I wrote this already in the "Getting Fiber Based Paper Flat" thread but I think that not many people will find it there on page 14. So here it is again...

Alternative method to get FB paper dry and flat without dry mount press

This method I learned about 20 years ago from my photography teacher J.Janus...If you dont need the high gloss, then a way of getting FB paper photos dry and absolutely flat without a press is sticking them on a glass pane: You put the still wet sheet of FB paper on the glass pane (a strong and stable one), so that you can see the picture. Then you carefully clean the surface from water drops, a little bit but not too much with a soft sponge.

All the the edges of your photo you fasten with a special adhesive tape on the pane. This tape is made of paper and is for instance used to fasten water colour papers on a board. Therefore the tape should be available in shops for artistry equipment. This tape is not self-adhesive. You have to wetting it a bit with water (use the sponge again) on the adhesive side. The tape should stick with it´s one half on the photo´s edges and with the other half on the glass pane. It has to overlap in the corners of the photo so that the photo is completely surrounded by the tape.

If this is done you have to wait a few hours until the photo is totally dry. Then you can carefully cut it along the edges from the glass pane with a cutter. When using this drying method you have to make the picture a litltle bit smaller than the FB paper. It is because a part of the adhesive tape stays unremovable sticking on the border of your photo paper and you have to cut it away in the final step.

I used this method many times primary for large formats about 16 x 20 inch and larger (for the smaller sizes drying with a mounting press is easier and faster) and it works very well. In the drying process the paper shrinks and therefore becomes flat out of itself. With the single weight papers it can happen that they burst during the drying, so check it before starting with this method and a lot of photos of the thin paper type. The double weight or thicker FB paper never made any problems.

Anyone who understood? Further questions?

Andreas

Has anyone used HC110 1+50 to process neopan 400 @400, 20C?

MDC has 7 min for "H" I thought I would try 8 min....Opinions

I was kicking around my local camera shop the other day, when I found a bunch of Mamiyas. Two RB67s: back, dark slide, WLVF and lens, both $100. There were also some 645s, old and new w/lenses for around $150. I didn't test them, but they seemed to be okay (shop said they were alright but as-is.)

Tempting, very tempting :) Even though I'd likely almost never use them ... $100 isn't that much money is it? :whistling:

Don't use it that much anymore since I got my Fuji GW690, anyone interested?
It's in very nice shape, with a fully operational bulb system, I can include some bulbs also, it's equiped with the wonderful Zeiss Tessar Opton 75mm f/3.5.

Asking 400 euros for it, prefer to post for Europe, yet other countries aren't a problem.

Can send pictures on request.

Or should I say, now I've got an RB67 for my 'serious' work and don't think I'll be doing airshows on 35mm in future, I don't feel I need big 35mm gear now. I guess that means the purpose of my 35mm gear has changed, so I'm hoping for suggestions for a much smaller, much lighter kit.

I currently use a Nikon F5 and 20-35 f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and a 300mm f/4

All my gear is big and heavy. I want a smaller and lighter kit and am happy to go manual focus. I am considering everything from Nikon manual focus to Canon FD, Olympus OM, even Contax G2. I like the Nikon F3 but the Nikon MF lenses seem quite expensive. The FD and OM seem nice, and especially lenses like the 85 1.2L but that's not exactly small and light.

I am a little worried about repairs, but I suppose if I stick to the mechanical bodies I should be ok, right?

Any suggestions? I know I'm being vague, but about all I know is small and light is what I want...

Thanks!

