Wisner bag bellows

Been looking for Wisner 4x5 bag bellows for a while, but they are scarce. Is there a company that can make one at a reasonable price or a "brand X" out there? Can another brand fit on the Wisner? TIA.

jim appleyard said:

Been looking for Wisner 4x5 bag bellows for a while, but they are scarce. Is there a company that can make one at a reasonable price or a "brand X" out there? Can another brand fit on the Wisner? TIA.

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I don't have a source for this, but I do have the bellows. But there is a workaround if you don't have this.

You can mount your wide lens on the camera and retract it to get it as close to the film plane as you can just by adjusting the focusing rails of the camera. Then you tilt the front standard back and rotate the lensboard so it remains parallel with the plane of the film.

I do this all the time with a 72mm Super Angulon XL because I hate taking the time to swap bellows back and forth.

If you plan to shoot a lot with a wide lens, the bag bellows is a better solution.

I'd keep an eye on eBay and the Large Format Photography Forum website.

Maybe etonephoto.com could make one for you. They make bag bellows for various cameras, but not yours. They also make custom bellows, but I don't know if they will make custom bag bellows. You can ask them, though. They usually respond pretty quickly to customer messages.

Hi Jim,
I made these for my Wisner 4"x5".
They're not the prettiest but they work very well.
I used very thin goat hide, it's the thinnest leather I could find and it's lighttight.
With hind site I should probably dye the inside black.
I can make you a set if you're so inclined.
Best,
Rory

Did Wisner make the Zone VI cameras for a time? Would one of those fit? BTW, would like to use this camera with a 90mm. I've played around with the movements with the standard bellows, but the bellows move into the photo area when I bring the standard together to focus. The bag bellows would be nice.

A Zone VI bag bellows might fit- but one might be just as hard to find as a Wisner set. Both companies are long out of business and did not produce vast numbers of anything.
I have a friend with a Wisner-made (early) Zone VI 4x5. We did a quick comparison a while back against my Vermont-made Zone VI and they are similar, if not quite identical, cameras. Wisner's own 4x5 models (Technical Field, etc.) are also similar but not identical to either of those. So a custom build might be best... I'd bet that Custom Bellows in the UK could make a set- they have a fine reputation.

You’ll need to make or have frames made as well. I don’t think Custom Bellows makes frames, but would be worth checking.

Keith Pitman said:

You’ll need to make or have frames made as well. I don’t think Custom Bellows makes frames, but would be worth checking.

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I also made the frames on the above ones.