Using a press camera for wet plate ?

[Yaeli]

Buying your first chemistry as a kit like that isn't a bad idea — that's what I did back in 2016 and I never regretted it. It made things simpler to get started, and I appreciated that. But be aware that you will need to have more silver nitrate crystals available to replenish your silver bath before too long.

I'll keep that in mind, thank you
If I ever find the energy and patience for it (which is not a given, considering many personal factors), I think I'll first do a workshop, then, depending on how it goes, I'll go with the kit to start.

 

[koraks]

1000 ml Thiosulfat powder for 4 liters of working solution
500 ml Silver nitrate solution 9%
1000 ml developer solution
500 ml ready to use Collodion
250 ml Sandarac glace with Lavendar oil

I've never been particularly happy with plain sodium thiosulfate fixer and at some point just started using regular rapid fixer. Never regretted the decision. Worked a lot better; the little drip on the edge/corner of the plate would clear a heck of a lot faster. Btw, if you want to buy sodium thiosulfate: it's sold in many hardware stores in the pool supply section. It's used to reduce the chloride level in swimming pools. It's really cheap.
The developer is probably just ferrous sulfate. Ferrous sulfate is a fairly harmless chemical that's also cheap. Wet plate practitioners often like to experiment by varying the acid and ferrous parts of the developer to tailor the activity to their needs; this is more difficult if the developer is already mixed. Other developers can also be used.
Sandarac is probably nice and I still must have a little somewhere that I bought in my local arts supplies store where it sits next to the beeswax, lavender oil etc. In the rare instances where I wanted to varnish a plate, I just used a ready-made varnish intended for (if memory serves) acrylic paintings.

In short - nothing wrong with a kit like this, but there are many alternative options both for the chemicals and for obtaining them.
As @retina_restoration says, I see nothing in that kit that will help you in reconditioning your silver bath.

 

[Yaeli]

I've never been particularly happy with plain sodium thiosulfate fixer and at some point just started using regular rapid fixer. Never regretted the decision. Worked a lot better; the little drip on the edge/corner of the plate would clear a heck of a lot faster. Btw, if you want to buy sodium thiosulfate: it's sold in many hardware stores in the pool supply section. It's used to reduce the chloride level in swimming pools. It's really cheap.
The developer is probably just ferrous sulfate. Ferrous sulfate is a fairly harmless chemical that's also cheap. Wet plate practitioners often like to experiment by varying the acid and ferrous parts of the developer to tailor the activity to their needs; this is more difficult if the developer is already mixed. Other developers can also be used.
Sandarac is probably nice and I still must have a little somewhere that I bought in my local arts supplies store where it sits next to the beeswax, lavender oil etc. In the rare instances where I wanted to varnish a plate, I just used a ready-made varnish intended for (if memory serves) acrylic paintings.

In short - nothing wrong with a kit like this, but there are many alternative options both for the chemicals and for obtaining them.
As @retina_restoration says, I see nothing in that kit that will help you in reconditioning your silver bath.

Thank you for your answer ! I imagine they choose the cheapest chemicals when possible, yes. It's good to know that it's a "one time" kit that will require silver to replenish the bath anyway.
Anyway, I'm not there yet I'm gonna try and make a decent image with the camera first ^^ (once I get all the gear, that is).

 

[koraks]

It's not so much that they choose the cheapest chemistry, although in this case it works out that way. The choices made are ones that fit in the present 'tradition' of wet plate photography. If you look at manuals, videos and guidelines about how to get started (in modern times) in wet plate, you'll find most will offer the same starting points: a ferrous sulfate developer acidified with acetic acid, a plain thiosulfate fixer and sandarac for varnishing (usually with al alcohol lamp for heating). This works, but it's not the only path to success.

