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Bellows (photography)
 
 
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In photography, a bellows is the pleated expandable part of a camera, usually a large
Large format

Large format describes large photographic films, large cameras, view cameras and processes that use a film or digital sensor, generally 4 x 5 inches or larger....
 or medium format camera
Camera

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
, to allow the lens to be moved with respect to the focal plane for focusing.

The bellows provides a flexible dark enclosure (the camera obscura
Camera obscura

The camera obscura is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography....
) between the film plate and the lens. In some cameras, the photographer can change the angle of the film plate with respect to the optical axis of the lens, providing alterations of perspective distortion and of the object plane of focus.

There are 2 common kinds of camera bellows:



For large format cameras
View camera

The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a Photographic lens, and the other a viewfinder or a photographic film holder....
, “double extension” refers to bellows that extend to a length equal to about twice the focal length of a standard lens, e.g.






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In photography, a bellows is the pleated expandable part of a camera, usually a large
Large format

Large format describes large photographic films, large cameras, view cameras and processes that use a film or digital sensor, generally 4 x 5 inches or larger....
 or medium format camera
Camera

A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
, to allow the lens to be moved with respect to the focal plane for focusing.

The bellows provides a flexible dark enclosure (the camera obscura
Camera obscura

The camera obscura is an optical device used, for example, in drawing or for entertainment. It is one of the inventions leading to photography....
) between the film plate and the lens. In some cameras, the photographer can change the angle of the film plate with respect to the optical axis of the lens, providing alterations of perspective distortion and of the object plane of focus.

There are 2 common kinds of camera bellows:

  • bag bellows, normally used with a lens of short focal length
  • accordion bellows, with a much longer range of extension.


For large format cameras
View camera

The view camera is a type of camera first developed in the era of the Daguerreotype and still in use today, though with many refinements. It comprises a flexible bellows which forms a light-tight seal between two adjustable standards, one of which holds a Photographic lens, and the other a viewfinder or a photographic film holder....
, “double extension” refers to bellows that extend to a length equal to about twice the focal length of a standard lens, e.g. 300 mm for the 4×5 inch format. “Triple extension” for the same format indicates bellows extension of 450 to 500 mm.

Bellows on a camera can be used to correct distortion in a photograph. For example, when shooting a scene with strong vertical elements which are truly parallel to each other, some camera systems would tend to curve these elements and make them appear in the resulting photograph to NOT be parallel. Use of a bellows-based camera can ensure that parallel elements in a scene remain parallel in the final photograph.