Beseler 23c negative holders

Im on the market for a medium format negative holder for a 23c ii .

Does it matter if it has glass or not?
I have seen two types of glass, a standard el cheapo glass and the anti newtonian glass with spectacularly different prices.


I have the option of making 6x4.5 negatives and 6x6 negatives..
can i kill the birdie of cost and jsut get the 6x6 carrier and use it with 645 as well?

Most Beseler carriers are glassless, go with that. Much easier to deal with (dust!) and cheaper. Yes, you can use the 6x6 carrier for 6x4.5 negs.

btaylor said:

Most Beseler carriers are glassless, go with that. Much easier to deal with (dust!) and cheaper. Yes, you can use the 6x6 carrier for 6x4.5 negs.

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if glassless is cheaper and easier to deal with, why even do the glass versions

Bezoar said:

if glassless is cheaper and easier to deal with, why even do the glass versions

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I bought the AN glass 6x9 carrier for my 23CII because I was having an issue with negative popping, despite the fact that I have the heat absorbing glass. The popping disappeared with the use of the glass carrier and the negatives stay nice and flat. I made masks out of black construction paper so that I could use the carrier with 35mm and 120 negatives.

The glass carriers are pretty expensive, but I think they'll pay for themselves in the long run with sharper prints and a simpler printing workflow.

Glass carriers with a condenser enlarger like a 23C mean more dust to spot out from your prints.
Glass carriers are a bit less of a dust problem if you have a colour or variable contrast diffusion light source.
Glass carriers keep the negative much flatter - that will matter particularly if you do large prints.
A 6x6 glassless carrier will work with 6x4.5 negatives, but make sure you leave your negatives in strips that are at least three negatives long - preferably four or five long.
If you print a lot of 6x4.5 negatives with a glassless carrier, you will probably end up wanting a 6x4.5 carrier eventually, because that carrier will allow you to have the negatives centred, even if they are at the end of the strip.
In the meantime, If you have a 6x6 glassless carrier, you can make lots of prints, so go for it.

MattKing said:

Glass carriers with a condenser enlarger like a 23C mean more dust to spot out from your prints.

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I haven't had a problem with this. I just use a lens cleaning cloth to clean all four surfaces of the glass before inserting the carrier into the enlarger and haven't found that I have any more dust spots on my prints than when I was using glassless carriers.

I've only used glassless carriers for medium format. If I were to try to print a neg that's cooled off (like while processing and checking a test strip), then I'd get popping while it's being exposed. But I always turn the enlarger light on and let it warm up before I expose the print. I haven't had any issues since I started doing that. I do use a glass carrier for 4x5 (anti-Newton) and am super careful to not let dust get on it in the first place. I can't say I have a major preference between the two. I would say that if I were to get a glass carrier for medium format that I'd get anti-Newton.

mine came with the dual dichro S head... so im good for everything printing wise..

i am using the heat dissipating glass, and the "sharper prints" is the thing im hoping to accomplish

How much difference in thickness is there with the glass carriers versus the glass less carriers? reading about guys on here making their own glass and glass less carriers from wood on here has me thinking..

Start with a glassless carrier. If you have problems with negative popping or curl and your prints aren't sharp, then get a glass carrier. EZPZ.

Doremus

Just a FYI; you can use an Omega B8 carrier on your Beseler. Though you may have to file the corners down.

There are 3D printed carriers available online. I was able to get a bordered (exposed a bit of area around 6x6) and a full frame (that would print the entire rebate area). Would recommend going that route.

i went ahead and got the factory new 645 23c carrier, I think its a better bet and im not thinking im going to try to use my 6x6 tlr anymore. just keep it safe and work the mechanism now and then