Camera
Anatomy - Bellows Cameras
| Bellows cameras get their name from the folding box of pleated material That forms the light tight seal between lens and film. The bellows camera exists because of the desire to take cameras into the outside world and the requirememnt to keep them as small as was practical. Early lenses and films required the use of a fairly sizable negative - which in turn led to a fairly sizable camera. The folding bellows camera evolved very early in the development of the camera and the principle stayed in widespread use for over a century, even today new models for studio photography are being created - as a result there are literally thousands of different models. The idea is simple enough, a pleated cloth or leather bellows collapses as the camera is closed, to occupy a fraction of it's volume when open. Most bellows cameras have a baseboard to which the front lensboard is attached by some means, the exceptions are the scissor strut type. Most, but not all, have a means of altering the focus either by changing the distance between the lensboard and the film or by moving the lens independently. Generally, the earlier types had ground glass focus screens - that is, the image was inspected by the photographer as projected on a piece of ground (frosted) glass in place of the sensitized plate, this was removed just before taking the picture. Later and/or cheaper types evolved scale focussing, that is focus was set against a distance scale, the distance being measured or guessed. Three broad types of bellows cameras evolved, those where the lensboard was removed from its housing and clipped into lugs or sockets, those where the lensboard is pulled out, located in and then slid along a rail built into the lensboard and finally the self erecting type which neatly extends and locks into place as the camera is opened. An example of this latter type is shown at right. The longevity of the principle means that there are considerable detail differences and they have serviced every film type and format from the earliest Daguerreotypes, wet plates, dry plates, roll film and 35mm cassette film. |
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The bellows themselves were sometimes made of a light canvas like material treated to make it light proof, but this was only on the cheapest models and proliferated during the 1920s and 30s. From a vintage camera point of view these tend to be problematical as most will have some "pin holing" at the corners by now - that is they will allow light to leak in. The more usual method of construction is a thin leather skin with a fine linen cloth layer inside, between which are thin strips of card which encourages the leather to fold along the creases. Leather bellows that are crushed so that the card re-inforcing is creased will never be able to be completely straightened. Leather bellows can show remarkable longevity - we have several over a hundred years old that are still soft and light proof. However if poorly stored or treated, they will simply fall to pieces in a few years, or if allowed to get wet go stiff as card. The earlier bellows had square cut corners, but this was found to promote pin holing, so a shift to chamfered corners began around 1900.
Maroon or deep red bellows were used commonly up to around 1910 but changing fashions meant a more sombre black look took over thereafter. One of the problems with the bellows is the considerable "springiness", which tries to pull the lensboard back. On some models it succeeds partially, which distorts the picture. This was recognized early on and different methods to combat it arose, commonly from the early 1900s were rigid cast aluminium "U" shaped lensboard supports, strut types cameras which sported a trestle strut arrangement and those with four separate "legs" to each corner of the lensboard. The problem was finally resolved with the perfection of the self erecting bellows camera which very rigidly locks the lensboard in place. As regards taking care of the old bellows, we have been using Peckard antique leather preparation for around fifteen years on all our cameras, and have noted no further deterioration. However, it will darken the early red leather bellows, and you should avoid this if you want your camera to retain its original appearance and value. Since all our cameras are expected to work for many years yet we accept this. It does tend to remain a little tacky for some time and needs to be absorbed over a few weeks, with the camera open in a dust free environment. Many bellows cameras exhibit considerable cross fertilization of features, there are for instance those fitted with rangefinders. Some SLR type cameras are fitted with bellows focussing as are a few of the twin lens types. View 50 years of very different bellows camera evolution; Thornton Pickard, Sanderson, VPK, Ensign Pocket, Kodak 1A, Kodak 620 Mod C, Certo Dollina, Voigtlander Bessa.
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