Get some photo-flo or Ilfotol (I think thats the stuff). Put a couple drops of it in your final distilled water rinse. It's a surfactant and helps the water sheet off of the film.
Yup. You'll find a lot of people talk about using different dilutions of photoflo other than what is stated in the directions. I've found that I had to figure out my own based on my water. But, for what it's worth, the dilution I settled on is around half of what is recommended. I have an eye dropper and use 1 drop per ounce of water.
Another word of advice - mix it up when you need it. Don't reuse it. It grows junk in it if reused too much.
Other than squeegees, I've heard people like photo sponges, but I've not used them either.
I have read that fluid mount scanning is like taking a veil off the film in scanning. I would have to say that I would agree with this description. I think there is some increase in sharpness (probably coming just as much from the betterscanning holder), but just as important, it seems like colors are better defined. I have had film drum scanned before, so I knew what I was getting into. The improvement on the Epson flatbed was mostly in the clarity.
kidtexas wrote:
Damn yo. Looks good. What are you using for fluid or a tray? Directly on the glass?
I don't always comment on your photos, but I really have been enjoying them all. Love seeing some large format.
I did some research on what mounting fluid is made from. Kami fluid is >90% Naptha. Rosonol is Naptha. There are some differences, but I'm mounting with Rosonol for my initial tests and so far it is performing just fine. These samples were both from the reject pile. I didn't want to test on critical film. I'm using .03 duralar brand film for the overlay. I'm still having trouble with the tape. Naptha is disolving the adhesive. Will probably have to break down and get the proper Kami tape.
those are very nice images. I have purchased some months ago a Shenhao 4x5. Never used a view camera before. Another problem was, since I live in Guangzhou, China, I did not know any processing lab doing 4x5. Now I have found one and I have taken my first photos yesterday.
Guangzhou is rapidly changing and if one want's to get a few glimpse of what has been Guangzhou before one has to hurry. This was a place I visited almost a year ago. It seemed very secluded and abandoned within the city center, but now it is surrounded by construction activities. And it can be expected that when I visit that place in another period of months the fishing boats might have been all gone.
kidtexas wrote:
Damn yo. Looks good. What are you using for fluid or a tray? Directly on the glass?
I don't always comment on your photos, but I really have been enjoying them all. Love seeing some large format.
mrladewig wrote:
I did some research on what mounting fluid is made from. Kami fluid is >90% Naptha. Rosonol is Naptha. There are some differences, but I'm mounting with Rosonol for my initial tests and so far it is performing just fine. These samples were both from the reject pile. I didn't want to test on critical film. I'm using .03 duralar brand film for the overlay. I'm still having trouble with the tape. Naptha is disolving the adhesive. Will probably have to break down and get the proper Kami tape.
I'm mounting these on a betterscanning holder.
I do feel responsible to add this caveat. Rosonol is extremely flammable and can be lit by sparks (by design). Kami Fluid is still extremely flammable, but its designed to reduce the risk of ignition by spark somewhat. Kami fluid cannot be shipped by USPS, UPS or Fedex, so its a pain to obtain just a bit to try fluid mounting. Rosonol is not tested to be safe with film and there are probably other dangers in using this method. I have no idea what the purity of Rosinol is. I would definitely not leave the film in the fluid for any longer than needed.
I chose to use Rosonol as a way to test the fluid mounting at a very low cost. I don't recommend it to anyone else and if you do use it, be aware that you do so at your own risk. I used some seconds frames for the test, not critical images. In the long run, I plan to use a more conventional product specific to film mounting, but I'm also aware that attaching the word "photo" to any product multiplies its cost by 2-10 fold.
superia is fast becoming my favourite film, although this particular NCPS scan has an awful pink cast on it. Very nice work Nate (and large format people above)
I just had this image printed 40x50 on Fuji Flex, and mounted to plexi. I viewed it at the shop today, and it looked good. I'm looking forward to picking it up when it is complete. It will be for my show next month. I can't wait!
