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Enlarger glass mask vs an glass

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Jessestr

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Is there any chance that I get newton rings if I use regular glass for my enlarger? I aquired a Laborator 1200 and it came with regular glass instead of AN glass...

I found that you can buy the glass online for about 100 euros (125 usd) a piece.. quite expensive.
So I was hoping the regular glass would do just fine
 

FujiLove

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I've gone back to using masks after I noticed Newton rings even with the AN glass holders on my Durst enlarger. At first I thought they were dirty, but I still get rings after they have been very well cleaned and dusted off.
 

Bob Carnie

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Buy the Anti Newton for top as Ducan points out … Focal Point is great btw, they supply me all my enlargers glass top and bottom.. You only need Anewton on top and can use regular on bottom.
 
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Jessestr

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Focal Point has AN glass a lot cheaper than that!

https://secure31.webhostinghub.com/...116.16646*-N5Xw0&xm=on&product=ENLARGER_GLASS

You probably want the DT55AN3M for $50, unless you have the Femoneg AM carrier. Even with shipping to Belgium, that should be cheaper than $125US?

(I bought Femoneg AM glass from them and am a happy customer!)

Duncan

Wow thanks. That is a lot cheaper. I have a Durst Femoneg carrier. Doesn't say AM.

Thanks Bob. So one is sufficient.. good to know!
 

frobozz

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Get the DT55CLRM for the bottom glass - only $30.

For 35mm I've just been using masks, no glass, but that's because I'm printing 5222 (Double-X) and that is the flattest film ever made, for some reason. For normal curly 35mm I'd probably use glass, and for 4x5 I've been using glass.

Duncan
 
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Jessestr

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I've gone back to using masks after I noticed Newton rings even with the AN glass holders on my Durst enlarger. At first I thought they were dirty, but I still get rings after they have been very well cleaned and dusted off.

Probably bad quality AN glas? Can't imagine having newton rings with good glass?
 
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Jessestr

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Get the DT55CLRM for the bottom glass - only $30.

For 35mm I've just been using masks, no glass, but that's because I'm printing 5222 (Double-X) and that is the flattest film ever made, for some reason. For normal curly 35mm I'd probably use glass, and for 4x5 I've been using glass.

Duncan

I have both clear glass, for top and bottom. Included with the enlarger. ( luckily ) and only one mask... (35mm) but I'll go back to the seller soon and check if he has the other masks too...
I'm ordering one AN glass now.
 
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FujiLove

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Probably bad quality AN glas? Can't imagine having newton rings with good glass?

I really don't know. They are the proper Durst ones that came with the enlarger, so I assumed they would be decent quality. I wonder if there's some kind of micro scratches on the surface that are causing a very slight air gap? I'm happy with the plain masks at the moment, so I haven't bothered investigating further.
 
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Jessestr

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I really don't know. They are the proper Durst ones that came with the enlarger, so I assumed they would be decent quality. I wonder if there's some kind of micro scratches on the surface that are causing a very slight air gap? I'm happy with the plain masks at the moment, so I haven't bothered investigating further.
Been searching for them online. Seems very expensive... but oh well maybe the seller has the masks
 

DREW WILEY

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I just installed a couple of sheet of Focal Point AN glass in one of my Durst 8x10 carriers. I use it top and bottom, which is important with certain films
slick on even the emulsion side, especially in this foggy climate. One problem with small films, however, is that you might need a finer AN pattern like
the official Durst glass provides (if you can still find it), and might need to shim oversize glass at the edges with similar film. Or do what I do, cut out the smaller film area from a large piece of opaque polyester sheet of similar thickness. A lot also has to do with the incidence of the light rays. Works
best with a diffusion source and "normal" to longer than normal enlarging lenses. There is also a distinction between how dye clouds in color film are
affected versus silver grains with black and white film, namely, a matter of the best AN glass for any given combination of format, film, and lens.
Sheet films are a lot more forgiving than small roll film, due to both their large size and relative flatness. 120 film is the worst because keeping it
consistently flat requires a very good holder. But going "glassless" seems like utter barbarism to me.
 

Patrick Robert James

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Ideally I like to have AN glass on top and coated glass on the bottom. I don't know where you can get coated glass large enough for a 4x5 though. I have my Focomat set up that way. The AN glass is from a medium format AN slide mount, and the 2" square coated glass I picked up through Edmunds Scientific as a scanner experiment.

One cheap alternative if you can find it is plexi. At a Home Depot here in the US I stumbled over a textured plexi meant for framing. I used it in a 35mm enlarger for a short time years ago and it worked fine. I now use a sheet for scanning and it works great there as well. The best part? It cost only a few dollars.

I just took a look at the Home Depot website and I think it is called Non Glare Styrene. http://www.homedepot.com/p/11-in-x-14-in-Non-glare-Styrene-Sheet-1S11143A/202771350

The only disadvantage is it may attract dust. But it is cheap. I would rather have the Focal Point glass for an enlarger though.

Hope that helps you.
 
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