bellows for 35mm

[edgar_njari]

Hi all..

 

I was considering buying a bellows for macro photography

 

I have a Minolta dynax autofocus camera, and I find the Novoflex

autobellows for this series to be too much since it is almost twice

the cost of the camera itself

 

I can see that a bellows unit (non AF) can be constructed for much

less money (seen some around even 50$) but I failed to find

any cheap universal bellows on bhphotovideo.com

 

Can anyone recommend to me either:

1.Cheaper AF bellows for Dynax/Maxxum than Novoflex

or

2.Cheap universal non AF bellows

or

3. know any other option/combination?

 

thank you

[stemked]

Edgar,

 

Just a little advice about bellows, they are a bit of a pain to use if you are using them primarily outdoors and for a lot of hiking. They tend to be a bit fragile and a bit bulky. I carried around one for a couple of years, but was much happier eventually getting extension tubes. I shoot Pentax and extension tubes provided me the oppotunity to shoot TTL and not have to stop down to shoot. At the time I was using a very cheap setup, there is an expensive version (for Pentax) that offered more options but was WAY too heavy and bulky. You may have better options with Minolta, but I'd still bet that extension tubes are a better option for you as well.

[edgar_njari]

thanks, I somehow find bellows more convenient cuase of the changable lenght

 

by the way, do you think I should post this in some other forum on photo.net? I thought I'd post in "nature" because I suspected that most bellows users would hang in here (flower macrophotography and similar) but where else could I find some responses?

[richard_meyers]

Hi Edgar -

 

I'm afraid I don't have any good news. A bellows is a pretty specialized piece of equipment. I think your best chance is a used Minolta bellows so maybe post this in the Minolta forum and maybe a WTB in the classifieds.

 

Consider experimenting with a set of extension tubes while you look for a used bellows. Also, you might look for a macro lens.

 

As the previous poster mentioned using a bellows in the field is not for the easily frustrated. Subject movement is greatly exaggerated as magnification increases.

 

Good luck.

[dan_fromm1]

Edgar, please pardon my considerable ignorance of the Minolta MC/MD and Dynax/Maxxum systems.

 

Ignorant or not, I have a Minolta Compact Bellows (in MC/MD mount, naturally) that I've adapted to my Nikons. Its range of extension is fairly small, on the order of 50 mm, so I sometimes use it with an extension tube or several between it and the camera. Lovely little unit, may be what you want if MD-Maxxum and Maxxum-MD adapters exist.

 

There are many inexpensive non-AF bellows around. I have an expensive ($60 new when I bought it) Nikon PB-4 and a very cheap Zenit(?) bellows in LTM ($20 with 210/4.5 Industar-51 and mount adapter). The Zenit is lighter, a bit more convenient to use in the field.

 

Vivitar used to make a bellows system with t-mounts at each end. Female at the front, male at the rear, adaptable to nearly everything. There's another possibility, although these days reverse t adapters are very hard to find.

 

And there are others. Look on eBay for a while and you'll find something that will do.

 

What makes sense for you depends on the focal length(s) of the lens(es) you want to use on bellows and the magnification you want to work at. FWIW, I dislike the really cheap bellows with fixed rear standard and moveable front standard because with the wrong lens/magnification combination the bellows' rail can hit the subject. My PB-4 (no good for you) and Zenit(?) don't have this weakness.

 

Good luck, have fun,

 

Dan

[edgar_njari]

I'm actually looking for new, not used.

 

So can you recommend me some of these cheap bellows (any manufacturer as long as it has an universal bellows mount) that I can find new?

Something below 50$

 

I would have to buy a pair of universal/MinoltaAF adapters but it's still cheaper than 500$ for autofocus bellows from Novoflex

[dan_fromm1]

New? Inexpensive, as if <= $50, too? Not to be impolite, but I think that what you've specified doesn't exist. The market for bellows has largely dried up and blown away. Good luck.

 

Why not used equipment? After brand new gear has been used, its used too.

 

Universal bellows? What's that? T-mount (M42x0.75) at both ends, M42x1 at both ends, M39x1 at both ends, ... ? If you're thinking of BPM, what do they use? I ask because I don't know.

[edgar_njari]

I don't know what they mean by "universal mount",

but I saw that there are a lot of adapters soled that convert from

a specific mount (for specific manufacturers) to an "universal" bellows mount. Don't know which one is that.

[edgar_njari]

By the way, I'd gladly pay more than 50$ for it, but anywhere I look on the internet shiping is AT LEAST as much as the cost of the bellows (sometimes even 150$) and I have to buy adapters too, so It'll cost me a lot.

So far the cheapest solution I've found is an old minolta Bellows III (50$ new) in combination with two adapters for AF mounts

[edgar_njari]

There is also one on e-bay (claimed it's new) for 22 pounds

[john_wintheiser]

I just bought a Spiratone bellowscope in perfect condition on the bay which includes a focusing rail for US$10.00. Unfortunatly, it didn't come with the T mount adapters. So far, I've been unable to find any. I've never used a bellows and I'm eager to try if I can find the adapters.