Scratch on glass holder

winger · Jul 6, 2011

I have a glass holder (anti-Newton) for 4x5 for my Beseler 45MX. The bottom piece of glass (normal glass, right?) has a small group of scratches. They're barely feelable, but definitely show up in a print. I could swear they weren't there when I bought it (used), but I can't figure out how I could have made them. Anyway, should I just look around for the right glass and replace it or could it be possible to burnish them out with the right bit on a dremel? Then, if it's worse, I can buy more glass. And what would be a good source for glass that's the right size?

Jon Shiu · Jul 6, 2011

http://fpointinc.com/glass.htm is a good source

Jon

--the clear glass piece is only $15

M. Lointain · Jul 6, 2011

You could try flipping the glass or wet mounting the negative, but why not just replace it with coated glass from someplace like Edmunds?

Jim Jones · Jul 6, 2011

I doubt if you could make local corrections that won't show up in prints.

Bob-D659 · Jul 6, 2011

Not even worth trying to remove them, you will just remove some glass forming a depression and a concave lens at the same time. No more scratches, just optical distortion.

ic-racer · Jul 8, 2011

Don't skimp on negative carrier glass. Dust, scratches and chips out of a camera lens don't show up in prints, however, everyone seems to be so concerned about it. Negative carrier glass shows every little glass imperfeciton in all your prints. I'd consider putting two fresh pieces of glass on any used carrier.

2F/2F · Jul 8, 2011

ic-racer said:
Don't skimp on negative carrier glass. Dust, scratches and chips out of a camera lens don't show up in prints, however, everyone seems to be so concerned about it. Negative carrier glass shows every little glass imperfeciton in all your prints. I'd consider putting two fresh pieces of glass on any used carrier.

Excellent points. It can be expensive, but well worth the investment once all is said and done and you have got plenty of good prints out of it.

And yes, a lens can be quite "screwed up" and still do it's intended job remarkably well. Two of my favorite lenses are clearly infested with fungus, yet sharper than I will ever need. And one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used has a big nick in the front element (Canon 200mm f/2.8 FD).

winger · Jul 8, 2011

I ordered new glass. Thanks for the link, Jon!

Scratch on glass holder

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