Staticmaster with Unexposed Film

Has anyone tried using the Staticmaster brush on Unexposed LF film

while loading film holders? I was wondering if the radioactive

cartridge has enough power to fog or damage the film? Thanks in

advance. Pat.

It's worked well for me. I think that if the cartridge had the power to damage the film you wouldn't want to be handling it very long....

So does it really do the trick for eliminating the dust? Here in Colorado it's dry and dusty beyond belief. Even after I clean my bathroom (with window blacked out)thoroughly and run the shower to get the humidity up, I still get dust on my negs, which almost always appear in the sky area, just like Murphy would want.

 

H

I use one of the Staticmaster brushes to load film and I can tell you that they do not fog film. I don't think you'd be able to sell something so radioactive on the market before the feds got wind of it and made you pull it.

 

Anyway, another key to nearly dust free negatives (I load in a Harrison pup tent) is to keep the negative facing down while brushing and inserting the dark slide. I very rarely have dust problems, at worst only a few that I can fix with spotting. I've used this technique in the high desert areas of the western US with little problem. Just remember, dust isn't immune to gravity....:-)

I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Your film should be perfectly clean when you remove it from the package-its the film holders you want to be sure are clean and that they have no static charge to attract dust. So use the Staticmaster on your holders. Further, humidity control in the room where you load the holders is the key. Get the humidity up and your dust problems will go away. This could be as simple as running some hot water in the sink for a few minutes before you start loading. Store and transport your holders in plastic bags to keep them clean.

Henry is right. You should clean the holders before you go dark. The film is clean in the box. If your darkroom is clean all will be fine.

As for the static master. Yes it will fog the film if you hold it against the film for a few minutes. You will get a definite image of the the grill that covers the strip.

Pat, I haven't used the staticmaster, but I've been thinking about it, though not for dust. My concern is static electricity when removeing the darkslides in my aerial camera. Perhaps a static master will help, but as for your question about problems with dust, I've found that thoroughly vaccuming my holders and darkslides before loading and keeping my holders in ziplock baggies has eliminated my dust problems. For my birthday present to myself I indulged in the ultimate: a shop vac(the little one)with the micro cleaning attachments dedicated to film holder dust busting(after the minivac I been using finally gave out.) FWIW, I shoot 8x10 so even the gallon size ziplocks won't work with my holders, but Hefty OneZip Jumbos will easily digest five 8x10 holders in a single bag. Some time ago on this forum, it was posted that the plastic bags used to store computer boards are anti-static(?) I have no idea where to get them or what sizes are available, but it sounds like a good(am I sounding like Martha Stewart?)thing! Cheers!

I have to agree with the sentiment that one should work in a clean area and dust the holders before loading but not the film. The film should be clean out of the box, and dusting it with a brush in the dark could expose the film to dust from the brush.

Don't necessarily assume that film will come dust free in the box.

 

I worked for a year and a half as Photo Engineer in a cleanroom environment. Even film intended for a class 1000 cleanroom could have occassional dust problems. Let alone, film that gets sold to the general public.

All you guys are ignoring your heads! Wear a baseball cap, a masterchef's hat, a surgeon's hat, a fireman's hat, a policeman's hat, a top hat, a deep-sea diver's top, anything that will keep the dandruff and such from falling into your film while loading. Wonder why in superclean rooms used in microchip making hats are mandatory? I wear something on my head and pre-dust-off all filmholders inside and out and have no problem........ in this dusty house!. One more thing, static is worse at low humidity and can cause dust to fly about and stick to surfaces. In winter, keep relative humidity at 50% minimum.

Hello everyone. Large size anti static zip lock bags can be found very reasonable (cost and quanity) on Ebay. Search on "zip lock bag". The antistatic bags are usually a pink hue from the soap like chemical that prevents the static build up. I control static in my darkroom area by hanging a dryer sheet (via a thumb tack) near the enlarger. Don't ask me how it works, it does...last 3-4 months). Enjoy, Bill