Horseman Bellows

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Peter
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I've had a Horseman 760 technical camera (6x9 fomat, like the Horseman VH and 970 but earlier) for a while and have mainly used it with wide to standard focal length lenses so the bellows extension I used was quite short. I racked it out to do a closeup the other day and found that the bellows are shot, brittle and paper thin. So I tried a repair using liquid tape which I've used before on my Toyo bellows. It fixed the light leaks but as it's quite viscous the bellows then became too big when fully compressed to fit in the camera body!

I didn't want to give up on the camera, I've got a couple of nice lenses for it including a Topcon 65mm wide angle and a 90mm Angulon medium wide, both of which I had serviced by MW. So I took a chance and dismantled the camera to see how the bellows are fixed on. It's an industrial quality camera so I'm glad to say it was relatively easy to dismantle and I got the bellows assembly out. So I've sent an email to Custom Bellows for a quote, might as well do the job properly.

I've attached a couple of pictures which sum up the proble. I'll let you know how this progresses.

Link to Topcon technical cameras...

https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Topcon_Horseman_Press

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I replaced the old leather bellows on my Linhof Technika V with a set from Custom Bellows and they’ve been great. They’re a lot tougher than I expected and the camera closes up perfectly, and of course they’re light tight.
 
I replaced the old leather bellows on my Linhof Technika V with a set from Custom Bellows and they’ve been great. They’re a lot tougher than I expected and the camera closes up perfectly, and of course they’re light tight.
I wonder if the Linhof has less restrictive movements than the Horseman. For one thing there is no forward tilt only rear tilt (and rise) on the front standard. The bed drops to compensate for the tilt but doesn't work with the wide angle 65 mm lens because the focus setting is compromised, it is impossible to get the image in focus. So, to use the 65mm in landscape mode, without including the camera bed, the lens must be raised to it's maximum height, otherwise the camera bed masks the bottom of the pictures.
The actual question is; how do you find your Linhof?
 
Sorry...
So, to use the 65mm in landscape mode, without including the camera bed,
should read...
So, to use the 65mm in portrait mode, without including the camera bed,
 
I wonder if the Linhof has less restrictive movements than the Horseman. For one thing there is no forward tilt only rear tilt (and rise) on the front standard. The bed drops to compensate for the tilt but doesn't work with the wide angle 65 mm lens because the focus setting is compromised, it is impossible to get the image in focus. So, to use the 65mm in landscape mode, without including the camera bed, the lens must be raised to it's maximum height, otherwise the camera bed masks the bottom of the pictures.
The actual question is; how do you find your Linhof?

The Linhof has full tilts/shifts but only front rise on the front standard, the back movements are a little fiddly if you aren’t used to them but you have full tilts there too and if you lock down one side you can get pseudo asymmetrical tilts on the rear.

I have the same problem with wides too, the bed will peek into the frame with a 90mm (this is a 5x4 Tech V) and the back set to portrait, but I only have to raise the front standard a notch or two or drop the bed and tilt back as necessary, but that also introduces focusing issues as I have to add rise as I focus closer to compensate for the added fall from the bed drop.

As to whether I’m happy with the Linhof, overall I am - I bought it as part of a comprehensive setup with cammed lenses, an external viewfinder, a handgrip and a reflex viewfinder so I have a versatile 5x4 camera that can work reasonably well handheld. The movements and locks aren’t as intuitive as a normal field camera (I started out with a Tachihara) but I found it easy to get used to the quirks.
 
Thanks for the information.

I'm very pleased with the Horseman 760, well made and robust. The 65mm lens is fabulous, although the 90mm Schneider Angulon makes the camera easier to use because the viewing angle doesn't interfere with the bed.

I'm looking out for a 150mm or longer lens for portraits.

The camera's format 6x9 is a useful, more convenient alternative to 5x4, slightly wider in landscape aspect ratio as well.
 
Hi Peter,
I'm so glad I found your pictures of the dismantled Horseman 760!
A few weeks ago I purchased a Horseman VH-R and discovered that there are a few pinholes in the bellows, besides that it's quite crinkled so that it doesnt fold neatly into the case any more. So I've been on a quest for information in order to build up courage to fix that.

I would like to benefit from your experience in refitting the bellows. I suppose (from looking at your disassembly pictures) that the 760 and VH-R are built similarly.

Are the bellows merely screwed to the chassis with the pressure plates, or have Horseman also used glue?
Any tips on the disassembly? Required tools?

Thanks in advance,
Bart
 
Disassembly was straightforward.

Looking into the back of the camera with the ground glass removed you will see the the four screws which hold the bellows to the front standard. With these removed, the front standard can be taken off the focussing track.

Looking into the front of the camera there are four large screws which attach the body to the rotating back, There are some smaller screws which secure the bellows to the rotating back.

I chose to remove the rotating back with the bellows attached because there are actually eight small screws and they aren't all visible front the front of the camera. Be aware that the rotating back is indexed by a small ppring loaded ball bearing in a hole in the body of the camera. The spring and ball will fall out when the back and body are separated so take care you don't loose them.

Then it's simply a matter of unscrewing the bellows from the rotating back. There was no glue but at the back end of the bellows there were four pressure plates.

The replacement bellows from http://www.custombellows.co.uk/ didn't require the pressure plates. The bellows cost £110 including VAT and carraige. They are very well made and fit comfortably into the camera body when the lens is retracted. They came back really quickly so may be a stock item.

Assembly was exactly the reverse of disassembly. Getting the spring and ball bearing to stay in while fitting the rotating back to the body was a bit fiddly.
 
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