Can I Use My LF Film Cameras for Wet Plate?

[dpn]

Lund Photographics also modifies holders. I haven't used mine yet, but it was quick, the price was right, and it seems nice.

http://www.lundphotographics.com/cgi...tion&key=FH002

[Robert Kalman]

Not sure that this would work.
First, glass plates are much thicker then sheet film. So how could you modify the sheet film holder to hold the glass plates and how would you be able to use the dark slide?
Next, once you slide the glass plate into the holder how would you remove it without fingerprints or scratching the emulsion?

I've seen about two dozen videos this week...the plate gets removed by flipping the holder over and letting the glass drop into your hand. Also, I believe the holders, when properly modified, have the septum removed and some kind of shim that fills the gap between the backside of the holder and the backside of the glass.

[Corran]

Jody Ake does make a good holder from what I've seen/used and I believe it's marketed to prevent any kind of potential spillage/seepage onto the camera. I let me friend use his Ake plate holder in my Linhof Technika several times and it was fine, not a single drip anywhere.

http://incameraindustries.com/

[Jim Andrada]

Hi Robert

You're correct. The septum is cut out and a small "springy thingy" provides pressure from the rear. A couple of thin wires can be fastened (glued/soldered/whatever) diagonally across the front corners of the cutout to locate the front side of the glass/aluminum in the focal plane.

[Cor]

When I did WP I used a modified holder as described above in my Toyou 810M Field camera. Although I consider myself a careful worker I did manage to get a small droplet of SilverNitrate on the aluminium film holder of my Toyo. Not a big deal, a small stain inside, but it prompted me to buy a cheap wooden whole plate folder, more in style with collodion and as a bonus had glass plate holders.

good luck,

Cor

Cor

[jnantz]

you could always make a camera its not really that difficult

[LabRat]

Doesn't silver nitrate dry black!?!!! Perfect for the inside of your camera!!!! :-X

Steve K

[Tim Meisburger]

I'm with Mark on this. I have many cameras, including an Ebony 45s, and have never gotten a drop of silver on any of them. First, you pour the plate and insert into holder in a darkroom, removed from your camera. You wipe the excess silver from the back of the plate before you insert in the holder, so there is little chance of getting any in the holder (but a lot of chance of getting some on your fingers!). Then you take the holder out of the darkroom, and as long as it has not somehow acquired droplets of silver on the outside, there is no way any will leak out of the holder.

So, no worries. Plus, silver stains would be cool!

On holders, it is very easy to modify a holder for wet plate, if you have any manual skills at all. I will not explain in detail, as you can just google it and find a lot of resources, but you do not need to buy custom holders (although they may be nicer), and unlike film, you really only need one holder. For a spring, some people just fold a small piece of milk jug plastic and slide the darkslide over it. I use a folded business card, usually.

All that being said, its nice to have a dedicated wet plate camera with a big lensboard to mount those big, fast lenses you are going to want to use.

[cplkao]

If you shoot 4x5, the easy and the cheapest plate holder mod is adapting a Pack Film Holder, they are dead cheap on eBay.
You don't have to worry about the thickness of the glass at all. (Standard glass plate holder is 2mm).

I cut a couple of thick crafting board as the tablet for the plate to adapt to the different thickness, and there is only one main place you have to seal to prevent light leak.

[Kirk Gittings]

If you shoot 4x5, the easy and the cheapest plate holder mod is adapting a Pack Film Holder, they are dead cheap on eBay.
You don't have to worry about the thickness of the glass at all. (Standard glass plate holder is 2mm).

I cut a couple of thick crafting board as the tablet for the plate to adapt to the different thickness, and there is only one main place you have to seal to prevent light leak.

That's what I did as I had a few laying around. There was a video kicking around the web that showed you how.