2. Some bellows basic concepts you should know

There are some characteristics you should be aware in building bellows, some are needed for basic structure, and some are for the need on building.

Bellows are built in three layers

Not like the practice we did on last link, building bellows in one piece of paper, a real bellows normally is built with three layers of material, there are outer layer, ribs, and inner layer.

Outer layer exposed under the sunlight, winds and sands, rain and mist, sometimes even snow, so it must be durable and strong on climates, manufactures always choose leather as outer layer.

Image shows a Linhof Technika bellows, outer layer is made of syntheticleather. But now to find leatherette that blocks light and thin enough for folding into compact size is hard to find.

This bellows is built with a rather thick leatherette as outer layer, it has silky surface on a rubber lining. Half way at  folding step I gave up the building, for I had known it is too thick to fold on a field camera.

Ribs are a piece of manila paper or kraft paper, cut in thin long shape according to the folds, to maintain bellows folding shape, you won’t see ribs, for it is sandwidched by outer and inner layer.

This is a bellows taken off from Polaroid 110A/B camera, all ribs shown for outer layer been ripped off, so you can see what ribs looks like.

Look closely, you notice that all four side of ribs are actually cut from one manila paper, which shaped by a knife mold I believe, this is really cleaver, but for people who is planning to build only a few bellows, knife mold is price too high.

Inner layer has matt surface to eliminate any possible diffraction inside the bellows, most of bellows has fabric material with matt black surface as inner layer.

Linhof Technika bellows in early age seems to have a kind of paper as inner layer.

Ribs are in pair, and tapered bellows has rib pairs in different width

Ribs are always in pair, for two ribs makes a fold.

The rib width refering to the “slope length” of the fold, rib width been noticed here because rib width is not always in same dimension.  

It is all in same rib width if it is a rectangular shape bellows, like the one that we built with paper.

But for tapered shape bellows, rib pair comes with two rib width.

Look carefully at the rib layout, you will notice some interesting facts.

1. Compared with red and grey rib pari, you notice that red rib is bit narrower than grey one.
2. And in pair, the narrower rib is the shorter rib of the pair. That is, narrower rib is closer to the front opening.
3. Greater difference between front/rear opening in dimension, bigger width difference of the rib pair.
4. Each pair of ribs makes a fold, but how do you know which rib folds out, which one folds in? I will leave this to you to finding out.
5. Fold ridge on this side, will be valley on its adjacent sides, and vice versa.

Outer layer seamed at the bottom side

This is more obvious for the outlook integrity, one side of bellows will face the camera rail bed, so placeing the seam at that side would be a perfect arrangement. Remember this when you laying out the ribs.

Introducing new kids on the block--New55 film

New55 film had been developed for years, I had a chance to know project leader and developer Bob, who dedicated to bring back this wonder film to market, after countless time and effort, he finally made!

You can find link of the New55 project website in my blog list.




https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bobcrowley/new55-film

I didn't got the kickstart kit yet, but I know there are lots of people who are interested in, are you one of them? enroll soon!

New material for bellows

Year of Horse, everyone!

I found micro fiber leatherette source which is thin enough for making good bellows outer layer. Just tested one in red color, it has strong skin outside with leather like surface, mild reflecting light, looks like nature leather, and cotton fabric as lining, provides non stretchable stability, this is important, for gluing outer layer onto the rib/inner layer combination, you will be thankful for this non elastic character.

Less than 0.3mm in thickness, micro fiber leatherette is waterproof outside, for mild raining day. material is soft, easy to apply, I am happy with it.

Just finished making folds, pressed a bit in hands for 5 minutes, then let it spread and stand on table, it kept in very good shape.

Looks I found a good new material for bellows.

Make Double Side Slide film holder into Graflok style

Byron camera has a custom back system, accept most of film holder in Graflok (or International Standard back), two clamps at right side and two sliding teeth at left side, ensure film holder to be securely hold.

As a 4x5 format camera, Byron is set as a snap shooter, you can take as many film as possible when subject appears comparing to view or press camera, this camera is dedicated to those film holders who can hold as many films as possible.

To 4x5 sheet films, there are film holders like Grafmatic 1268 6 pack film holder, Fuji Quickchange 8 pack film holder available, and they perfectly match with Byron back system, no need any modification, or just a minor job to do. But for those user who gets used to use Double Side Slide film holder, which needs Graflex back to "sandwich" holder on camera back, which Byron lacks, I proposed some ideas to adapt it on Byron, not very ideal, but works.

