GX680 bellows advice

[grat]

I'm posting this here instead of the medium format section because the camera itself is a bit irrelevant to the question.

I recently purchased a GX680 in pretty good condition (I'd guess somewhere around 1995 vintage). The bellows has pinholes in the corners, unsurprisingly. However, the bellows also creak, and seem to not want to flex much-- one of the reasons for the GX680 is that the camera has movements on the front (tilt/swing/shift/rise)-- when I use those movements, the bellows tend to crumple rather than "adapt" the way the ones on my LF camera do.

So the question is, do I replace the bellows with a used, good condition GX680 set (any set will be at least 15 years old)? Or do I get a custom set? There's also a Chinese eBay seller offering a replacement bellows without frames.

Is there any way (and I know this is a long shot) to recondition the existing bellows?

I know I'm sounding picky, but I've got a Voigtlander Bessa I with what appears to be the original bellows-- and they're not nearly as creaky and stiff as the Fuji seems to be.

I appreciate any suggestions.

 

[ic-racer]

It is curious as to why your bellows are bad. Many people with Rolleiflex SL66 have original bellows from the 1960s without issue. My Horseman 6x9 (fully mechanical competitor to your camera ) is likely from mid 1990s and it's bellows looks and functions like new. Rather than spend time figuring out what happened or trying to repair, I'd go with the Chinese bellows.

The Chinese bellows look good. When I re-did my 8x10 camera 15 years ago, I made my own bellows because those inexpensive Chinese bellows were not available. In fact I'm considering replacing the home-made bellows with one from China from e-bay. Many people on the Large Format forum have used those bellows on large format cameras and claim high quality and good fit. I'd not hesitate to get the Chinese ebay bellows for your camera.

 

[shutterfinger]

Get a can of Pledge Beauityit (yellow can). Extend the bellows to their max without any movements. Saturate the bellows with the Pledge and let sit for an hour or two. Holding from the inside rub the Pledge into the bellows while wiping off the excess. Repeat in a day or two.
Get some Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Artist Paint #1040 Carbon Black and a 1/4 inch wide economy artist brush. Dilute the paint no more than 1:1 with water. Paint the inside of the bellows along the creases, folds, and seams in thin layers until the light tight. Let the paint cure fully between coats.

 

[grat]

Thanks for the advice. I'm wondering if someone applied some other form of agent to it-- like armor-all or something equally daft. I'm just not used to hearing bellows creak as I run the front standard out.

 

[shutterfinger]

Possibly stored in a hot environment or direct sun. I have softened several bellows and plugged pin holes with the above post technique. Sometimes they're too far gone. Works with leather and vinyl bellows.

 

[grat]

So noted. Got my home-built battery pack working, so next up-- get the bellows sorted. I ordered the replacement bellows (inexpensive), but they're being sent by rowboat from Hong Kong, and they don't have the mounting plates. If I can recondition these, I'm OK with that.

 

[thuggins]

My experience, reinforced by others, is the Chinese bellows are a waste of time and money. Go with Custom Bellows in the UK.

 

[wjlapier]

Or ask Sandeha Lynch. He re-did the bellows for my GX680IIIs.

 

[grat]

My experience, reinforced by others, is the Chinese bellows are a waste of time and money. Go with Custom Bellows in the UK.

Yeah-- I know it's a roll of the dice. We'll see what I get.

Or ask Sandeha Lynch. He re-did the bellows for my GX680IIIs.

Very nice! Bookmarked and noted. Thanks. And I'm impressed that it appears you shoot the GX680 handheld.