Resourceful indeed! I made a lightbox for camera scans of negatives uo tp 6X9 CM out of foam board, an LED panel, and 2 layers of diffusion. Works like a charm.
And my Dad, probably in the 1930s or 40s, made an enlarger from a utility light reflector and wooden box with a slot for a negative carrier, and a modified back for his 6X9 Recomar camera. Slip the camera onto the enlarger, focus the camera's lens with the camera's bellows, and Bob's your uncle. In hindsight I wish I'd photographed it.
Thanks Ed, I was really surprised just how easy it was. Andrew has mentioned that I have made an 8×10 camera ( with fixed focus 112mm Zeiss f18). I’m more than tempted to build a second enlarger to handle the bigger negatives, reusing the same LED panel.
I think the tricky bit might be in getting even light coverage across a larger negative, although that depends on the size of your light panel, how evenly it lights, and its distance from the negative carrier. The problem I had with the camera scanning setup was with hot spots from the individual LEDs in my panel, which was only 13cm or so from the negative. I solved that with 2 layers of Rosco white diffusion above the panel, spaced about 3cm apart. Fortunately black foam board is inexpensive and easy to work with. Best of luck!
The LED I have turns out to slightly too small for 8x10 as it offers only 7.5x12 inches. It has a very even light and sits just 10mm from the negatives. Cheaper alternatives don’t seem to allow for the control and memory function this Neewer unit offers. For blue and green lights I have saved intensity levels that calibrated with the white light output. I may see how this light works accepting that the 8x10 negative will be cropped. Not sure it’ll be worth the time / effort etc
Lovely images. I'd really like some more tech info, please, to do with the use of Industrex x-ray film (Granton Harbour shot above). I bought a box of it but so far it's ended up way too contrasty to be of any use. Which developer/dilution did your friend use and which ISO rating for the film. Many thanks.
Thanks Nasir- it’s Industrex MX-100 (5x7) that I have been using. Its ISO is very slow. My Gossen is set to its lowest 0.8 and compensation dial at x3 ( 1.5 stops slower than ISO 0.8) . Use of a standard yellow filter leads to a loss of about 7-8 stops. I’ve only ever used ID-11 in various dilutions but usually 1+5.
The double sided emulsion requires gentle agitation and turning every 30 secs. Very little of the image develops on the back surface due no doubt to the dense milky nature of the emulsion. It is slow to clear in fixer compared to other X-ray film I have.
Images are fine grained with good even tonality. High contrast has not been an issue. Hope this helps.
Hello, Adrian. Thank you so much for this info. Thinking about it now I may have got things the wrong way around and my negs were probably incredibly thin (I've got various different x-ray films I've picked up over the years). I would have most likely rated the Industrex at ISO 100 because of the name! I'll have to dig out my box and give it another go.
I positioned the notch in the film on the right. I’m not sure if this would make a difference given that it appears to be double sided. I too initially assumed that it was 100 ISO but testing ( cut pieces in a 35mm SLR) confirmed the speed I stated above. As part of that testing I checked out the effect of yellow filter. It’s not something I have tried on a full sheet so I can’t comment much further. My learning point was - don’t use a yellow filter with this film !!
Many X-Ray films are blue sensitive, so a yellow filter acts like a safelight, cutting out a lot of the available part of the spectrum. Green sensitive X-Ray film shouldn’t suffer so badly, but I haven’t tested it.
Resourceful indeed! I made a lightbox for camera scans of negatives uo tp 6X9 CM out of foam board, an LED panel, and 2 layers of diffusion. Works like a charm.
And my Dad, probably in the 1930s or 40s, made an enlarger from a utility light reflector and wooden box with a slot for a negative carrier, and a modified back for his 6X9 Recomar camera. Slip the camera onto the enlarger, focus the camera's lens with the camera's bellows, and Bob's your uncle. In hindsight I wish I'd photographed it.
Thanks Ed, I was really surprised just how easy it was. Andrew has mentioned that I have made an 8×10 camera ( with fixed focus 112mm Zeiss f18). I’m more than tempted to build a second enlarger to handle the bigger negatives, reusing the same LED panel.
I think the tricky bit might be in getting even light coverage across a larger negative, although that depends on the size of your light panel, how evenly it lights, and its distance from the negative carrier. The problem I had with the camera scanning setup was with hot spots from the individual LEDs in my panel, which was only 13cm or so from the negative. I solved that with 2 layers of Rosco white diffusion above the panel, spaced about 3cm apart. Fortunately black foam board is inexpensive and easy to work with. Best of luck!
The LED I have turns out to slightly too small for 8x10 as it offers only 7.5x12 inches. It has a very even light and sits just 10mm from the negatives. Cheaper alternatives don’t seem to allow for the control and memory function this Neewer unit offers. For blue and green lights I have saved intensity levels that calibrated with the white light output. I may see how this light works accepting that the 8x10 negative will be cropped. Not sure it’ll be worth the time / effort etc
Lovely images. I'd really like some more tech info, please, to do with the use of Industrex x-ray film (Granton Harbour shot above). I bought a box of it but so far it's ended up way too contrasty to be of any use. Which developer/dilution did your friend use and which ISO rating for the film. Many thanks.
Thanks Nasir- it’s Industrex MX-100 (5x7) that I have been using. Its ISO is very slow. My Gossen is set to its lowest 0.8 and compensation dial at x3 ( 1.5 stops slower than ISO 0.8) . Use of a standard yellow filter leads to a loss of about 7-8 stops. I’ve only ever used ID-11 in various dilutions but usually 1+5.
The double sided emulsion requires gentle agitation and turning every 30 secs. Very little of the image develops on the back surface due no doubt to the dense milky nature of the emulsion. It is slow to clear in fixer compared to other X-ray film I have.
Images are fine grained with good even tonality. High contrast has not been an issue. Hope this helps.
Adrian
Hello, Adrian. Thank you so much for this info. Thinking about it now I may have got things the wrong way around and my negs were probably incredibly thin (I've got various different x-ray films I've picked up over the years). I would have most likely rated the Industrex at ISO 100 because of the name! I'll have to dig out my box and give it another go.
Do you always use a yellow filter with this film?
Cheers, Nasir
I positioned the notch in the film on the right. I’m not sure if this would make a difference given that it appears to be double sided. I too initially assumed that it was 100 ISO but testing ( cut pieces in a 35mm SLR) confirmed the speed I stated above. As part of that testing I checked out the effect of yellow filter. It’s not something I have tried on a full sheet so I can’t comment much further. My learning point was - don’t use a yellow filter with this film !!
Many X-Ray films are blue sensitive, so a yellow filter acts like a safelight, cutting out a lot of the available part of the spectrum. Green sensitive X-Ray film shouldn’t suffer so badly, but I haven’t tested it.
Interesting. I’m finding X-ray film very hard to source but there is an eBay seller in India who offers green sensitive 8x10.
Try this place, it’s not far from me and I have had stuff from them. info@asomerville.ltd.uk
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Brilliant & innovative solution.
Thanks Russ.