alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 I have postponed the purchase of this useful accessory for years for it's price tag and also because my bag is as full as an egg. But I can think of a way to fit it in my bag if the hood can be left attached to the front of the VX-125 and folded. I am not sure though that the two rods can be pulled back and if not, how much further would they protrude from the folded bellows when everything is flat? Also, is the section of tube at the back of the compendium removable or fixed and will it damage the lensboard during transport? If someone has this item and could check that for me, I'd really appreciate! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Ouch! The copy paste title had some unwanted effects! At least it should be noticed ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul: I have its "little brother" for the 45A series. I believe they both use the same attachment swivel and rods. I will measure them carefully, but to first order, the thickness of the compressed hood/tube is about the same as the length of the rods, so they won't protrude very far. The rods themselves don't slide (a la Arca Swiss) but consist of a stub attached to the swivel mount and a rod extension that screws into the stub. I think you could slide the hood all the way back onto the stubs, then unscrew the ends of the rods to shorten them. There are also longer rod extensions available that screw into the stubs. I will check the ability to unscrew the extensions with the assembly in place on the camera. As for the tube, it is a molded part of the rear plastic covering of the bellows. I can't imagine it damaging a lensboard, but if smashed, I could imaging the tube buckling or cracking, it's not very thick plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Hi Glenn Thanks for the details! When you said that the rods can be removed, I noticed that they were in two parts, one screwed into the other on the picture I had, so that can certainly be worked out. So the back part is platic. Probably lighter but as you say, one should be cautious not to crush it. Could you please measure the depth of the folded compendium and tell me how much it adds to the camera? (without the rods). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene_singer Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul, I just measured my Toyo compendium shade. Collapsed tightly, pressed against the lensboard on the front of the camera, it extends the front length by, approx., 50mm. The rods are easy to un-screw into two parts and remove from the frame assembly. Even though I use screw-in filters, I really enjoy using this type of bellows lenshood. I have never found one that works as easily and effectively as the Toyo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul: I get the same answer a Eugene, about 50mm compressed for the bellows and tube assembly. The total length of the rods/swivel attachmant is about 85mm. On my 45A, I can unscrew the ends of the rods with the hood compressed against the lensboard. But the rods only extend about 8mm beyond the end of the compressed bellows, so I am not sure it is worth the time and effort to unscrew them. With the rod ends unscrewed, there is a chance that the fiber bushings could fall out and be lost. The rods have a rim on the end to prevent that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul: Based on my Toyo catalog, it would appear that the rods on the 8060 are longer than on the 1660 that I am measuring. Here is what it says: 8060: "69.5 mm lens hood rod is detachable at 26.5 mm from the front end for use of a short focusing lens to avoid taking an unwanted photo of the rods" 1660 (what I and I think Eugene are measuring): "61 mm lens rod is detachable at 24 mm from the front end" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Excellent! 50mm is much less than I thought and will fit with no problem in my bag's camera compartment even with the rods slightly protruding. Eugene I'm glad that you find it so good. This thought should help when I'll have to bite the bullet! How expensive for what it is really... Thanks a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene_singer Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 You're welcome, Paul. I hesitated for a while before I bought mine, due to the price. However, an excellent used one eventually showed up at Midwest Photo Exchange for a much lower price than the ones I saw for sale on E-Bay. It's interesting, but the compendium shade for the Shen Hao, as shown on the badgergraphic.com website, looks exactly like the Toyo. It's priced at only $135. Look under large format accessories-Shen Hao. It may be worth a call to Jeff to find out if it is adaptable to your camera.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 Yes, I had noticed this similarity too. Might be worth asking. As far as the 5cm # thickness of the folded hood is concerned, are we speaking of both the large and the smaller hood or is it the smaller modell for the field lensboards only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene_singer Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul, the compendium shade that I have is the one that fits the Toyo 45A field cameras. The Toyo field cameras take the 110mm X 110mm lensboards. The Shen Hao uses Linhof Tech style lensboards. a little smaller than the Toyo field boards. I just looked up the size of the lensboards for your VX-125, and they are the 158mm X158mm size that are used on the Toyo monorail view cameras. Sorry, I assumed that the VX-125 used the same lensboards as the field cameras. I learned something new, today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene_singer Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul, there is a compendium shade for Toyo monorail cameras listed on the Midwest Photo Exchange (mpex.com) website, $199. I don't know where you are located, but if you can call Jim at 614-261-1264 Monday, and tell him that I recommended, I'm sure he will quote you a better price. At least he can tell you the collapsed size. I hope this makes up for my stupidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul: I also measured the smaller field version, but from the catalogs I have, and aside from the measurements of the rod lengths that I posted, I don't think the thickness of the folded hood will be much different, maybe 10% at most. Actually, in the pictures, the stampings and mechanism look identically thick, I just don't know if there is slightly more bellows material to accomodate more extension. Like Eugene, I condsider this hood to be one of the nicest attributes of the Toyo 45 series, comparable to Arca-Swiss hood, and vastly superior to Wista's clamp on hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 15, 2003 Author Share Posted February 15, 2003 No problem, Eugene, and thanks for your concern. I have been searching for images and I agree with you Glenn, that both versions must be pretty much the same when folded. The only part that could make a difference are the two rods. From my extrapolations on the proportions in a JPG image, they should extend to around 8,5 cm from the lensboard. I could squeeze the camera with hood in place in my back pack but the rods will be pushing to the wall and a shock to the back could cause some damage. Another contributor pointed the other version that has no rods to me, but I think I need the extension for the use of large center filters and graduated filters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 15, 2003 Share Posted February 15, 2003 Paul: Looks like you will need to unscrew the rod extensions for comfort, but that is easy, and will leave the rods just as short, or shorter than the bellows themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 16, 2003 Author Share Posted February 16, 2003 Do you find the rod extension mechanism indispensable? There is another model without it that folds very flat for it has not the tubular section at the back and I'm told it should do the job. It is also much cheaper. How about using a Lee filter holder and a graduated filter in conjunction with the Toyo hoods? Is it manageable with either model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_kroeger Posted February 16, 2003 Share Posted February 16, 2003 Paul: I have seen photos of the other compendium hood, without the tube. It would appear that that version compresses more. Since that version is not available for the field cameras, I never pursued it. As for the Lee holder and ND grads, I suspect that the version without tube would be better, but that both versions might be difficult to use. If you regularly use the Lee system, you should consider the Lee compendium that attaches to the holder. I have used the smaller Camera Bellows compendium for the Cokin holders that is similar to the Lee hood. While it is more difficult to shift the front of these hoods, you can still achieve a controlled shading pretty easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpshiker Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 Glenn, Eugene, thanks for your informative contributions! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now