Seeing negatives as positives without making a Print

[CG]

Hi, what is a quick way to see my B&W negatives as positives without doing any chemistry, scanning, or making a print?

I just want a quick and instant way of seeing how my picture looks like, as a positive. I do send some of my pics to be developed as a positive slide film, and they tell me how my pictures actually look like. But positives are too expensive to develop, so I'm wondering if I can just develop my pictures as negatives (which is cheap and fast to develop) and view them as positives.

I repeat that I don't want to have to make a print. I want to see how much picture looks like using the original negative film".

and...

"I guess another solution is to develop my own positives, but the chemicals for that seem very expensive compared to developing negatives (Rodinal is dirt cheap!). If anyone knows of a cheap way to develop positives, then that would be an alternative solution for me....

What you want doesn't exist, other than the options you have ruled out - print or develop positives or scan or polaroid....

Best,

C

[Harley Goldman]

As suggested, put it in a scanner. Set the scanner software to B&W negative transparency and pre-scan it. It will pull up as a positive on the screen. No need to do a full scan or convert in PS.

[false_Aesthetic]

without doing any chemistry, scanning, or making a print?

Stop shooting with film.

[Sass Quatch]

Goldfarbs suggestion is a good one. I do it often. You have to get the right angle and see it against a black background.

[Mark Carney]

I have an old PHOTOVIX. It was designed to display negatives and positives on a tv. Real simple to use and fantastic for a quick review. On larger negatives you might have to look at sections or tilt it sideways and set up a light table.
Fantastic and simple device, very easy.

mark

[harrykauf]

I use the camera in my mobile phone, switched to negative.

[Bobby Ironsights]

Thanks for your response, Vaughn, but unfortunately it doesn't work for the film that I am using. If I look at the film at an extreme angle, it simply becomes really shiny. It remains a negative.

This suggestion will work if you put it EMULSION SIDE UP.

[Bernard Kaye]

I think I thought it worked better for me with a fully exposed (whatever this means also is subjective) negative which Rodinal 1/50 will produce somewhat dense negatives. The angle depends on how the light source hits the negative; I came upon this by accident viewing against an incandescent bulb in a not brightly lit room. I was looking directly into negative with light source off to the side; thought I been too long in dark room.Experiment.
Bernie