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. |
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 |
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 |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:14 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
PhotoBanter.com