Hi,
I got two of these compact and lightweight bellows on eBay and managed to adapt one of them to M39 which I can use on any bayonet.
At the other side I use a simple MD>M39 adapter.
A picture can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70078248@N00/4504239200/ (not my flickr page).
I had planned to use them in the field for handheld shots. As a way to quickly change extension without having to fiddle with a larger bellows or anything like that.
In my first test shots I had relatively low contrast, so I painted anything shiny black. But when I get out with them to direct sunlight, the problems get worse. So I suspected a light leak of some sort. While the bayonett (usual weak spot for light leaks, isn't it) indeed has some leakage, fixing that didn't change the situation either.
So last night I used a 3W LED at the inside... and tada... the bellows material is not tight. I can see the light inside the bellows -- bummer.
So now I wonder what I could do to change that. One thought I had was maybe painting the inside or outside. The paint would have to be of high density, but flexible and long lasting. I don't want it to make the bellows less flexible, and I don't want the paint to come off. Another, more drastic option would be to get tight bellows and replace the Minolta bellows.
Do you guys have any ideas?
Minolta Compact Bellows -- not exactly light tight.
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
I had this on my bigger size bellows, and discovered through torch testing that it was a poor fit with adapters that was to blame. Black electricians tape solved it for me
My extreme-macro.co.uk site, a learning site. Your comments and input there would be gratefully appreciated.
- Craig Gerard
- Posts: 2877
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 1:51 am
- Location: Australia
A spray can of 'Plasti Dip Flexible Rubber Aerosol' may be useful in this situation. I haven't used the product but made a note of it when it crossed my path.
Apply gradually in very thin layers. Some people are painting their cars with this stuff...plenty of videos on YouTube.
*Use at your own discretion.
Craig
Apply gradually in very thin layers. Some people are painting their cars with this stuff...plenty of videos on YouTube.
*Use at your own discretion.
Craig
To use a classic quote from 'Antz' - "I almost know exactly what I'm doing!"
Hm, that sounds interesting, although I worry that it will come off at the edges at some point it in time. Not sure how well it will react to strain.Craig Gerard wrote:A spray can of 'Plasti Dip Flexible Rubber Aerosol' may be useful in this situation. I haven't used the product but made a note of it when it crossed my path.
Apply gradually in very thin layers. Some people are painting their cars with this stuff...plenty of videos on YouTube.
*Use at your own discretion.
Craig
They're able to peel it off easily in these videos. That might just happen at the edges where the bellows is compressed the most.
@elf: That sounds like it might work. I've seen acrylic paint on clothing before and it didn't come off easily.
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- Location: Richmond Virginia
- Contact:
You can have some new bellows made, in different colors if you want. I have had some medium format camera bellows replaced before and it looks great. Here is a link to a site that makes them.
http://www.sandehalynch.com/isolette.htm
http://www.sandehalynch.com/isolette.htm
Dwight