Bellows question

I have the oppertunity to buy some K mount Bellows or extension tubes.
Now I already have tubes on the M42 screw, so can only use M42 lenses.
However, has anyone used bellows, if so, what do you think? I like the micro adjustment with bellows, but in use are they better than tubes?

Advises please, and examples as well is you can

Bellows are certainly not as convenient to use as tubes, and the minimum distance they collapse down to is usually longer than the smallest tube.

The bellows I have were bought for my LX (so probably +20 years ago) they are not automatic and the lens is mounted via its filter thread (reversed is actually the best way to use a lens for extreme macro). I used an 85mm F2 to give me a bit more working distance as this can be down to just a few mm.

Both the camera mounting plate and lens plate are fully adjustable in x and y and tilt – which works like a shift lens giving you total control over the area in focus. In that way they are more flexible than tubes but very fiddly to set up. Also working at full extension you will need a good lighting set up as the image will be very dark.

I haven’t tried them out on the K-7 yet and didn’t use them much on the K10D, but the live view on the K-7 should make focusing easier.

One problem with the K10D was the protruding pentaprism meant that I could only mount the K10 by also using a short extension tube between the bellows and the camera.

If you have the patience then bellows do allow for more creative/extreme macros – but I suspect you would get more use from a set of tubes.