An accidental Ebay barganza?

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 17, 2014

I bid and won some 5x7 film holders on Ebay. 5 film holders for $10 plus $12 shipping. Not being knowledgable about dry plate film holders. After some investigation, 3 out of the 5 were Eastman dry plate film holders. Did I find a deal? This piqued my interest in dry plate photography.

BrianShaw · Jun 17, 2014

If you are interested in 5x7 plate photography then, indeed, I think you found a deal.

John Koehrer · Jun 17, 2014

'Tis a slippery slope for certain. Considering the bargain on the holders, that give you more $$ to spend on the rest of the stuff.

snapguy · Jun 17, 2014

deal

I would say it is a bargain. And there are other uses for film holders. You can use them with an enlarger and make copies. You can change neg to positive, positive to negative image, and/or make a negatrive of a ngetaive. Or you could build a do-it-yourself 5x7 camera.

ntenny · Jun 17, 2014

Assuming the other two were "normal" 5x7 film holders, you got quite a good deal even if the three plate holders are useless.

I'm not sure how many flavors of Eastman plate holders there were, but if they have the same external form factor as the film holders, you can use them for sheet film simply by putting in an appropriate-thickness glass sheet as a spacer. The ones I have don't have a spring mechanism to position the plate, so the glass sits a little loosely and they might not be achieving absolutely precise registration of the film plane with the ground glass, but at the contact-print scale I've never seen any actual evidence of a problem.

Dry plates aren't very different in use from sheet film, but they have the benefit of rigidity (no flex problems) and the ability to be their own contact frames; on the other hand, they're heavy and they can get broken. Don't try taco-style development with them.

-NT

DannL. · Jun 17, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I bid and won some 5x7 film holders on Ebay. 5 film holders for $10 plus $12 shipping. Not being knowledgable about dry plate film holders. After some investigation, 3 out of the 5 were Eastman dry plate film holders. Did I find a deal? This piqued my interest in dry plate photography.

You might consider using ready-made emulsions as I do, and cut/coat your own plates. For three of the four plate cameras that I use, I coat plates using Rockland's Liquid Light. I figure it's more refined than any emulsion I could produce. In fact, the holders for those cameras are currently loaded with plates. I need to make some exposures. But of course, making your own emulsion is definitely a route that many are taking. I love the process and the results.

http://www.thelightfarm.com/

http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes/gelatin-silver/silver-gelatin-dry-plate-process

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 17, 2014

Thanks for the info!

DannL. said:
You might consider using ready-made emulsions as I do, and cut/coat your own plates. For three of the four plate cameras that I use, I coat plates using Rockland's Liquid Light. I figure it's more refined than any emulsion I could produce. In fact, the holders for those cameras are currently loaded with plates. I need to make some exposures. But of course, making your own emulsion is definitely a route that many are taking. I love the process and the results.

http://www.thelightfarm.com/

http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes/gelatin-silver/silver-gelatin-dry-plate-process

I think pre made emulsions are the way to go for me. The Light Farm is fascinating yet intimidating. How do you cost your glass?

DannL. · Jun 17, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
I think pre made emulsions are the way to go for me. The Light Farm is fascinating yet intimidating. How do you cost your glass?

Glass costs? 1.2 cents per square inch. Is that what you were asking? Or was that suppose to be "How do I cut my glass?"

I buy those plastic picture frames that have the glass that pops in through the front of the frame. 1.5mm to 2mm is about the correct thickness for all my plate holders. Generally those 8x10 picture frames go for about 99 cents at local thrift stores. They also make a 5x7 and 11x14 frame, when I can find them. In all cases I toss the plastic frame and keep the glass. I cut the glass to size by hand with a steel-wheel glass cutter as required.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 17, 2014

DannL. said:
Glass costs? 1.2 cents per square inch. Is that what you were asking? Or was that suppose to be "How do I cut my glass?"

Dang. iPhone fat finger. I meant coat your glass. Do you brush on the emulsion or pour it on the glass and manipulate the puddle then pour the rest back ala collodion style?

DannL. · Jun 17, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Dang. iPhone fat finger. I meant coat your glass. Do you brush on the emulsion or pour it on the glass and manipulate the puddle then pour the rest back ala collodion style?

Oh no, that's a third variation of the question I didn't count on.

First I clean the glass thoroughly in a tub of water with a bit of powdered laundry detergent added. Then I dry the plate and polish with a lint-free cloth. And then I brush off any dust particles that may have settled on the glass surface. I spray a thin layer of Min-Wax polyurethane on the side of the plate to be coated. I have found the Min-Wax helps to keep the emulsion on the plate during processing. Some folks have found other ways to sub their plates, and some don't sub their plates at all. Then the plate is dried in a ventilated light-tight cabinet for 24 hours. My cabinet is nothing more that a suitcase with shelves inside and a computer fan added.

