Plate Holder for Tintype 8x10

[YHP]

Hello,

I just bought an 8X10 Ansco View Camera and I would like to shoot on tintypes.
Do you have a recommendation as to where I could buy the plate holder? Either used or new if there is no other solution

I saw a couple of Wet Plate holders on ebay, but they look to fit a little bit smaller plates than 8x10
For example this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Camera-Wet-Plate-Negative-Holders-No-Reserve-/331480934784?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

The vendor gives me the following dimensions:
Inside when the back is removed is 10 1/8" x 8 1/8"
Front frame below the glass (actual opening) is 9 3/4" x 7 11/16"
Outside frame dimensions are 12 13/16" x 10 3/4

All the tintype vendors I found only mention 8x10 size, so I am not sure if they will actually fit in the holder

Thanks a lot for your help!

[Wayne Aho]

That's not a wet-plate holder, it's a contact printing frame. It's gotten common for ebay sellers to label things as wet plate, can you use it for wet plate? good luck! I use an 8x10 film holder, cut for 5x7, and just ordered a Jody Ake 8x10 real wet plate holder.

I've contacted a few sellers about this crap, and the answers were garbage.

They can be used for making prints from a dried wet plate (or dry plate, or film) negative.

Wayne

[Joe Smigiel]

That's not a wetplate holder. It is a contact printing frame for making prints from negatives.

A true wetplate holder loads from the rear. A door is opened, the plate inserted and the door shut, with a spring on the door applying pressure to hold the plate against some sort of retainer in the corners or all along the edge of the cutout area. There is a single darkslide on the front. The following picture shows a wetplate holder that incorporates an insert for a specific size plate:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/WPC/WPC3/WPP03/03_wetplate_holder.jpg

Other than special order from a woodworker like Alan Brubaker of AWB, the only 8x10 wetplate holders that are currently available come from Jody Ake or Chamonix (AFAIK). The Ake holder doesn't give a full 8x10 image because of the ledge used to hold the plate at the focal plane although it does take a full 8x10 plate size. I'm not sure about the Chamonix. You might also find old Graflex plate holders on ebay or adapt either a modern film holder (Lund Photographics sells modified film holders) or plate holder. Because something has to secure the plate, most modifications aren't quite an actual 8x10. To get a true full-frame 8x10 image, you may need to go to the next camera format larger and adapt downward to get the size you want (e.g., 11x14 to 8x10).

Since you already have an 8x10, you may have to settle for a slightly smaller image (maybe something like 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 image) with an adapted film holder or Jody Ake's design (incameraindustries.com) or just live with an adaptation and the next smaller format. I do the latter and actually prefer the whole-plate 6.5x8.5 format to the 8x10.

[Ari]

I sent an 8x10 holder to Lund Photographics to be modified for wet plate use.
They did an excellent job, and cost was about $40. In this case, I modified the 8x10 holder to accept whole plate tintypes.
I highly recommend them and their work.
http://www.lundphotographics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=FH001

[YHP]

Thanks a lot for all the information Joe!


That's not a wetplate holder. It is a contact printing frame for making prints from negatives.

A true wetplate holder loads from the rear. A door is opened, the plate inserted and the door shut, with a spring on the door applying pressure to hold the plate against some sort of retainer in the corners or all along the edge of the cutout area. There is a single darkslide on the front. The following picture shows a wetplate holder that incorporates an insert for a specific size plate:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/WPC/WPC3/WPP03/03_wetplate_holder.jpg

Other than special order from a woodworker like Alan Brubaker of AWB, the only 8x10 wetplate holders that are currently available come from Jody Ake or Chamonix (AFAIK). The Ake holder doesn't give a full 8x10 image because of the ledge used to hold the plate at the focal plane although it does take a full 8x10 plate size. I'm not sure about the Chamonix. You might also find old Graflex plate holders on ebay or adapt either a modern film holder (Lund Photographics sells modified film holders) or plate holder. Because something has to secure the plate, most modifications aren't quite an actual 8x10. To get a true full-frame 8x10 image, you may need to go to the next camera format larger and adapt downward to get the size you want (e.g., 11x14 to 8x10).

Since you already have an 8x10, you may have to settle for a slightly smaller image (maybe something like 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 image) with an adapted film holder or Jody Ake's design (incameraindustries.com) or just live with an adaptation and the next smaller format. I do the latter and actually prefer the whole-plate 6.5x8.5 format to the 8x10.

[YHP]

Thank you Ari!


I sent an 8x10 holder to Lund Photographics to be modified for wet plate use.
They did an excellent job, and cost was about $40. In this case, I modified the 8x10 holder to accept whole plate tintypes.
I highly recommend them and their work.
http://www.lundphotographics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=FH001

[YHP]

Thanks for all the information Joel!


That's not a wetplate holder. It is a contact printing frame for making prints from negatives.

A true wetplate holder loads from the rear. A door is opened, the plate inserted and the door shut, with a spring on the door applying pressure to hold the plate against some sort of retainer in the corners or all along the edge of the cutout area. There is a single darkslide on the front. The following picture shows a wetplate holder that incorporates an insert for a specific size plate:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/WPC/WPC3/WPP03/03_wetplate_holder.jpg

Other than special order from a woodworker like Alan Brubaker of AWB, the only 8x10 wetplate holders that are currently available come from Jody Ake or Chamonix (AFAIK). The Ake holder doesn't give a full 8x10 image because of the ledge used to hold the plate at the focal plane although it does take a full 8x10 plate size. I'm not sure about the Chamonix. You might also find old Graflex plate holders on ebay or adapt either a modern film holder (Lund Photographics sells modified film holders) or plate holder. Because something has to secure the plate, most modifications aren't quite an actual 8x10. To get a true full-frame 8x10 image, you may need to go to the next camera format larger and adapt downward to get the size you want (e.g., 11x14 to 8x10).

Since you already have an 8x10, you may have to settle for a slightly smaller image (maybe something like 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 image) with an adapted film holder or Jody Ake's design (incameraindustries.com) or just live with an adaptation and the next smaller format. I do the latter and actually prefer the whole-plate 6.5x8.5 format to the 8x10.

[YHP]

Thanks Wayne

[Wayne Aho]

Great info Ari and Joe. I often send people interested in wetplate to Joe's site, a really great intro to the process.

Wayne

[vintage racer]

I also just ordered Jody's 8x10 wet plate holder. I've been using the 4x5 version for about two years and it is quite durable.

[Ari]

You're both welcome.
I would love to get one of Jody's holders one day, but for now, money is better spent on learning the process and buying the needed chemicals and accessories.
I am still pretty new to wet plate, as much as I love it, I don't know if I'll stick with it.
So, if you're at my level of experience in WP, I hope that helps.