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Old 3rd August 2011, 05:50 PM
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Trevor Crone Trevor Crone is offline
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Just taken delivery of replacement bellows from Custom Bellows of Birmingham, and the damn thing has half-dozen pin holes or more

A friend kindly gave me his Toyo 45C but unfortunately the bellows were 'shot', far too many pin holes to easily deal with. I was advised to try Custom Bellows for replacement at a fraction of the price of new Toyo bellows (£220 + VAT + delivery). After shelling out £85 + VAT + delivery I'm still in possession of useless bellows

Needless to say I'll be in contact with them tomorrow to resolve this issue - I'll let you know how it goes.
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Old 3rd August 2011, 06:11 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Sorry to hear that Trevor. If it is a reputable company the outcome should be good. Usually getting advice means that it comes from someone who had had good service or knows from others that it gives good service.

We will all be interested to hear about the outcome. We have at least one FADU friend from Birmingham. I wonder if he has any knowledge of this company?

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Old 3rd August 2011, 06:24 PM
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Sorry to hear this Trevor. I have used them in the past and received good service and bellows. I hope this is just a glitch and fix this for you promptly. They make bellows for Canham so they should be good?
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Old 3rd August 2011, 06:29 PM
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I hope you get it sorted out Trevor - I wonder what went wrong ?

Neil.
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Old 3rd August 2011, 07:08 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Sorry to hear that Trevor, I have had bellows from them for one of my Ensign's and they were fine, hope this is just a glitch and you get it sorted,
Richard
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Old 3rd August 2011, 07:12 PM
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Robert White recommended them so they obviously have had good feedback. And I reviewed their 4x5 Bulldog DIY view camera for B&W Photography mag. many moons ago and that performed well without any real problems.

Just checked the bellows at full extension on the Toyo 45C; I've detected at least 16 pin holes

My test is quite unforgiving; I block off the GG by inserting a DDS, with lens removed I shine a Eurohike torch (very bright, 9 white LEDs) with my arm covered along the inside of all the folds of the bellows. Any pinholes light up like Christmas tree lights, quite pretty to look at.

Fortunately I managed to pick up WA bag bellows quite cheaply on the Bay, which is perfect, so I can still use the camera. These are leather, the regular bellows are synthetic. Custom Bellows said they couldn't provide leather bellows in the Toyo size
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Old 3rd August 2011, 07:50 PM
Neil Smith Neil Smith is offline
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How disappointing I hope they rectify the problem asap, my hunch is if Robert White are recommending them they are very reputable and will be happy to solve the problem.

Neil
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Old 3rd August 2011, 09:21 PM
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Trevor,
I'm sure they will solve the problem quickly. By the way why are you using a Toyo 45c instead of your Ebony's.
J.
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Old 3rd August 2011, 09:45 PM
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I'm surprised they could have let a length of pinholey fabric past their QC. I bought bellows from them once and the vinyl (I presume) was very good. Mind, I doubt you'd ever find leather bellows cheap these days since it needs special treatment to get rid of the hair holes.

Would you consider a fashion statement for your next ??



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Old 4th August 2011, 05:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Butler View Post
Trevor,
I'm sure they will solve the problem quickly. By the way why are you using a Toyo 45c instead of your Ebony's.
J.
Hi Jon, no, it wont replace my Ebony, far too heavy and bulky but it does offer a comprehensive range of movements. I particularly like the geared rise. It also handles longer lenses well which my Ebony SW doesn't do too well without some form of extension. Because of the longer bellows draw it will be great for close-up work, if I ever get round to it

As I mentioned it was a freebie, so I want to get it up to speck so I can use it to my liking.
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