 

[Yaeli]

It's not so much that they choose the cheapest chemistry, although in this case it works out that way. The choices made are ones that fit in the present 'tradition' of wet plate photography. If you look at manuals, videos and guidelines about how to get started (in modern times) in wet plate, you'll find most will offer the same starting points: a ferrous sulfate developer acidified with acetic acid, a plain thiosulfate fixer and sandarac for varnishing (usually with al alcohol lamp for heating). This works, but it's not the only path to success.

Thank you for the explanation !
I'll be honest with you, I have no idea what impact different chemicals have on the way a plate will look like.... and if I had to choose one chemical over another, my main concern would probably be to pick the least toxic one...

 

[koraks]

Everything is toxic if you eat enough of it.

Having said that, the kit as sold is relatively benign. It avoids a couple of more toxic components:
Cyanide for the fixer.
Pyrogallol for the developer.
The sodium thiosulfate fixer as such isn't necessarily more or less toxic than a regular photographic rapid fixer like Ilford Hypam, Adofix etc.
Evidently, one of the main risk factors is inherent to the process itself, which is the collodion mix which is highly flammable and under very adverse conditions can even make an explosive atmosphere - but that would be an extreme case. Just be careful handling the bottle of collodion and properly ventilate your working space.

 

[Yaeli]

Everything is toxic if you eat enough of it.

Having said that, the kit as sold is relatively benign. It avoids a couple of more toxic components:
Cyanide for the fixer.
Pyrogallol for the developer.
The sodium thiosulfate fixer as such isn't necessarily more or less toxic than a regular photographic rapid fixer like Ilford Hypam, Adofix etc.
Evidently, one of the main risk factors is inherent to the process itself, which is the collodion mix which is highly flammable and under very adverse conditions can even make an explosive atmosphere - but that would be an extreme case. Just be careful handling the bottle of collodion and properly ventilate your working space.

I was going to be careful indeed (OCD can have its "perks", sort of). I just wanted to avoid the more "dangerous" chemicals (maybe a more appropriate term than "toxic").
Ventilation is going to be somewhat of an issue. I only have a very small apartment, with one window, one room, and just the basic bathroom ventilation. I think it’s enough for some basic B&W chemicals a few hours 2-3 times a week, but it’s probably not appropriate for more than that...

 

[koraks]

You can do wet plate there, just ventilate the place frequently as you're working. I've worked in a similar environment and it's OK as long as the ether vapors don't build up too much. Do you have a decent sense of smell?

 

[Yaeli]

You can do wet plate there, just ventilate the place frequently as you're working. I've worked in a similar environment and it's OK as long as the ether vapors don't build up too much. Do you have a decent sense of smell?

Oh, awesome ! I was afraid it would be an issue.
Yes, I have a decent sense of smell.

 

[koraks]

Well, trust your nose. Once you notice a significant sweet smell of ether and an alcohol smell, ventilate the place.

 

[Yaeli]

Well, trust your nose. Once you notice a significant sweet smell of ether and an alcohol smell, ventilate the place.

Will do, thanks !
Or I will go down the easy, safer route and use dry plates, though they apparently don't look quite the same.

 

[Yaeli]

Hello everyone,

I have a noob question : I received the Super Speed Graphic and it is indeed in very good condition. Everything seems to be working fine - except maybe the rangefinder, in which no patch can be seen.
But the ground glass is extremely dark, even with the Optar f4.5 wide open. I can see ok-ish in the center when I point it at my window, but trying to see anything else than a very bright object is a nightmare.
I thought my Rolleicord was dim, but this is another big step in "dimness"...
Is this to be expected, or is something wrong ?
If I'm not completely mistaken, a fresnel would help with that, right ?

 

[david schaller]

What are you using for a dark cloth?

 

[Yaeli]

What are you using for a dark cloth?

A large black sweater

 

[david schaller]

Large format takes quite an adjustment from the view finders you may be used to with other cameras. Try to use an opaque dark cloth, take time for your eyes to adjust, and maybe start practicing out of doors with lots of light.
Edit: Always check to be sure your lens is manually opened to the widest aperture!

