CJ,
I buy materials from both B&S and UV Photographics, and both sell excellent materials. Yes, the price is better at UV Photographics and I can assure you that there is no compromise in quality in the UVP products. I like the fact that Brian at UVP offers several unique formulas of Collodion, and you can buy 250ml quantities of several to compare their characteristics. (When you’re ready to experiment with the various formulas, be sure to sample Brian’s UVP-X, which has beautiful tonality and is much faster than any other collodion I've tried)
My original kit for 8x10 wet plate came from B&S and it was an excellent kit, with high quality materials. I learned a lot using that starter kit, and it’s as complete a kit as you could wish for. The starter kit from UV Photographics is $100 less than the B&S kit, but it doesn’t include all of the same materials and accessories that the B&S kit does, such as pH strips, a hygrometer, nitric acid, amino silane (for better adhesion on glass), calcium carbonate (for glass cleaning) etc. This is why the B&S starter kit costs more. Given the choice between the two kits, I’d still choose the one from B&S because it is more complete. But for subsequent purchases of collodion and other materials, I choose UV Photographics, partly because prices are a bit better, and partly because I get to choose from a variety of prepared collodion formulations.
As for a choice of collodion to start with, ask yourself this: do you think you will use up 500 ml of collodion within your first month of learning the technique? Because several of UVP’s collodion mixes are best when fresh, whereas some like UVP-X are good for up to a year. The Bostick & Sullivan (large) kit comes with 650 ml of Old Workhorse that is premixed, so it’s shelf life is limited. Expect it to remain in usable condition for 6 months at most, and you can easily get 50 plates from that amount of collodion. If you don’t think you’ll use that up in six months or less, then the B&S kit may not be right for you. (I didn't use up the whole 650ml of Old Workhorse before it became too old)
Do you have a good manual on wet plate technique yet? You really should get a copy of Mark Osterman's book;
Basic Collodion Technique.
Also, John Towler's classic 1864 volume The Silver Sunbeam is available to study online (but perhaps best explored after you've absorbed a more basic manual). You can find
The Silver Sunbeam here.
Now, what about your plate holder? Do you have one already, or will you be shopping for one? My first plate holder was a typical Lisco 8X10 film holder that I sent to Lund Photographics for modification to convert it for wet plate use, and they did a great job for a reasonable price. But their conversion doesn't make use of the whole 8X10 inches, so you have to buy aluminum plate (or glass) cut to the specific size for their conversion, which for an 8X10 plate holder is 7.5" X 9.25". This isn't a problem, I am just mentioning it so that you realize what your options are. I also recently bought an full-sized 8X10 wet plate holder from Chamonix in China, and its an excellent plate holder, well designed and uses the full 8X10 inches. It is also a beautiful piece of hardware.
Do you know where you will be buying aluminum plate for making your tintypes? Both B&S and Lund sell aluminum trophy plate cut down to specified sizes, and this trophy plate material is what most everyone uses these days. (Its easy, inexpensive, and less work than glass, which requires a specific cleaning protocol). B&S offers large sheets of trophy plate that you can cut down yourself, or precut sizes. The price from B&S is over $3 per 8X10 plate, whereas
Lund Photographic sells them in packs of 25 for about $2 per plate. The choice is yours.
A recent 8X10 plate I made using freshly mixed Old Workhorse from B&S:
(
Click here for a larger version)
Tintype Test 1