sbug said:
I have inherited my great grandfather's 4x5 view camera. It needs new bellows for starters and I am not sure where to turn for parts (certainly custom for a 100yr old camera). I'm looking for suggestions of good repair people in the US that can help me get this camera back into use.
Thanks!
Here are your options:
1. A guy in Hawaii who makes bellows:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~mkapono/bellows.htm
2. Camera bellows, a company in England:
http://www.camerabellows.com/
3. Custom made bellows from a company in Florida: Flexible Products Corp., 14504 60th St. N, Clearwater, FL 33760-2711, Ph# 726-536-3142
4. A company in California making custom bellows: Universal Bellows company -- ph# 516-378-1264.
5. Make your own:
http://my.net-link.net/~jsmigiel/bellows.html
http://www.cyberbeach.net/~dbardell/bellows.html
If you go with the 5th option, and make your own, you use either blackout curtain material or the material from an old changing bag for the liner. Material for the outer layer (vinyl leatherette or composite leather) can be supplied either by Micro Tools
http://www.micro-tools.com/ or Camera Leather
http://www.cameraleather.com/
If you buy bellows, take very careful measurements of the front and rear standards and the distance between them. The guy in Hawaii is probably the cheapest, but the material he uses looks like the sort of thing a dominatrix would wear. Figure on a minimum of $150, but it can easily be twice that.
As for parts, what is missing? I don't see anything obviously wrong or that isn't there.