Leaky bellows video

[David A. Goldfarb]

Puzzled by some foggy negatives, I checked the bellows on my Linhof Technika 23b (I know, medium format camera in the LF area, but this is mainly a LF problem, so I think it’s more useful here) and found this—

https://home.mycloud.com/action/share/02f0004e-dd7a-41ea-b14e-43b51f62915e

In case you’re wondering what a leaky bellows looks like, click the link above to view the video of the flashlight test. Note that it looks OK from the outside, but light comes through all the inside folds. Inspecting it more closely, maybe the previous owner put some liquid bellows patch on those folds, but it’s not obvious in normal use, when the bellows isn’t pulled out all the way.

How do the negs look? Really dense, hard to see the image, but clear along the edges with fog between the rollfilm frames, shooting outdoors in full sun. At first I thought it was an issue with the shutter not closing, but the shutter has metal blades and works fine.

In retrospect, I realize that this bellows has probably been leaking for years, but it doesn’t show up in all lighting situations, so it’s probably been responsible for other undiagnosed mysteries as well. Now I need to check all my cameras. So far, at least my 4x5” Tech V is good. 8x10” Gowland Pocket View and Voigtländer Perkeo II also check out. The others live in a storage unit.

 

[AgX]

How will you tackle the problem with that bellows? Elastic Lacquer applied at the inside folds from the inside (or outside)?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

How will you tackle the problem with that bellows? Elastic Lacquer applied at the inside folds from the inside (or outside)?

I’ve been through that with my 7x17” bellows and it took a long time to chase down all the leaks and I still always have doubts. For that camera, I’ll order a new one eventually from Custom Bellows UK, which did a great job with my 11x14” bellows.

For the Linhof, if it’s not too expensive for authorized repair, I’ll send it to Precision Camera Works, and maybe have a few other things checked at the same time. They’re in the process of relocating to California, according to their website.

 

[jim10219]

How will you tackle the problem with that bellows? Elastic Lacquer applied at the inside folds from the inside (or outside)?

There are a million ways. If it's not too bad, you can just drape your dark cloth over the bellows when you snap the shutter. You can also try tape (I've used black duct tape but some people use book binders tape), but tape will thicken the bellows and if the camera folds up, it may prevent it from folding all of the way. It also won't last forever. I recommend putting it on the outside so you can monitor its condition. You can try liquid electrical tape or another similar product like black liquid vinyl. It works well for small spots, and usually works better on the inside if it's less smooth. But it can work itself free or stick to itself if you patch two areas close to each other when the bellows compress. You can mix glue (like Elmer's school glue) and black pigment. It dries harder, but still have some flexibility to it. It's better for tiny pinholes where just a pin sized drop is needed, usually applied with a pin directly into the hole. For small cracks you can glue on some thin black cotton fabric with one of those glues (like the liquid vinyl). The fabric acts more as a scaffolding for the glue that does the light blocking. How well it holds depends on what material the bellows were made of.

And there a a ton more options. The problem with all of them is they will all eventually fail. And if the bellows are developing pinholes or cracks now, they will continue to develop them in the future. So the only real cure is new bellows. But these fixes, and others like them, can buy you several years if done right. And sometimes you need it fixed right away and don't have the time or money for new bellows. But if you start patching, start planning to replace them because there is no permanent fix.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Shipped it off to Precision Camera Works at their new California location today.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

If anyone is curious how this turned out, Bob Watkins at PCW replaced the bellows, and the new one is perfect, but I also had him check the rangefinder and do a general CLA, and unfortunately, the rangefinder must have gotten knocked out of whack when it was shipped back to me, so I sent the camera back to have that repaired again under warranty.