I just photographed a very important group of 22 with Foma 100 in strong sidelight and as luck would have it my fill light strobe failed. I was only able to make two exposures before the group disbanded. Panic stricken, I decided to develop the film one sheet at a time. I used Thornton's 2 bath developer and decided to try one sheet in a Unicolor print drum on a Uniroller with constant agitation and one sheet in my DuraLab paper slots, with very minimal 2 agitations in 5min in both baths. I was shocked to see negligible differences in the contrast of the negatives or the prints from them. Can anyone tell me if it is the developer that is the reason, or have all the years of being taught that agitation will greatly affect contrast, been overstated? The development time for both films were identical.
Denise libby

Some frogs, such as the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), change colour to cope with sunlight and heat and also to improve their camouflage. They do this by activating cells in their skin that contain granules of melanin, the dark brown pigment. These colour-changing cells, called melanophores, are normally dark but can be triggered by a particular hormone released in the frog. When the hormone binds to the cell wall, it sets off a reaction that moves the pigment granules to the centre of the cell, making it look colourless. Once the hormone detaches, the melanin grains disperse throughout the cell, making it appear dark again." (Sample 2002:21


Did you notice that this biological technology is extremelly similar to electric activated two color liquid filled spheres , monitors !

I think nature is full of answers.
I will look in to color changing biological answers to synthetic living organism pigments to find new new technologies and post here.
May be there is a biological analog photoshop for color prints.
May be colors of our prints will change with daylight or heat or the under surface.
And may be color portraits will find the real color with owners touch !

Wow !

Thank you ,

Mustafa Umut Sarac

Istanbul

Hi everyone,

I'd like to extend an invitation for people in NZ to participate in our next print exchange; please follow the link below for more info & to sign up.

Regards, Tim

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum214/...2-sign-up.html

Hello Forum.

I have been in a discussion with a friend about close up imaging with tubes and bellows. A question has arisen from that, and with which I need some help.

It is my understanding that when extending a lens with tubes or bellows, that its light at the film plane falls off with extension in lock step with the inverse square law.

For example, suppose we have a 50mm lens set to its infinity setting. Its focal length is 50mm. Now suppose that we extend that with a bellows or tubes to include another 50mm, now totaling 100mm. Suppose also that the aperture of the lens stayed at what is marked as f4 on the lens barrel.

It is my understanding that while the physical diameter of the aperture remains constant, the effective aperture changes from f4 to f8, two stops. And the light available at the film plane (because of diverging transmitted light rays coming from the open aperture area of the lens) is one fourth as much. This, I understand, agrees with the inverse square law.

I have been told that in close up imaging, explaining the light at the film plane in terms of the inverse square law is wrong to do, and oversimplified. I'm puzzled as to what is wrong about the way I am thinking about it.

Doesn't the inverse square law apply between lens and film plane just as it applies outside the camera? What am I missing in this?

Thanks for your insight in this.

Since we had a good turnout at the last exchange, I'm organizing another one, we've also opened it up to people in NZ at popular request.

How it works:

- Groups will be 8-12 people depending on how many people sign up
- Each person makes 7-11 identical prints and posts it to the organizer (that will probably be me) along with an info sheet on how you made the print
- The organiser collates everyone's prints and sends you back one print from each person in the group.

The rules:

- Prints can be up to 8x10inch
- Prints must be unmounted
- Prints must be from analog media (ie. negative/transparency, film/paper), commercial printing is acceptable as are inkjet prints as long as it was taken on analog media. However photos taken with a digital camera are not permitted.
- You have to tell us how you made the print
- You must post the prints to the organizer (address will be PM'd after sign-up) before the close date, include stamped self addressed envelope that is large enough for 8x10 prints. You are responsible for ensuring correct postage and adequate protection for the prints from the postage system, water damage etc. Whatever protection you provide for the prints will be the same for the prints we return to you.

The dates:

Sign-up by 30th September 2010
Prints posted by 31st October 2010

:cool:

So, if you want to sign up please post here:

1. timk
2. ??
3. ??

I want to share with you three of my techniques to avoid stripping screw heads when opening up a camera. Firstly, what you need to do is FREEZE the screw head with ICE. To prevent the camera from getting wet, just place the ice cube into a plastic sandwich bag, and push that against the screw head for about 30 seconds. Freezing will make the metal harder, and less likely to strip. In addition to making the screw harder, freezing also causes the metal to shrink a bit which makes it easier to unscrew. You will need to keep re-freezing it every 30 seconds until the screw comes loose.

