Mod54

[t0aster]

So, I was having trouble finding a used MOD54 insert and I finally broke down and bought one through Morgan (the manufacturer) in the UK. It took about 4 weeks to arrive and when it did, one of the bottom film holder was broken. The item was packaged immaculately and it seems like it was broken in the process of putting the insert into the cardboard tube it ships in. Anyway, I contacted Morgan as soon as I saw this and within 20mins I had a reply. He replaced the broken with a new unit and paid the expedited air shipping himself. The new one arrived a day or two ago in perfect working order. Also, his response time to emails (even with the 6hr time difference) has been incredible, being able to converse with the other party in a transaction like this (especially where immense distance is involved) is very nice.

This morning I finally got around to developing the 10 negatives I had sitting around and it worked like a charm. I spent a few minutes in the light with some previously developed negatives working on placing them in the holders. The first round I only developed 4 negatives (the unit holds 6) just to get a feel for it in the dark and developing with it. It was very easy to load in the dark and if one is loaded incorrectly it's very easy to feel and correct. I followed the inversion suggestions from the MOD54 website and have not had any trouble with the negatives coming out of the of holders or uneven development.

Overall I would heartily recommend that anyone thinking about getting one to just go ahead and order one from Morgan.

[Rick Rycroft]

I've got the MOD54 as well and what you say about Morgan is right on the money. He's quick to ship and seems a god guy. I just wish his insert was made from a less brittle material. I broke the first one I had just brushing my arm against it causing a bit of a raking pressure. I find it easier to load than the Jobo and it uses less chemical than the Jobo, too.

[photobymike]

i have one also ...love it...... i made a collar for my Paterson tank out of 4 inch PVC pipe. The movie shows a collar that is split... my new collar does not have this split and works with only 250ml of fluid. It took me a couple of weeks to sand down the inside to fit the collar on the tank. The Paterson tank is tapered so sanding was a pain......


http://youtu.be/oGwTJzTa79M

[Kodachrome25]

The Mod 54 is a great solution for sure, I almost kept one for use while traveling. The reason I did not is that it just does not work with the super thin base of one of my most used 4x5 films, Rollei IR400. No matter what I did, they dislodged and stuck to either the side of the tank or one another ruining the film.

I think it is a really great product, but just be aware of the above...

P.S. Photosbymike; I got a whole two uses out of that process thermometer I traded you one of my Mod's for. Following the second session, I set it down a little hard in my 1 liter graduate where I usually stored it, it slipped out of my hand and fell about 4" inches and effing broke.

Luckily I compared my other thermometers to it when I first got it and they were all dead on. Nice thermometer but not very practical for professional use, oh well, $75 down the drain...

[cowanw]

So what did you do with the mercury?

[Kodachrome25]

So what did you do with the mercury?

It did not leak out as it cracked in half, it just lost the pressure needed to work. So I gave the thermometer to my buddy who is a volunteer fireman and he had it disposed of correctly.

[cowanw]

Good on you!

[photobymike]

i bought another on ebay for 35 dollars plus 15 bucks for shipping.... and begged the guy not to send USPS post office...sure enough i got in the my mail box. It sat in the mail box for a couple of days.... 94 outside temp inside box temp who knows.........it was broke.... dont know if it was broke on the plane ride or in my mail box with triple digit heat. Still waiting on disposition from paypal and seller...

sorry to hear about your thermometer kodachrome25 .... i will send you another at my cost plus shipping if you want (45 plus shipping). I would send FEDEX ground of course. I have lost about a third of the thermometers i order sent to me thru shipping problems......very ignorant sellers. Very frustrating. Although silver can be dangerous, the most hazardous is in light bulbs as a vapor.

"The amount of mercury in a typical fever thermometer is not enough to cause health problems.
The effect of exposure to any chemical depends on the amount to which you are exposed (dose), the length of time
you are exposed (duration), and how you are exposed (route).
The human body’s nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Breathing mercury vapors can harm the
nervous system, the lungs, and the kidneys. Mercury vapors pass easily from the lungs into the blood stream.
Eating or touching metallic mercury will not harm a person. The small amount of mercury in an ordinary fever
thermometer or fluorescent light bulb will not harm a person if it is cleaned up properly."
http://health.state.tn.us/Downloads/mercury_factsheet.pdf
found this on the web.....

From my college chemistry class i remember that liquid mercury is very stable and does not pose an immediate heath risk if handled correctly. The mercury that is in some forms of fluorescent lights is the really hazardous stuff. You know the bulbs the government says saves electricity. That mercury can be inhaled if the bulb is
broken.

