negative carriers

Hi, I'm a 6X7 photographer, looking to improve the quality of my prints. Does anyone have an opinion on glass negative carriers

vs. glassless? I'm concerned about the negative remaining flat in

my enlarger. I'm using a Besalar 23III XL with a Variable Contrast

Head.

 

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Thanks

Kenneth, the obvious plus is that glass will hold your negative flat. The down side is that the two pieces of glass give you four more surfaces to attract dust, and the surfaces may produce an interference pattern called Newton Rings. You can virtually eliminate that irritation with one piece of anti-Newton glass.

 

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I normally use glass for my MF and LF negatives, and don't mind the extra care it requires.

When printing dense negatives or color negs on VC paper with the lens aperture wider than I would like (normally F8 with 35mm negs or F11 with 6x6 negs) I place a single piece of anti newton glass in the carrier above the negative. It's a compromise: flatter than no glass, perhaps not as flat as a "real" glass carrier but fewer surfaces to catch dust and no extra surface between the neg and lens.

If you do decide to go glassless be aware that the negative can expand as it warms under the enlarger light, and can consequently change focus (or move during exposure). I suggest turning the enlarger on and letting the temp stabilise before focusing and exposing. As for potential loss of sharpness due to a non-flat film plane I would also be interested in the answer, and what Aperture would you have to stop down to to give sufficient depth of focus to negate this effect?

I agree with Max's answer. Especially on end negatives, the curl of the negative really affects focusing. I haven't experienced the problem on 120 negatives yet but this is a regular problem for me in the 35mm format. The procedure I follow is I turn on the enlarger, focus, load my paper into the easel, take a piece of cardboard and place it in front of the enlarger lens so that no light hits the easel, I turn on the enlarger for the intended exposed time, after the time has elapsed I immediately remove the cardboard and expose the paper for the intended exposed time. My exposure time is usually between 15 and 24 seconds.

Hope this helps!

 

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*Ken*

I have used both glass and no glass and find the glass carriers hard to keep clean. Although I have suffered the above mentioned negative curl on the end frame in 35mm, I have actually managed to cure the problem by taping the non emulsion side of the curling end to the carrier with a tiny sliver of polyester film masking tape. I am careful to keep the tape out of the image area and off the emulsion side of the film and clean tape goo off the the carrier with bestine afterwards.

hope this helps

Unless your negatives are perfect, you are going to burn and dodge from time to time. A glass negative carrier is a must if you burn and dodge. Just be sure to keep your darkroom clean, because dust spots can be a problem. Some people are scared away from using glass negative carriers because of their cost. I suggest that you make one out of mat board. Use the carrier that came with the enlarger as a template. If you need more info on how to make it, email me.

What sort of replacement negative carrier should I be ordering for my Rollei 6x7 XL?