My second technique when unscrewing a stiff screw is to not apply constant turning / torque. Constant turning is what will lead to the screw head stripping. When unscrewing a stiff screw, you need to use QUICK JOLTS. You accomplish these jolts by only very briefly applying the turning / torque with the screwdriver for only a fraction of a second at a time, and then you quickly let your hand loose on the screwdriver handle to stop the turning. These brief turning jolts, combined with freezing, will eventually jar the screw loose without stripping the head. For my third technique, it is also necessary to push the screwdriver VERY HARD into the screw head in order to prevent it from slipping. The screwdriver slipping is what wears down and strips the screw head, but hard pressure avoids this.

I want to make a comment on those tiny screws which hold the lens dials onto the lens. Those tiny lens dial screws are likely headless, and only consist of the cylindrical screw body with a groove on the end for the screwdriver. These screws are also likely only threaded into the dial itself, and only apply "pressure" onto the inner lens case to hold the dial in place. Those lens dial screws are also probably glued into place to keep them from coming loose -- so you need to pick away the glue before unscrewing them. After screwing them back into place, you can use a toothpick to apply a small amount of paper glue on the end which will keep them tightly in place.

There might be some screws hidden behind labels -- so you may need to carefully pry away some labels. Use a piece of masking tape to securely hold the screws in the order you remove them -- they're tiny and you don't want to lose any of them. These techniques worked with 100% success for me when removing all necessary screws to open up my Super8 camera, and they will also work for you. Good luck! :)

Mine processes film but stopped selling film several years ago. I'm in the northeast US.

Hi everyone,
So I have this 21mm finder I got with my 15mm VC. I need a 15mm finder because I shoot 35mm film.

I was wondering is the 21mm finder really a 15mm with lines added?? I have the 1st version, the plastic one.


Anybody know?

Thanks~
Steve

Thomas Duplex super safelight, complete, lights up to full brightness in a few minutes. Needs to to have foam seals around the doors removed and replaced as they are worn/degraded.

$100 OBO + actual shipping costs, I have two of these units available.

Ok I know this is a rude question for me to ask but I am curious do you guys think the APUG Post Card Exchange is a strong support to keeping Ilford post card paper alive and well? do you think the exchange makes any difference to them?

I was just in round 20 I love the Post card exchange!!!

Planning on Variable Contrast enlarging in a bathroom darkroom. Would like an inexpensive safelight that doesn't have to be mounted anywhere. Perhaps placed on a counter. Would prefer to just plug in and go, rather than changing out the bathroom's light bulb all the time. The smaller the better, since space is limited.

Has anyone used a cokin pola-red for b&w work?
Got a new one real cheap from an old school lab barely hanging on.
The examples I found are for color work.
Just wondering.
Thx
Joey

I am lucky enough to be in a position where I can compare both the 75mm and 90mm 4.5 Nikor/Nikon lenses. I might add here that the Nikon SWD 75mm 4.5 is a 67mm filter thread and the Nikon SWD 90 mm 4.5 is a 82mm filter thread if that matters to anyone. I am not someone that is hiking or backpacking with my camera and lenses.

If you were in my position which lens would you keep? Why would you choose that particular focal length? Are there any other concerns or conditions that would influence you to choose one over the other? Is there any compelling reason to consider keeping both lenses?

I know there will be some responses where others will post that it all depends on my shooting style, but since there is only 15mm difference and the 75mm image can be cropped, I really do not know if that is really a good argument.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Jason

FS: Pentax Digital Spot Meter, Zone VI Modified, $365
Selling my Zone VI modified Pentax Digital Spot Meter. I bought it new in about 1995. It has the case, strap, instruction book, cap, extra cap, extra (2) Zone VI stickers for the barrel, battery. Also have a 40.5 to 49mm step up ring (and 49mm cap) to allow attaching a standard filter if needed. I am asking $365 PayPal which includes PayPal fees and USPS shipping. CONUS only please. A picture of the set is at http://www.ardingerphoto.com/meter.jpg . My auction site name is Banjo1956 if you would like to see feedback . Thank you, Robert

Hello Everyone!

I'm glad to have joined this large community! Should be interesting!

Take care. :D