My wife is a nurse and she tells me how they used to tell the difference between an older mercury oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer?........ taste!!!

[Kodachrome25]

Ah, it was a nice thermometer while it lasted...but a 4" drop and it did not last, lol, I gotta pass...;-)

[Jody_S]

I had no idea the MOD54 was so fragile, or that it wouldn't do thin film sheets. I was about to buy one, but I'm thinking I should make one out of aluminum sheet metal instead. I'll post a photo if I'm successful, it's really just one long strip folded into a rectangle and riveted closed, with a number of tabs cut and folded inwards to hold the sheets in place.

[Ian Gordon Bilson]

Jody [Aluminum would be a poor choice-it will react badly to your photo chemistry. Consider plastic instead.
I had no idea the MOD54 was so fragile, or that it wouldn't do thin film sheets. I was about to buy one, but I'm thinking I should make one out of aluminum sheet metal instead. I'll post a photo if I'm successful, it's really just one long strip folded into a rectangle and riveted closed, with a number of tabs cut and folded inwards to hold the sheets in place.

[photobymike]

I had no idea the MOD54 was so fragile, or that it wouldn't do thin film sheets. I was about to buy one, but I'm thinking I should make one out of aluminum sheet metal instead. I'll post a photo if I'm successful, it's really just one long strip folded into a rectangle and riveted closed, with a number of tabs cut and folded inwards to hold the sheets in place.

Aluminum would react with a lot of photo chemicals .. not a good material for repeated exposure to acids and alkalis found in photo chemicals ... plexiglas is not that fragile, actually its better than some other types of plastic...... As far as sheets falling out of the notches ..i have not experienced this but the film i use is thick and pretty stiff. Stainless steel would be the ideal material.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=335947&Q=&is=REG&A=details This would be great for tank processing


here is a great idea that needs to be explored

http://youtu.be/NuFNUO3H6v8

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

here is a great idea that needs to be explored

http://youtu.be/NuFNUO3H6v8

I am not sure, but isn't this how Jobo expert drums work?

[Jody_S]

Jody [Aluminum would be a poor choice-it will react badly to your photo chemistry. Consider plastic instead.

The reason for aluminum is threefold: 1) I have some; 2) it's easy to cut notches with a wood chisel or any sharp tool, also easy to bend; 3) freshly-exposed aluminum oxidates rather quickly, and this aluminum oxide coating creates a fairly stable barrier to further corrosion. The issue isn't whether photo chemicals corrode aluminum, it's whether they can break down aluminum oxide, and whether traces of aluminum oxide can do something to a negative.

[Martin Aislabie]

whether traces of aluminum oxide can do something to a negative.

Aluminium Oxide is one of the abrasive constituents in "Sand Paper" - ie it will scratch the Negative.

There is a very good reason why the only metal objects on the wet side of a darkroom are made from Stainless Steel

Martin

[Martin Aislabie]

I had no idea the MOD54 was so fragile, or that it wouldn't do thin film sheets. I was about to buy one, but I'm thinking I should make one out of aluminum sheet metal instead. I'll post a photo if I'm successful, it's really just one long strip folded into a rectangle and riveted closed, with a number of tabs cut and folded inwards to hold the sheets in place.

I haven't found the Mod54 Cassette to be fragile.

Although I don't make a habit of dropping tanks or reels on the floor from waist height.

I have had problems with the film (HP5) becoming displaced during development - but a smoother style of inversion/rotation overcame that problem.

My rather vigorous Tank Development technique came from Roll Film in Jobo Reels and was rather more akin to a cocktail shaker than the Mod54 could tolerate.

With 5x4 film you are dealing with a large area of film and any method that supports that film only by the very edges will be prone to the film flexing as the chemicals flow past.

Mod54 Holders together with the Paterson Tanks have become by developing method of choice and I now have 4 of them so I can process 24 sheets in one sitting.

Martin

[Professional]

I got that Mod54 by one friend in the past, i asked him when he goes back to UK to order it locally there and bring it with him when he comes back to my country UAE, and he saved my bucks, but we separated or i didn't keep in touch with him now so i have to find another UK friend who can order it for me from there and bring it for me when i need another one or a replacement.

I didn't test the Mod54 yet, but i am waiting to shoot LF sheets sooner or later, so then i will use it with my Patterson multi-reel tank, i feel exciting about it, but some of the issues i read here and there making me to worry a bit.

[ataim]

I also have one. LOVE it. I've only had one sheet come loose (out of around 100+ sheets), I don't agitate as forcefully now and don't have any problems since. The only reason I would change would be to develope by inspection.