need help re dust on negs problem

[linda_chapman]

I have just purchased an ebony 5x4S and started to develop some black and white negs - obviously my loading technique is rubbish as I am getting dust on the negs - what do others do to avoid this??? Only operating in the bathroom, no darkroom available at home.

Any suggestions/tips needed urgently - thanks, Lyn.

[michael_kadillak3]

Use compressed air and blow your film holders clean in another room

of the house. If you are using a bathroom, I remember reading another

post on this forum whereby in hotel rooms to keep the dust down

another photographer found success against the dust animal by running

some hot water to put a bit of steam in the air. That will settle the

dust, but you do not want to get to excessive with it so that

condensation starts to occur.

 

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Good Luck

[psychophoto]

If you're using old, used holders, give them a *thorough* cleaning.

For a while I had a terrible time with dust in my 8x10 holders. I

spent an hour in the shop with an air compressor and shop vac

cleaning them out as thoroughly as I could. Blowing air at very high

pressure through the light trap sent a veritable cloud of dust flying

out the other side- quite literally a visible cloud of dust. After

this treatment, things have improved considerably, and I went back

and did the same for some of my old wooden 4x5 holders. Give it a

try- it should help.

[paul_owen]

Linda, I second the blast of air route, and also use a antistatic

brush to wipe the darkslide surface. This seems to work, but a better

investment would be to use a readyload-type set up, although you are

restricted to the type of film you then use.

[david richhart]

Linda... Don't forget to make certain that the inside of your

camera's bellows is also dust free... and remove the darkslides

slowly to prevent creating static. You have to fight the dust-demons

every step of the way... -Dave

[ben_calwell]

Linda,

Once you have your film holders clean using the above posted

suggestions, I would advise keeping them in plastic containers or

plastic bags inside your camera case or bag. I do this, and it keeps

my holders from gathering dust. I still brush them out prior to re-

loading them, but then they immediately go back into the containers

until they are ready to be used. In my experience, this keeps them 99

percent dust free.

[jorge_gasteazoro3]

Linda I have never had any dust on my film or holder so I can tell

you with confidence my technique works.

First I blast it with air, if you can buy an air compressor on the

long run you will save more money than buying the little cans of air,

second I wipe all surfaces with an antistatic cloth (Ilford) and last

I brush all surfaces with an antistatic brush from Zone VI, they dont

make this anymore, I think. But you can find them on E bay every so

often. Good luck and I hope this helps.

[cal_eng]

Linda,

 

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I also do my film loading in my bathroom. In addition to cleaning

out the holders well, I also dust the bathroom. To keep it "dust

free" I have in use one of the Heepa air filters and use the product

called the "Swifter" on floors, countertops, etc. Haven't had a

problem since. I would also remove all items which produces dust

from the bathroom if possible: towels and rugs.

[robert_a._zeichner1]

Linda, There are probably as many ways to load as there are loaders,

but I have discovered a couple of things that work well for me and so

I'll share them:

 

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1. First, I dust off all my holders (outside, then inside) with a 1"

camel hair flat brush that I keep in a zip lock bag when not being

used. I avoid canned or compressed air because this tends to stir up

too much dust (which is everywhere).

 

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2. I get all my loading supplies organized on one surface and either

roll up my sleeves or shed any long sleeved shirt I might be wearing.

When I'm loading in a motel bathroom, I remove the towels and leave

them outside the bath and do run the hot shower for a couple of minutes

to "rinse down the dust".

 

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3. I usually straddle the commode and use the tank top as my work

surface if the bathroom lacks a vanity and room for a chair. It's

important to be sitting when doing this as you need to be relaxed and

close to the work surface.

 

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4. I usually cut the foil pack (if it's Kodak film) with a scissor

that I intentionally place on the floor behind the throne so I don't

accidently drop it on my feet or stab myself in the hand!

 

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5. When I open the film box, I nest the box thirds and lay the pile of

film emulsion down and lean it crosswise over the edge of the innermost

box. This way, the film will stay in a neat pile and no dust will

settle on the emulsion side. I put the foil wrapper under the box so I

can repackage the film when I'm done. I take a holder, slide open the

dark slide three fourths of the way and pick a sheet of film off the

pile, invert it and slide it in. After pushing the dark slide closed I

turn the holder and repeat. It's important to lay out the work area

the same way all the time. This is one of those instances where

compulsiveness and routine really helps get the job done. If you can't

remember which pile of holders is empty or where you put the foil

wrapper, you'll drive yourself nuts. However you do it, do it the same

way all the time. After awhile, all of this will become easy enough to

do after driving nine hours and you're half asleep (like I am typically

when I'm on a field trip).

 

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6. When I'm done loading I put each holder into a zip lock and affix a

label on which I print all the pertinent info I wish to record for each

of the 2 sides of the holders. I number my holders, by the way, so I

can reference any of that info to a specific holder. This simplifies

things in the field and avoids writing on holders themselves. An

additional bonus is that if ever a holder develops a leak, I can nail

down the culprit by the number!

 

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7. One last tip....pack some black plastic (the bags 16x20 paper comes

in works well) in your backpack or camera bag. Also some black

phototgraphic tape (3-M 235). This is in case the bathroom has a

window! You can carefully cut the bag into a light tight 16x40 or

20x32 window cover which you can tape to block out any light. This has

saved me from disaster more than once!

[linda_chapman]

Thanks so much everyone for replying - I feel more confident now and

will give it another try today - much appreciated, regards LINDA

[brian_ellis3]

A couple of minor points added to all of these excellent suggestions.

The hot air in the bath room helped me a lot but make sure you remove

all the towels. There probably are many different brands of plastic

bags that can be used but the kind I use are Zip Lock one quart bags.

You have to be careful though because the quart bags come in

different shapes, vertical and horizontal. The horizontal ones don't

work for a 3x4 film holder. You want the vertical ones. If your

holders stay in these sealed bags at all times except when loading

film and using the holder I think your dust problems will be greatly

minimized.

[jeff_buckels]

Linda: There's an awful lot of good stuff here. I got in to print it

out, though, so I guess I'll add my two cents worth.... Here in New

Mexico static electricity is probably the worst underlying cause, so

running water is good, as mentioned above. I put aluminum foil over

the area I'm going to work on. Wipe it once with the Paterson

anti-static cloth. I wipe my hands with the cloth just before I start

and again any time my hands start feeling dry. I think a really

important point no one's mentioned is to remove the dark slide SLOWLY

and replace it just as slowly, whether loading film or making

exposures. Working the slide quickly kicks up static.... -jeff

buckels (albuquerque nm)

[doug_paramore]

Linda: I can't add anything to the excellent posts on cleaning film

holders, but there is one other point to address. Dust can get on

film from inside the camera. Even if your camera is brand new, it

needs to be dusted out. The easiest way is to extend the bellows as

far as it will go, put the hose from the vaccuum cleaner inside and

tap the bellows to dislodge the dust. For older cameras, it may be

neccessary to get inside the bellows with a small brush to dislodge

the dirt. I use a small (1 1/2") paint brush with the handle cut off

to brush the bellows. Just be reasonably gentle with the brush, and

don't place the vaccuum hose directly against the bellows.

 

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Regards,

[walter_glover]

Linda,

 

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You have here a diploma level thesis on dust but may I add to

Doug's post above? Another source of dust in the camera is the

rear section of the lens barrel. We tend to take the lens out of a

carry bag, check the glass for makrs and then mount. Check the

reae barrel as well; the dividers in many commercially available

bags are velvet type fabric or canvas and with constant abrasion

in transit these fabric tend to powder.

 

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Cheers ... WG