Sometimes I need to use DDS film holder, like the situations when I would like to have the negatives developed individually with different solutions or developing time, that is quite normal if you apply Zone System on them, especially if you use developing tube like BTZS tubes, it is very easy to achieve.

Actually I am proud of the function that Byron back holds the pull-out slide when shooting, in the video top above shows that Byron rotating lock holds the slide, not only frees your hand, and best of all, reminds you to slides it back when you finish shooting and ready to flip the holder for another shoot. Think about it, you don't have spare hand to hold it, and there won't be a table besides you to keep the slide, for Byron is operated when you are in mobile status, you are not in a studio!

Ralf sent some DDS holders to me, asking to modify them following the ideas I proposed, to have two ditches at each side, let clamps grab the holder more securely.

I inspected the idea I proposed, and felt that there are space to improve.

Looking the ditches I had to make at side of holder, you will see that clamp bites in the holder, at center high above the bottom, and because both side of holder could be bottom side, two ditches had to be made, to accept the bite.

What clamps really grab the holder is thin leftover that between two ditches, which is thin and in plastic makes it fragile, I am not so confident of it.

That thin layer of plastic, who bear the burden to takes the pressure from clamp, in my calculation, if film holder is 11mm in thickness, would be 0.6mm only, and if holder thickness gets more thicker, it maybe as thin as 0.5 mm.

I thought it should be better in stronger material, best steel, or even better in stainless.

So there goes the new improvement. Images bellow shows a rather big ditch was drilled each side, clamp would bite in the holder without any difficulty, but without a center layer to be pressed, clamps can not tightly hold the holder.

Inserted in a stainless sheet into the center of the ditch, you can see the difference between two ditch style, and original holder without ditch.

Masked putty with carbon fiber sheet at side, so here we have a beautiful DDS film holder ready for Byron.

Now Byron holds DDS film holder very securely, and you can notice clamps completely bites in.

And the last, a slide is pulled out and kept by rotating lock, frees your hand, and reminds you to insert it back before you flip the holder.

Post to share: The future of film

I would love to see film photography is coming back.
http://www.japancamerahunter.com/2013/12/future-film-new-hope/#more-12837

What do you think?

Turn your cell phone into a cute film scanner

I would always want to do a cute gadget like this, to turn cell phone into a negative scanner. Not expecting to get good quality images, but at least it do open the chance letting old negatives share on the web.

What I dreaming of, is to open a small cafe, with this gadget on every table, so customers can sit chatting, and scan their negatives, kill some time and bring back some memories.

And since they had release APP for scanning, no need to worry how to get proper profiles of different films to turn a negative image back to a positive image, I think we can build our own scanner for cell phone, for negatives other than 35 mm format. That is just a combination of lightbox and a fixed height support only, no big deal, I want to digitize and file my 120 and 4x5 format negatives.

http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/lomography-smartphone-film-scanner/



Buy the iPhone and Android Film Scanner at the Photojojo Store!

For sale one 110A Polaroid converted 3x4 instant film camera

I don't remember when I got it, and no idea who made the conversion, but this 110A converted 3x4 instant film camera is well made, RF mechanism was replace with 900 viewfinder, so rangefinder and viewfinder were combined into one, like a 110B, but body is a 110A. It equips with built-in Ysarex 127/4.7 lens, and has Polaroid 3x4 instant film holder attached, a typical conversion as can be seen in auction market.

Front side of body keeps original leatherette, and I replaced the back and holder covering. 

I took off the RF part, housing got putty-ed and re-spray paint, RF mechanism were cleaned and calibrated all over, re-aligned the overlay images, and replaced the cold shoe into a Byron version, so you can do off camera flashing, like last post shows.

Bellows seems in good shape, I added one soft rubber press on shutter trigger, to improve the stability.

Lens and shutter in good shape also, infinity stop in secure position, no Velcro positioning trick, guaranteed.

Operation is smooth and pleased to handle, I will include one neoprene protecting bag.

Asking for US$480, worldwide shipping fee included.

If you are interested in this beauty, please write me to salihonba@gmail.com

Thank you.

Daniel

(12/06) Booked, thank you very much.
(12/07) Sold.