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Chet Wright
3-Jan-1999, 12:57
I bought a used Omega D3 enlarger with Dichroic head. It came with assorted carr iers. Will I need a glass carrier for 4 x 5 negs with this head? Are carriers av ailable for the omega available similar to the Negaflat carriers for the beseler ? I have the Schneider 150mm Componon lens, would like to make 16 x 20 enlargeme nts. Thanks Chet

Charles Matter
4-Jan-1999, 15:51
Omega does make an anti-Newton ring glass carrier..but frankly I've always found it to be a pain to use from the standpoint of keeping the neg. and glass static free and clean. I use a standard incandescent head and have no problems with negative buckling even @ long exposures with the standard open neg carrier. My recomendation would be to try several test prints @ longer exposures than you normally use and check for corner to corner sharpness. The Dichroic head is (as I recall) power cooled and should not cause negative buckling. If you find that it does..seriously consider investing in a cold-light head rather than a glass neg carrier. More money initially..but much less hassle over time

eli
19-Nov-2020, 11:33
Omega made both open an glass types.

I've never needed the glass holder when printing 4x5", but I do keep the glass holder I have on stand by

My personal rule is to say yes whenever a Omega holder comes my way, just in case....

Eli

Tin Can
19-Nov-2020, 11:57
I have a Bessler Nega-Flat somebody converted to Omega

It stretches the 4X5 flat, no glass, no extra dust

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?16487-Anyone-have-the-Beseler-Nega-flat-carrier&p=147283&viewfull=1#post147283

Bob Salomon
19-Nov-2020, 12:46
I have a Bessler Nega-Flat somebody converted to Omega

It stretches the 4X5 flat, no glass, no extra dust

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?16487-Anyone-have-the-Beseler-Nega-flat-carrier&p=147283&viewfull=1#post147283

There can’t be extra dust. The same amount of dust falls on a Negaflat as on a glass carrier. It just doesn’t prevent popping as well as a glass carrier.

Tin Can
19-Nov-2020, 13:01
Kirk Giddings in the link says he absolutely needs a Negaflat in dusty New Mexico

More surfaces extra dust


There can’t be extra dust. The same amount of dust falls on a Negaflat as on a glass carrier. It just doesn’t prevent popping as well as a glass carrier.

Tin Can
19-Nov-2020, 13:16
Yes dust falls in a still room, but it also flows everywhere as we flap about



There can’t be extra dust. The same amount of dust falls on a Negaflat as on a glass carrier. It just doesn’t prevent popping as well as a glass carrier.

Drew Wiley
19-Nov-2020, 13:29
Get a real glass carrier with anti-Newton glass. They're common for Omega D. There's no way to make truly sharp prints otherwise, especially if negs are significantly enlarged. Darkrooms need to be clean to begin with or dust will get even inside the enlarger itself, and onto the neg in there. Buy an air cleaner if necessary. Yes, dry desert climates can be a challenge with dust. But so is wearing a cotton shirt, which is essentially a lint factory. Keeping things clean is the name of the game.

Conrad . Marvin
19-Nov-2020, 14:45
Yup, gotta keep Sir Isaac at bay but a glass negative carrier really works.....and if you add pin registration........I sold my negasortofflat many years ago. By the way this thread started at just about that time.

Drew Wiley
19-Nov-2020, 16:35
My Omega enlarger was made forty years before that time. The colorhead fan pooped out, but the chassis and neg carrier - all the mechanical stuff - still works fine. I have other enlargers, so never fixed it. But it produced many fine prints over the years, all via a glass carrier.

Tin Can
20-Nov-2020, 05:29
I have a rack on wheels full of 8X10 AN glass from an enlarger purchase

The custom glass carriers don't fit that enlarger but can fit my DIY heads on some 10X10 enlargers

Posted them years ago, nobody could identify the carriers, even sold 2 here, and regret that

I use AN when needed, but seldom

None for sale

Drew Wiley
21-Nov-2020, 15:38
I just got some custom-sized AN carrier glass from ScanTech in LA. Nice looking product, but it will still be a few more weeks before I get a chance to test it with my 8x10 cold light enlarger. I use AN glass on both sides of the film 100% of the time, with all my enlargers. No choice. This foggy climate is as inviting to Newton rings as the foggy moors of Scotland are to the hound of the Baskervilles.

Eric Woodbury
21-Nov-2020, 17:02
If the top of the glass carrier is instead a diffusion material, there is no dust problem and Sir Issac Newton takes his rings and leaves the building.

I use various kinds of plexi for diffusion. They all work.

Conrad . Marvin
21-Nov-2020, 18:53
I second this idea, I’ve been using diffusion plexiglass (very thin) on top of my AN negative carriers for awhile now with great success.

ic-racer
21-Nov-2020, 20:10
I just got some custom-sized AN carrier glass from ScanTech in LA. Nice looking ...

AN on both sides...I'll have to think about that. I was getting dimensions together to also have ScanTech make some glass for my Durst 8x10 carriers also. I have carriers for Negateil and Laraneg that are just slightly different. One has AN on top and plain on bottom. The other is plain on both sides and has never given trouble in ten years.

209806

209807

Drew Wiley
22-Nov-2020, 12:29
Plexi doesn't take heat well without buckling. It's also electrostatic, so attracts dust. I of course use ground translucent white plexi diffusers above the top glass, but that is a different application. I do color printing and even black and white sometimes with registered masks, so dependable total flatness and constant dimensional stability is critical.

Ian Gordon Bilson
30-Nov-2020, 02:13
The injunction to use glass carriers is, in my humble opinion, a "council of perfection". Why so, I hear you cry? Because your sheet of film is exposed in a holder, sans glass, held in place by small rebates, on three sides, maximum. At average enlargement ratios, a cardboard holder will often suffice. For "state of the art", almost certainly no.

Drew Wiley
1-Dec-2020, 19:30
A cardboard cup doesn't even work for coffee. What is an "average enlargement ratio"? Sounds like lukewarm coffee. Why bother? Do it right the first time.