Rockland's Liquid Light comes as a "solid gel" in a black plastic bottle at room temperature. I partially fill a bucket with hot tap water. I use the hottest my tap will provide. Then I float the Liquid Light bottle in the bucket of hot water for about ten minutes or so. By then it should be all turned to a pourable liquid. Don't shake the bottle or you may get bubbles. I added some Photo-flo to my last bottle of Liquid Light, and it seemed to help in eliminating bubbles in the dried emulsion. I'm still experimenting with quantities of Photo-flo. It's not very much though. Under a safe-light I then pour a disc of emulsion on the plate, size depending on the plate size, and manipulate it with a finger tip until the plate is covered evenly. I need to do this fairly quickly or the emulsion starts to thicken by cooling and evaporation. Once coated, the plate goes into the suitcase to dry for another 24. Note: The drying cabinet, whatever you use, must be light-proof. I may have forgotten something here, so please let me know.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 18, 2014

Thanks Dann. It's a good start. It sounds like a very involved process. I've done some research and it seems that some folks have a problem with fogging with the plates if they're not used within a couple of weeks of coating the glass. Do you have such a problem?

DannL. · Jun 18, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Thanks Dann. It's a good start. It sounds like a very involved process. I've done some research and it seems that some folks have a problem with fogging with the plates if they're not used within a couple of weeks of coating the glass. Do you have such a problem?

I'll will check into this. I have many plates in the holders now. They have been "curing" for about a month, maybe a tad longer. I just haven't had the time to use them. I'll test one and see. Up to this point though, I have never had an issue with fogging.

The process of making the plates is really not difficult at all. What is difficult, I suppose, is the anxiety that comes with waiting.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 18, 2014

DannL. said:
What is difficult, I suppose, is the anxiety that comes with waiting.

Instant gratification isn't everything. Look what happens to digital shooters.

DannL. · Jun 18, 2014

I had a "Barganza" on eBay the other day. I was following an auction for a Calumet 45N monorail in excellent condition. I guess the seller had second thoughts about the way it was listed, and they pulled the auction. Shortly thereafter they relisted the same camera at $99.00, Buy-it-now, with free shipping. It even came with a Bag-Bellows in like-new condition. I thought that was a good deal.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jun 18, 2014

Buying on Ebay can be good

DannL. said:
I had a "Barganza" on eBay the other day. I was following an auction for a Calumet 45N monorail in excellent condition. I guess the seller had second thoughts about the way it was listed, and they pulled the auction. Shortly thereafter they relisted the same camera at $99.00, Buy-it-now, with free shipping. It even came with a Bag-Bellows in like-new condition. I thought that was a good deal.

I've found some bargains on Ebay. But selling on Ebay can be tough. They do take a huge cut and Paypal too. But it's always Caveat Emptor on Ebay.

DannL. · Jun 19, 2014

I exposed a half-plate this evening around 6:15 PM and then developed it, but didn't print it. My scanner only scanned the middle portion of the plate. This is an 8 second exposure at f/45 and was over the back fence looking east into a huge white cloud front that was developing into a storm. The wind gusts were fairly strong. Note that nothing of the storm shows up on the plate, which is what I was expecting. Even though one might think that there is fog, the borders are mostly clear where the emulsion remained unexposed. I haven't decided if fog is actually present, or if my coating of this plate was especially poor. I will have compare many more plates, both older and fresh to make a determination.

For my own purposes the last thing I want is to have plate negatives that look like film negatives once their developed. So even if some fog is present, it's not of great importance unless it interferes with the picture I want to produce. The reason I'm playing with plates is that I am looking for that hand-made look. I have had at leaast one plate that was "too good" in my opinion, leaving me wondering . . . maybe I need to be a little sloppy in my coating to get the look and feel that I'm after.

Flaws are very welcome here.

Note: In the last "tweeked" image, what appears to be "fog" on the left side, near the chimney, is not. This is the result of emulsion being thinner in that area verses the rest of the plate. That's a coating issue.

View attachment 89784 View attachment 89785 View attachment 89786

DannL. · Jun 19, 2014

A close crop from the plate image showing 8 seconds of wind moving the tree around. I really enjoy slow emulsions.

View attachment 89788

DannL. · Jul 8, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Thanks Dann. It's a good start. It sounds like a very involved process. I've done some research and it seems that some folks have a problem with fogging with the plates if they're not used within a couple of weeks of coating the glass. Do you have such a problem?

So, I exposed several plates yesterday and I do believe that there is some fog present. It's not a lot, but the borders which would normally be clear in the plate appear to have fog present. I believe theses plates where coated sometime in May. I will now have to make some test prints.

An accidental Ebay barganza?

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