Well I went and bought the first Bel-Jac that Pete listed on E-Bay. I have had an Agfa Ventura 69 Deluxe sitting here for about five years. Never put any film through it as the bellows were typical with a hole at every single corner and I just never had the time to make a new one. When I saw Pete's Bel-Jac idea I thought that would be a really good way to try out the camera to see if it was worth the time or effort of a new bellows with just a minimal investment.
So Pete got the Bel-Jac to me in no time, I promptly put it on the camera and it fit like a glove just beautiful. Then I put a roll of Acros in it and immediately had to head out the door for another reason. I have spent the last five weeks or so trying to shoot that roll of film and two days ago i finally managed to do it. Was driving past Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati so i drove through and shot eight fairly boring pic's but checking for light leaks was the purpose anyway.
I will say I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the negatives. No light leaks at all and this bellows really does have a hole at every single corner, plus the film was in the camera for about five weeks.
At least now I know the Solinar on this camera is well worth a new bellows but it probably will not get one now. Installing and removing the Bel-Jac takes no time at all so I will just carry the it all separately throw it together if I need it. Only gets eight shots anyway.
Here are two examples from Wednesday.
Pete, sorry it took me so long to let you know but as you can see it worked really well.
