Graflex.org

[E THomson]

I have a Speed Graphic and as far as I can tell it does not leak any darkness from inside the bellows. Is there any treatment for keeping bellows material supple and resistant to cracking? What are they made of anyway? Inside I see they are a black fabric, cotton perhaps or maybe linen. Outside they have a leathery look. So is that what they are; fabric-mounted leather? Should we be saddle-soaping our bellows?

Partly I'm interested because I've just mounted a 203 for the first time and at full close-up the bellows is at more or less maximum extension. Is this undue stress? Or is exercise good? Are there stress points to be aware of? How should I think about the bellows material?

[glennfromwy]

Speed Graphic bellows material varies, depending on model and age.
I occasionally treat some of mine with good old Pledge furniture polish, applied lighly with a Q-tip. A 203 lens is awfully long for real close up work. Personally, I don't like to stretch the bellows out to maximum extension. It probably won't do them any harm if you're not straining them but these things are, after all, getting pretty old. For very close work, I would be looking at a shorter lens.
A 105 Ektar should cover 4X5 nicely a 1:1 for macro work. A 127 Ektar would be a great lens for every day close ups. You wouldn't need to extend your bellows so far.
_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

[E THomson]

Thanks for your reply. My memory about Pledge (from woodworking days) is that it contains a certain amount of non-drying oil, which allows it to make a 'polish' sheen without buffing; the oil is just sitting there on the surface. This makes it actually somewhat prone to collecting dust. The oil in question is probably mineral oil (the lemon oil is just for marketing). None of this is any good for wood but it might have a beneficial softening effect on leather, if that's what the bellows is made of.

Sorry, I should have been more clear about my use of the 203. I picked it up to do some portrait work with it. I wasn't sure the Graflex would tolerate anything beyond 203-210 so I set my sights on an Ektar 203/7.7. I want to give my subject as much room as possible but still frame pretty close, just head and neck. This has me extending the bellows to within an inch or so of maximum.

I do have a 127 but have never tried it for close up work. For the portraits it would have had me sitting in their laps for close framing. Perhaps I'll keep my eyes open for the 105. Then I'd have a complete set :-)

[troublemaker]

If you want to mount a longer lens you might start researching the Tele lenses like the 10" and 15" Wollensak Optar/Raptars that were basically marketed for use on these cameras. The 15" is I believe a 308mm. Big chunk of glass and fast at f~5.6 for a very shallow DOF requiring careful focussing.
I have a nice example of the 203 Ektar I've used a number of times and it's a pretty sharp contrasty lens for portrait work. I use mine for stills and landscape. Of course it depends on what you are looking for. But not only do I like the coverage and sharpness of the Ektar, it is also fairly light and that equates to camera stability, esspecially compared to a big Tele which in the case of the 15" gets to be a bit bouncy without supplimental support.
As far as pledge, I've been using it with nice results on Graphic camera bellows of the synthetic variety for a number of years now with very good results. In fact I don't mind wiping the entire camera with a soft reasoanbly lint free cloth and a little Pledge. Get the original lemon in a pump spray bottle if you can find it. I hate this last batch I tried in an aerosol can, but it still leaves similar results. I put it on pretty heavy and then spend a lot of time carefully sopping up excess and drying. I take all my cameras completely apart so it's a little easier, but it's good to have the bellows partially extended for a night or two to let them dry well.
Dust? Depends on your environment. I have a huge dust problem and just brush and or blow off my rig occasionally. I do keep my cameras bagged top down in large zip locks or produce bags but not sealed so they can breath. This has helped tremendously. But I stick with the Pledge as I haven't found anything better.

[troublemaker]

P.S. as a side note for anyone that needsto do any repairs like re-gluing a loose seam on the bottom side of the bellows, do so prior to using any treatment as nothing will stick after using waxy based products like Pledge.

[Rob.B]

I treat the bellows of my Graflex View with natural Beeswax creamed in Petrolium Jelly. This comes with various colours so be sure to look for the clear variety. I apply it sparingly with a cotton bud and gently work it into the bellows. No cracks so far.

If for any reason I need to clean/degrese/de-wax an area I use dilute lemon juice 50/50 in deionised water, again applied with a cotton bud.

Rob.