 

[koraks]

I can see ok-ish in the center when I point it at my window, but trying to see anything else than a very bright object is a nightmare.

Welcome to the wonderful world of large format.
1: a fresnel helps to see what's going on outside the center. You can do without a fresnel, too, but you'll have to move your head into the corner where you want to see the image.
2: as @david schaller above indicates, esp. if you have a lot of light shining into your back and onto the camera, you need a decent dark cloth.

A large black sweater

Works for me most of the time on 4x5, but with a lot of light around and a dim subject or a lot of bellows extension, it can be hard to make out the image.

 

[Yaeli]

Large format takes quite an adjustment from the view finders you may be used to with other cameras. Try to use an opaque dark cloth, take time for your eyes to adjust, and maybe start practicing out of doors with lots of light.
Edit: Always check to be sure your lens is manually opened to the widest aperture!

Thank you ! The Optar on the Super Speed Graphic has an "open / close" switch on the lens, so when it's open, it's open all the way (I think... it was on f4.5 anyway,).
But I'll definitely try and let my eyes adjust more !

Welcome to the wonderful world of large format.
1: a fresnel helps to see what's going on outside the center. You can do without a fresnel, too, but you'll have to move your head into the corner where you want to see the image.

Thank you ! I'll try again and make sure the cloth covers everything perfectly, and also taking my time. I'll look into the fresnel too

 

[Yaeli]

So, clearly, a handheld selfie at 1/15th of a sec with a 135mm lens and the inability to really check focus (the ground glass was almost purely dark in those conditions)was not optimal But at least the camera and Instax back seem to be working... I received the tripod but the 3 way head was broken, so I can’t really test the camera in good conditions for now.
I will attempt to clean the ground glass tomorrow though, because it has a brownish grey color that I have never seen in any videos about large format cameras...

 

[koraks]

That's lovely, haha!

 

[Yaeli]

That's lovely, haha!

The learning curve looks like a very steep hill right now, I'm not gonna lie.
But you know what they say : if at first you don’t succeed, try try again (only not handheld in your bathroom ).

 

[koraks]

A steep climb only means that within a relatively short period of time, you'll get to enjoy a pretty amazing view! It involves some transpiration and determination, but it's worth it.

 

[BrianShaw]

But the ground glass is extremely dark, even with the Optar f4.5 wide open. I can see ok-ish in the center when I point it at my window, but trying to see anything else than a very bright object is a nightmare.

If I'm not completely mistaken, a fresnel would help with that, right ?

The SuperGraphic came stock with a fresnel, called Ektalite, that is sandwiched with the ground glass. It might be worth taking that assembly apart and cleaning them. Just make sure you notice how they are installed as Graflex is not in the same configuatin as other LF cameras.

Also, be sure that the aperture is open all the way. I believe the press focus function on the Graphex shutter only actuates the shutter blades and does not have any change on the aperture blades.

 

[Yaeli]

The SuperGraphic came stock with a fresnel, called Ektalite, that is sandwiched with the ground glass. It might be worth taking that assembly apart and cleaning them. Just make sure you notice how they are installed as Graflex is not in the same configuatin as other LF cameras.

Oh, I didn't know that, thank you ! There has to be something wrong with it because it is dark as... dark.
Since I also have to install the Oleson screen on the Rolleicord I bought more than a year ago and only used once... I guess it will be DIY day soon...

 

[BrianShaw]

I use rangefinder 99% of the time but my recollectionis that the stock Ektalite-GG is a bit dim. Part of the charm...

 

[Yaeli]

I use rangefinder 99% of the time but my recollectionis that the stock Ektalite-GG is a bit dim. Part of the charm...

I don’t think the rangefinder works on mine. There is no patch visible inside, no matter how I look through it or try to focus.
But it's good to know that the stock GG is dim. At least I know it’s expected.