Toyo bellows do not fit on VX-125?

[alpshiker]

I just receive a 410 mm Toyo bellows that I bought second hand. Although it fits the lensboard side of the VX-125, it doesn't on the other side. Is it an old make?

[alpshiker]

Other question if I may: I am looking in a piece of rail to make a special setup. Are the Toyo non extendable

rails made of the same strength tube with similar wall thickness than the extension rails? Or is it a cheaper,

lighter stuff ? Thanks !

[bill_glickman]

Paul, as for the Toyo bellows, it must be a very old ..as toyo

advertises interchangeability between all their products. All their

new products and Bellows does fit the VX125. As for the extension

rails for the toyo system...they are rock solid rails, much stronger

than the telescoping rail on the VX125. There is a lot of problems

in getting rails to match up with the camera, so try to assess if all

this would be worth it vs. paying top dollar for the factory Toyo

rails. The problems come in with the ability to make the camera move

over rail connections...if you could make one long rail, this may not

be an issue. Based on how long you want to go, you should still

consider having a machninist make a connection to your existing

telescoping rail, then you can add additional rails when needed, this

can easily get you up to 750mm, or as high as 1250mm with only two

extensions. I like the convience of not having to take the VX apart

to add additional rails. For long extensions you also need the Toyo

Subframe... which is very expensive, unless you buy their long

bellows which is listed at 750mm, but does not actually extend that

far, I would rate it at 600mm. Therefore I use it with the VX

bellows and the subframe.

[mario_mab]

Bill,

 

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I'm interested as well creating a that connection between the VX rail

and the rail extensions. Do you actually know however does this job?

 

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Thank you.

[mario_mab]

Sorry for my terrible English.

 

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My question is: can you indicate to us a particular machinist that

did this job already successfully?

 

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Thank you.

[alpshiker]

Mario, If you did not get the answer privately, I can tell you Steve grimes (link at the LF Forum home page) has done

this before for Bill. However, Bill would tell you that it is something a little beyond boundaries, as the collapsible is

already at it's weakest and somewhat flimsy when extended at 300 mm. What I wanted to do was using a new piece

of rail self supported in a tripod clamp, and screw in the collapsible rail so it is now the extension and carries the

lens only. But of course, this requires machining too. The advantage over a new set of rails is that it is much easier to

pass the standards from one rail to the other when they are connected.

[mario_mab]

Paul,

 

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If I was capable of attaching, lets say, two extensions of 250mm,

just like you do when you attach the caps, I would keep the

collapsible VX rail at It�s minimum (at it�s full strength). 500mm or

600mm of extension rail for me would be more then sufficient.

 

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Utopist? Maybe...

 

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Anyway I didn't get any private e-mail about this matter. But I hope

to get one from Mr. Steve Grimes, to which I wrote before.

 

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Thank you.

[alpshiker]

Mario, it can be done so. But I believe the tripod link of the collapsible rail is actually a problem. It is too flexible in

my opinion to assure the rigidity of a 500 mm or longer extension. Even when using a 240 mm, I have seen that a

very light breeze can ruin the picture's sharpness. That's where monorail cameras with relatively high axial point and

large bellows (compared to flatbeds) lack, in outdoor use. I myself will look into a separate tripod clamp, to get the

most of the camera extension, long lenses being very demanding in terms of stability. This will also keep the strain

applied to the collapsible to an amount that it was designed to support. Too much strain can loosen the dove tail

assemblies and cause damage. I had been thinking this in and out with the experiences of Bill, and thought I would

consider extending one end only, preferably the back where the strain is greater when inserting and holding the

rollfilm backs, and use a separate clamp (heavy duty) to assure the stiffness of the whole assembly. I will have to

look into one extension only for my needs. But I think, if the job is done by Mr Grimes, he can preserve the possibility

for extending the extension rail itself with an unlimited amount of rails.

[bill_glickman]

Hey guys, keep this in mind... If you make this fix, you do NOT have

to extend the telescoping rail out when adding extensions. For

example, when I want 500mm, I just screw on two 250 extensions and do

not open the telescoping rail...therefore its never at risk. I have

been using this set up for 2 years now with no problems at all. To

go through all this trouble, just be sure that you will use it ofen

enough to justify it! If not, just make a connection on one end as

Paul suggested. I use my Nikor 1200 quite often on the VX and this

has become a very welcome improvment. Although if I have the time or

there is any wind, I quite often will just install 3 rails and

abandon the telescoping arrangement. But when I only need 500mm, I

always stay with the tele rail and just add an extension...