to the rod. Sag is pretty common in all cameras with long bellows. -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Nikkor-M 200mm/8.0 on 8x10 camera? | Chase Martin | Large Format Photography Equipment | 3 | April 13th 04 11:44 PM |
help with Kodak 2D 8x10 groundglass | Chase Martin | Large Format Photography Equipment | 16 | April 12th 04 12:52 AM |
Kodak 2D 8x10 camera repairs | Chase Martin | Large Format Photography Equipment | 4 | March 26th 04 03:24 PM |
need short mount/process lens for bellows. | Linwood | Large Format Photography Equipment | 15 | March 22nd 04 11:45 PM |
Using a Deardorff Field Camera vs Sinar Studio Camera | Dave Wallis | Large Format Photography Equipment | 12 | February 26th 04 07:35 PM |