Bellows rubbish ...

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Thu May 21, 2009 2:39 pm

"spot removal"

It's called the "Spot Healing Brush"

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu May 21, 2009 3:01 pm

OK, that explains it -- my version doesn't have one of those.

--Rik

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:09 am

A further suggestion for cleaning bellows:

We use sticky tape for removing cat hairs and other visible dust-like dirt from clothing or carpets. The thin, brown parcel tape does the best job.

It might be very fiddly but worth trying on the inside of the bellows.

Another idea (for amusement only?) would be to charge up a suitable object (you never have a glass rod when you need one

) with static electricty, insert it inside and entice the offending pariticles out.

Just a thought: they say the "necessity was the mother of invention" but who was the father?

Harold

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:21 am

Plastics are usually better than glass. Some "go" positive, some negative.
Maybe try a clear plastic ball point pen case or a ruler?
I think ABS works too, though I don't routinely polish my plumbing pipes..

Oh and in my case, Necessity married Parsimony.

elf · Post by **elf** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:58 am

How about pressurizing the bellows using a filtered air supply?

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:16 am

Interesting ideas, giving it a blast with canned air blew some dust out (where's the emoticon for "coughs his lungs out" ?) so for now I'll hang off torturing my bellows any further.

Andrew

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Fri May 22, 2009 2:15 am

AndrewC wrote: giving it a blast with canned air blew some dust out

Watch out for moisture in some of those products!

Harold

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:25 am

elf wrote:How about pressurizing the bellows using a filtered air supply?

My bellows are cardboard I think, I reckon they might explode if I tried this!

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:30 am

lauriek wrote:
elf wrote:How about pressurizing the bellows using a filtered air supply?
My bellows are cardboard I think, I reckon they might explode if I tried this!

I think Elf really meant "purge with a continuous stream of filtered air", or perhaps he did mean "inflate to just before it explodes" !!!

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:41 am

AndrewC wrote:My bellows are cardboard I think, I reckon they might explode if I tried this!

That should shift the dust!

Harold

lothman · Post by **lothman** » Fri May 22, 2009 4:47 am

AndrewC wrote:I can't believe how much dust my bellows pumps onto my sensor. Any tips for cleaning them - I might try something as simple as holding a vacuum cleaner tube near the end and sucking a lot of air through.

That's cleaning the bellows, not the sensor.

Andrew

There are some cleaning compounds (putty like) on the market which easily can be pressed in slots (even in such things like keyboards) and collect dust. Maybe that could be the solution for your bellows after blowing it with compressed (oil free) air.

http://www.cyberclean.ch/

Regards
Lothman

elf · Post by **elf** » Fri May 22, 2009 9:57 am

AndrewC wrote:
lauriek wrote:
elf wrote:How about pressurizing the bellows using a filtered air supply?
My bellows are cardboard I think, I reckon they might explode if I tried this!
I think Elf really meant "purge with a continuous stream of filtered air", or perhaps he did mean "inflate to just before it explodes" !!!

I think it would only take a very small positive pressure to keep the dust out. It may take a large volume if there are lots of leaks.

Another thing to try would be to surround the bellows, or just the spots that are leaking, in a sub micron filter. Perhaps a furnace filter would work.

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Fri May 22, 2009 10:39 am

So a totally frivolous addition to this thread!! The photo you posted is fab.
If there were more dust bunnies.... (I'll wash my mouth out for wishing this on you!!) it would look like some kind of mad shake, water droplets - like a cat or a dog shaking itself after the rain.!!

I shall go now.

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Fri May 22, 2009 11:56 am

Aynia wrote:So a totally frivolous addition to this thread!! The photo you posted is fab.
If there were more dust bunnies.... (I'll wash my mouth out for wishing this on you!!) it would look like some kind of mad shake, water droplets - like a cat or a dog shaking itself after the rain.!!

I shall go now.

Now that's what I call thinking outside of the box

Andrew

Joseph S. Wisniewski · Sun May 24, 2009 11:19 am

I went about this from exactly the opposite direction. I sealed the bellows off from the camera. Cost me $20, and worth every penny.

I'm going to describe what I did, using Nikon parts. I'm sure you folk who are stuck with non-Nikon systems have equivalent gadgets available.

Nikon DSLRs (and FSLRs with big grips, like my old F100 and N8008) need an extension tube between the PB-4 bellows and the camera. The Nikon E2 tube is my favorite for this. It's got the widest throat of any Nikon ring, and it's thin (14mm). Put those two things together, and it allows you the most ability to use the tilt and shift movements of the Nikon bellows.

The E2 has an inside diameter of 46.5mm, before the ledge for the 41.5mm throat. That means you can take the glass from a high quality, multicoated 46mm UV filter and RTV it into place on the front of the ledge. (it later dawned on me that I could have built up a spacer that tilted the filter about 5 degrees, reducing the possibilities of long reflections from filter to lens or sensor to filter).

The result is more airtight than a typical camera, so you want to vent it. Fortunately, removing the E2's stop-down plunger gives you a light trapping vent hole on the bellows side of the filter.

Also consider that this might be a good place to add a rectangular baffle, which may well make up for any contrast lost from the filter.

Bellows rubbish ...

Re: Bellows rubbish ...