neg holder for panoramics

greenspun.com : LUSENET : B&W Photo - Printing & Finishing : One Thread

Does anyone have suggestions for making a negative holder/mask for the 24 x 58 mm negatives produced by a swing lens panoramic camera (e.g., Horizon 202, Widelux)? I think the Hasselblad XPan makes similarly wide negs. I want to make a mask insert for the 6 x 6 glassless carrier on my Omega D2 enlarger, but it can't just be a tape mask because the negative needs a solid surround for films like TriX that tend to bow on the edges. The best I've found so far is the stiff, thin cardboard sandwich that acetate filters are packaged in. However, something stiffer (yet thin) would be better. I'd like to avoid using (and purchasing) a glass carrier. Thanks in advance!

-- Tim Nelson (timothy.nelson@yale.edu), March 07, 2001

Answers

I'd put a tape hinge on two pieces of glass and use that for decent flatness, but have to agree that dust is a pain. A nice material for filter holders and masks is the thin aluminum sold for roof flashing. Any good hardware store should have it; it's about 0.010" thick and cuts easily with scissors or a paper cutter. You can roll, file, and sand it smooth, then polish with steel wool so it won't scratch negs. You'll spend more time than cutting thin cardboard with an X-acto knife, but the result is a bit more rugged.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), March 07, 2001.

You could have a 35mm carrier milled out to fit the panoramic negative.

Here's a source for the mill work: http://www.skgrimes.com/

-- Chris Ellinger (ellinger@umich.edu), March 07, 2001.


I've made several negative carriers for my Beseler 67 out of mat board--I use the cutouts from my mats, which would otherwise be thrown away.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), March 07, 2001.

I'm currently using matte board too for 35mm as my MF glass carrier is susceptible to newtons rings with 35mm film, but ok with roll film. You can even make wierd edge effects easy without wrecking a neg carrier thats valuable (or maybe hard to obtain).

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@unite.com.au), March 07, 2001.

What's wrong with starting off with a sheet of aluminium and sawing and filing a neg carrier? The standard of finish that can be achieved with a little care, and a spray can of matt black paint, puts most ready-made carriers to shame. I don't think that any of my present negative carrier inserts are store bought.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), March 08, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