Substrates for Shooting in Camera - FILM, Acetate, PET (polyester), Glass, etc.

[wildbillbugman]

Acrylic glass? I have never read of such a thing. Please explain. There is clear acrylic sheets. I this what you are wring about?
Bill

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Isn't acrylic glass another name for plexiglass or lucite?

 

[dwross]

I don't think that you can obtain it as thin film. I'm using 1,5mm thick plates right now, which are the thinnest the company I got them from (already cut to the right size) could provide. They fit in a regular sheet film holder nicely if you stick them in with a bit of tape. That's ideal for my testing. If I can make them work, I'd prefer them to normal glass for several reasons. Next step is hardening the emulsion and maybe NAOH treatment before coating if hardening doesn't prove to be sufficient (but my feeling is that it might not be necessary).

The monkey sits on my workbench in the darkroom and is a good test object. However today I printed the images of my first outdoor test which give a better idea how the stuff behaves. These are not try yet, I'll scan them tomorrow. I'm not happy with the Rollei emulsion. Even on an overcast day, contrast is extremely high. I shot them around Iso 0,25/0,5, developed the plates in Rodinal 1:100 for a few minutes only and printed with grade 0 to 1,5. That produces an usable image but nothing special. But it is OK for the first tests.

Best,
Sebastian

PS: I think I've learned most of the information on your website by heart. This will prove to be a huge help when I start to produce my own emulsion. Same applies to all the information PE provided here. Thanks to both of you.

This is even better news than film. I don't think subbed polyester is going anywhere, but having a non-glass option that fits in a sheet film holder could make it easier for more people to try dry plate photography. It can be a challenge to pull together enough plate holders for a big weekend of shooting, especially in any size except 4x5, and film coating takes a bit more practice than plate coating to get good results (at least in my experience.) I'm really glad you've taken this on as a project. Keep up the great work and reporting!
(Glad you like TLF . Thanks!)

 

[SebastianKrauss]

The best plate regarding tones until now (I have already had better coatings):

Best,
Sebastian

 

[Photo Engineer]

The sheet plastic can warp over time, and it might be hard to get it to lie flat for printing. IDK, just a thought.

Pouring plates is tedious. I have a plate coater and a film coater which allows rapid coating of sheets or plates in 4x5 size. Basically, I get 2 4x5 sheets (or longer if you wish) or 3 plates in one pass. I have shown them here on APUG and also in the DVD, the book and at Workshops.

The point is that something can be done to speed up output.

PE

 

[iandvaag]

Alright, I think this old thread deserves a bump.

I'm ramping up to get going with some semi-advanced emulsion making (pumped emulsions with vAg control hopefully).

I want to do some film coatings. What are people using for film base these days? It seems like The Formulary has stopped stocking Melinex. (Also they no longer list TAI and are out of PMT. I sent them an email to see if they will continue to provide these, ideally as a solid for improved shelf life.)

Ideally, I'm looking for a small-ish volume, since I'm spending a fair bit on pumps and other equipment. I'll be coating 4x5, but I can cut down larger sheets or rolls with my rotatrim.

Thanks. Let's keep the emulsion making forum going and make PE proud.

 

[Lachlan Young]

I've acquired some of the Dura-Lar Wet Media Film - I think it was Denise Ross/ The Light Farm who was recommending it as a suitable substrate. Still haven't got round to actually test coating the stuff however...

 

[dwross]

Dura-lar WetMedia works perfectly. There are complete instructions for using it on The Light Farm, along with many examples (in "Photo Album -- home page, lower lefthand column).

 

[dwross]

I would love to see the conversations start to roll here again.

 

[iandvaag]

Thanks Lachlan and Denise.

It seems like all of the Dura-lar Wet Media I can find comes in 0.004" thickness. Is this sufficiently think for sheet film? I was planning to coat sheets since I was a bit intimidated by coating roll film, but I guess there's really no reason since you've posted so much great info on roll film coating on TLF. I love my Sputnik just like you Denise, and it would be a thrill to run my own film through it!

 

[dwross]

Ian,
It's modern roll film thickness, but it works fine as sheet film. Sheet film used to come that weight, as well as the thicker stuff we're accustommed to using. All the best of fun to you! I was just looking at my Sputnik negatives. I love their characteristics.

 

[iandvaag]

Thanks Denise, I'll give it a try. Yeah, I have some ortho litho film that is really thin, but I've never put it in a sheet film holder to use in camera. Just for printing positives from negatives in the darkroom.