Arca-Swiss Viewing Bellows for 6x9/4x5 Cameras - anyone familiar with it?

[Vieri Bottazzini]

Hey collective wisdom,

I was wondering if anyone here was familiar with the Arca-Swiss Viewing Bellows for 6x9/4x5 Cameras, SKU 161001?

I kinda dig the idea of being able not to use a dark cloth (I am in Scotland with crazy winds, probably this made me more sensitive to the issue ). Given Arca-Swiss lack of info, I couldn't find much about this online - my questions would be:

1. How good it is in practice in replacing a dark cloth?
2. All good to use it from framing, but how about focusing? Does it come with some magnifier of sorts, or do you have to remove it to focus, which would mean carrying a loupe besides the Viewing bellows?
3. Does it fold to any manageable size? The bellows would, but the eyepiece looks like it might be a bit of a pain to fit in a bag...
4. Size? Weight?

5. Bonus question: is it easy to use it with glasses?

Most importantly, would you recommend it, or do I stick with my dark cloth + loupe? Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

Vieri

 

[abruzzi]

I think I have that piece. If you look at the A-S catalog you'll see the leather bellows, but it also uses 161013 and 161012:

I don't know what it looks like or how it is used without the binoculars. It came with a 6x9 F-Classic I bought some years ago. I tried it, but didn't really like it. My main issue is the magnification isn't very high. I have the same issue with the Sinar bellows magnification hood. I use a 4x loupe but I think this is closer to 2x. Aside from my issue with magnification the other reason I don't like it is it essentially requires that I remove it to insert the film holder (unless I was using it incorrectly.)

For size the biggest potential issue is that 161013 has a flexible "rubber" perimeter that seals it to your face when in use. If you fold it down too tight and compress that rubber you could deform or crease it.

 

[Vieri Bottazzini]

I think I have that piece. If you look at the A-S catalog you'll see the leather bellows, but it also uses 161013 and 161012:

View attachment 391806

I don't know what it looks like or how it is used without the binoculars. It came with a 6x9 F-Classic I bought some years ago. I tried it, but didn't really like it. My main issue is the magnification isn't very high. I have the same issue with the Sinar bellows magnification hood. I use a 4x loupe but I think this is closer to 2x. Aside from my issue with magnification the other reason I don't like it is it essentially requires that I remove it to insert the film holder (unless I was using it incorrectly.)

For size the biggest potential issue is that 161013 has a flexible "rubber" perimeter that seals it to your face when in use. If you fold it down too tight and compress that rubber you could deform or crease it.

Hello abruzzi, thank you for your reply and for the info, much appreciated. Low magnification can be a problem, in that it would then require to use a loupe for critical focusing. Removing it for inserting the film holder is not a huge problem, I am used to removing the dark cloth to do the same.

The rubber deforming and possibly getting ruined is another potential worry, so I can see why you didn't like it too much in the end.

Thanks again!

Best regards,

Vieri