Bizarre Acute-Matte Issue

[matthew_delphenich]

<p>Last night, a friend and I went for a night shoot, where we were caught in a bit of rain and our gear got wet. Neither camera got drenched, and I've certainly put my camera through much worse. Unfortunately, when he took out his camera this morning he noticed the issue evident in the photograph here. The aberration seems to be on neither the front nor the back of the glass, so we assume it must be between the plies. We have several hypotheses as to what this could be, but neither of us, nor the workers at Calumet could be sure. Has anyone seen anything like this before? If so, is there anything we could do to fix or minimize the issue? Obviously, my friend would prefer not to replace the screen if at all possible. Thanks in advance!<br>

<img src="http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o26/mattwd87/IMG_9001.jpg" alt="" width="586" height="600" /></p>

[q.g._de_bakker]

No hypothesis, but fact: water has gotten in between te glass cover and the plastic Acute Matte and has collected in the rings of the Fresnel lens.<br><br>There's no easy fix.<br>The quickest, but riskiest, would be to take the sandwhich of double metal frame, glass and Acute Matte apart, and clean and dry the thingies. But the cover glass is thin, and if not done carefully will break. Also, after being bent open, the metal frames do not dgo back together as well as they were originally, possibly causing the screen-assembly to be a bit to wide to drop into or out of the camera without some extra help.<br>The slowest but easiest is to wait until it has dried by itself. The water will probably leave a clear mark, though, and you may not be happy with that.

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Wow, hard to believe, something I haven't done myself yet... Q.G. you're always on the job 8-))</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>I had that happen once to me, but it was more blotchy than round. I put the screen in with some desiccant capsules for a few days, and it went away. I would think you'd want to get on it though, so it doesn't turn moldy/fungi on you/him.</p>

[jim_gardner4]

<p>If water can get in there, obviously air can too. Could you use a compressor to blow air through and speed up the drying time?</p>

[ian_gordon_bilson]

<p>DO NOT : use compressed air or Heat. DO : wrap the screen lightly in clean cloth, and cover with dry rice , in a sealed container. Works for cellphones too . Exception being seawater,but that is not the case here.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>If you have any Silica Gel dessicant sachets, then use those rather than rice, they'll get the job done faster. Put the screen and dessicant sachets into a "Tupperware" type sandwich box and seal it up. BTW Silica Gel sachets can be revitalised with a minute or two in a microwave oven on a low power setting.<br>

The main issue will be if any solid residue is left after the water has evaporated. If so, the only fix would be to dismantle the screen and properly wash the components in distilled water. Do not use any organic solvent on a plastic fresnel, it'll most likely ruin it. Also don't rub at the fresnel with anything like a cloth or tissue, since that can damage it too, although a soft artist's squirrel-hair brush is OK.</p>

<p> </p>

[matthew_delphenich]

<p>Actually, I do have a fairly sizable stockpile of desiccant packets (my only useful takeaway from my months working IT), but he doesn't. He has had the screen sitting in a bowl of rice overnight, and called me this morning to let me know the ring is dissipating nicely. There might be subtle marks left afterward, but he thinks he can live with them. Again, thanks for all the suggestions and help!</p>

[diegobuono]

<p>It happened to me to (non acude matte screen) and the problem solved itself when the water evaporated.<br>

<a href="003Rs8">http://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/003Rs8</a></p>