More Saltzman

[Drew Wiley]

That's a neat waffle iron, Randy.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Can it be rotated in the head?

BTW - My Saltzman 8x10 is available, free. It is disassembled, ready to go. Requires truck, three strong men to move.

[Tin Can]

Not the last one, but the one in pic below does. 280 degrees rotation with the handle knob.

Notice they are 2 distinct castings.

IMG-1338 by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

Can it be rotated in the head?

BTW - My Saltzman 8x10 is available, free. It is disassembled, ready to go. Requires truck, three strong men to move.

[Tin Can]

And more.

This has a 10X12" opening.

Must be Saltzman as it very heavy. 1/4" plate aluminum on 1/2" phenolic.

I can shoot 10X12 with a 11X14 glass plate holder using a 10X12" insert. I doubt I will...

IMG-1340 by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

It came with the Saltzman.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Not the last one, but the one in pic below does. 280 degrees rotation with the handle knob.

IMG-1338 by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

I have that one with new AN glass.

[Corran]

Now I realize that there is a consensus on this forum that insists glass 2 piece film carriers are the only way to go.

I disagree.

Cool item. I just wanted to pipe in that there definitely isn't a 'consensus.' I think glass holders suck. My Beseler Negaflat is the only thing I will print 4x5 with. I am sure your Saltzman is even better. I think a couple vocal forum members have constantly stated that a glass carrier is the only possible way to make quality enlargers but that's just not true. Keep on keepin' on.

If I found an 8x10 stretcher I would (eventually) build the 8x10 enlarger around it.

[LabRat]

Cool item. I just wanted to pipe in that there definitely isn't a 'consensus.' I think glass holders suck. My Beseler Negaflat is the only thing I will print 4x5 with. I am sure your Saltzman is even better. I think a couple vocal forum members have constantly stated that a glass carrier is the only possible way to make quality enlargers but that's just not true. Keep on keepin' on.

If I found an 8x10 stretcher I would (eventually) build the 8x10 enlarger around it.

My woe with glass carriers happens on very damp nights... The negs absorb the excess humidity, they can buckle a little under the glass as the heat/IR will start to dry them but the edges of the film start drying and can produce tensions creating micro waves, and even with AR glass, there can be tiny specks of micro Newton's rings from the partial contact with some film bases and sheet or roll formats, and if very, very damp, I have seen film get sticky and hold/squeeze dust onto the film that is hard to remove... I switch to glassless then and let the neg cook for a long time before exposing paper...

But if you get into the right groove with glass (and have a good carrier + procedure), it is fine, but very dry conditions can also make life weird and hard too, so different types of carriers around help...

If only life was easy...

Steve K

[Tin Can]

Cool item. I just wanted to pipe in that there definitely isn't a 'consensus.' I think glass holders suck. My Beseler Negaflat is the only thing I will print 4x5 with. I am sure your Saltzman is even better. I think a couple vocal forum members have constantly stated that a glass carrier is the only possible way to make quality enlargers but that's just not true. Keep on keepin' on.

If I found an 8x10 stretcher I would (eventually) build the 8x10 enlarger around it.

I also use a 4X5 Neg-A-Flat. Found this interesting thread from before we signed up here.

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...l=1#post147283

[Corran]

Thanks Randy. Will have to try that tape thing in the last post. I do occasionally get scratches when I load it with the negative way up on one side. I think it rides up on the metal pieces and they grab the emulsion.

[Bernice Loui]

Different take on the negative carrier with a Durst 138.

Back in the day when the Durst 138 was properly set up. It had a 200 watt halogen light source with a IR filter in front of the halogen light source. This with the cooling fan effectively stopped most of the IR and related heat from reaching the negative carrier or film to be projected. After the IR filter was a filter drawer where variable contrast filters or other filters can go if needed. The light path continued on to a mirror then the condenser holder for two condensers then on to the negative-film carrier, then on to the lens for the image to be projected. This is a long light path between light source to negative-film carrier.

Most often used negative-film carrier was the 5x7 glass with AN glass on the top side of the carrier and AR coated glass on the bottom side. There was never any issue of film popping, film not being flat or damaged film or problems with Newton rings. The prime problem was keeping the whole carrier and film assembly dust free and clean. Stopping the IR at the light source effective stops negative-flm popping due to heat. Placing the variable contrast filter in the light path stops the problem of projected image degradation due to having the filter in the projected image path.

Any given negative-film could be worked on for hours with complete projected image stability and predictable image projection. This allows focusing on printing the image rather than struggling with projected image problems.

Being one of those who will print the film holder borders as part of the image framing. This means the entire film area must be kept in good condition.

Durst does make glassless negative-film holders, they work OK, but cannot keep the negative-film as flat and stable as the glass carriers. On smaller film formats, the strips of film can be line-up in the 5x7 glass carrier then projected as a "enlarged" contact print.


Bernice