chuck_pere

You are correct. There should be a pin coming out of the hole which

moves up and down via the slide release latch. The top of the pin is

cut at a 45 deg angle so that it will push into the shell without

having to hold the latch down. The pin keeps the canister from

moving when pulling the slide out. This is on a 1268 model. Sounds

like you may have been Ebayed.

You could try Helix www.helixphoto.com or Central Camera

www.cental-camera.com

Calumet's new store and warehouse is also not that far from the loop. No need to go to the Bensenville store.

This lens is not listed as covering 8x10. One option is getting a

190mm WideField Ektar which should just cover 8x10. But probably not

much in the way of movements.

One thing I find helpful for getting the film out of the holder is to

be sure to have at least one fingernail long enough to get under the

film at the holder depression.

Chuck

Maybe your increased fog density is caused by aerial oxidation of the

pyro due to the longer development time. You could try a test

changing to fresh developer at 1/2 the time and seeing if the fog is

reduced.

One thing I notice with my V54 is that the spacing is not as even as condensers. I see a big jump from 3 1/2 to 4. Because of this I have to do more split filter printing to get between the two discrete steps. Or you could use two bath developer solution. Now I'm thinking that maybe for a cold light total split filter printing is the way to go. Do separate exposures through 00 and 5 filters and vary times for contrast changes. This would find the contrast you want with no worries about filters steps. You probably also should run printing tests with a step wedge and the different filters to calibrate your system. I keep putting this off.

I used to use a wood burning tool with about a quarter inch tip.

Same as a soldering iron. I used a dimmer to control the heat. But

now that Ebay is in our lives I picked up a real Seal tacking iron

for about $20. Never saw any problems with the wood burner but the

bigger tip on the Seal probably lessens chances for mistakes caused

by pressing too hard. But the smaller tip made it easier to do small

size prints.

I'm using a similar setup except a 105 El Nikor lens. I see some corner falloff with 6x9 but 6x6 should be OK. One thing I see is that the image edges are soft not sharp. I think this is the Beseler carrier (glassless) working with the cold light. Just can't get the sharp edge I see with the condensers. I do get sharp edges with my other cold light enlarger (Elwood). I'm not real happy with the under the lens VC filters, but I don't like the idea of placing them on the carrier either. Most times I use 2 different filters so I would have to change them in the dark and would probably bump the carrier. Others are better at this. Also filter imperfections might come into focus that close to the negative. On my Elwood I made a filter drawer between the cold light and carrier. Works very well. Thinking about how to do this with the 23c but really haven't seen any real problems yet caused by the under lens filters. I have compared a few prints made on VC and graded and see no difference.

Not sure my logic is right here but I'll toss this out anyway. It

would seem like if reflections are the problem that they would also

be a problem on bright days when using short exposures. I seldom see

this problem with 4x5 but often with 8x10. Never have seen it with 2

1/4 x 3 1/4 sheet film. Mostly on hot humid days with long exposure

times. I've blamed it on the film shifting during exposure. The

double image is usually near the edges. Maybe I should let the

camera sit for a time after I pull the dark slide. Then again maybe

there is something about reflections in low light vs. bright light

that I'm not seeing.

Chuck

Depends on how you will use the camera. The big advantage of folders is the compact size. I regularly use an Agfa Isolette which has a better Solinar lens. Makes very good 7x7's. The Isolette lenses in order of quality (IMHO) are Solinar(Tessar type), Apotar, Agnar. If you don't need the compact size a TLR would be a better option. You would have to get used to the lower camera position using a waist level finder. If you plan to mostly work slow on a tripod a 2x3 Graphic is fairly cheap and much more versatile. But Graphic use is slow and the camera is large. I use a Century Graphic as a view camera lite.

 

One thing about getting a folder is that no matter what you add in the future it's nice to have a compact camera around for certain occasions. I would stick with the 6x6 models for smaller size and less film flatness issues. Models include the Isolette and similar Asnco Speedex. Try for at least an Apotar lens. The Voigtlander Perkeo is another good 6x6 folder but models with the better Color-Skopar lens are getting expensive. Another good model would be the Zeiss Ikonta B (not super) with Tessar lens. None of these have coupled rangefinders. You guess the distance and adjust the lens by hand. I like to use D3200 film so I can use small stops. Big advantage to TLR's here. Rangefinder folders with better lenses can be expensive. I would recommend trying a cheap scale focus model first to see if you like folders.

Chuck

The warmest brown tones I've been able to produce (untoned) have been

using Forte Fortezo graded paper with Zonal Pro warmtone developer

(1:20). Actually too warm for some people. I have not yet tried the

developer with Polywarmtone but plan to soon. In my limited

experience with Developer 106 from a Formulary kit it is definitely

warmer than 130.

He has an ad in View Camera. (916)441-5841; jgalvin@cwo.com

Strange results from Calumet. I just bought 9 12x12 Ilford filters

from them 2 months ago. Using them on my Elwood. Sounds like who

ever you talked to didn't know what they were doing. Mine are marked

part IK 6001 to IK 6011.

Calumet sells the 12x12 Ilford filters. $14.95 ea.

I've been using a 100 Apo-Sironar (Copal 0) with a Century. I needed a small spacer (1/8 in) washer when mounting the lens to allow the levers to clear the lensboard mounting sliders. The lens also has to be turned at the correct angle and the fstop lever set at the right point before the camera will close properly. I also use a 135 Linhof Symmar in older Synchro-Compur that fits with no problems. Over time I think that these lenses have proven to be better than the old 105mm f3.7 Ektar that I used to use. But it's not easy to tell and the f3.7 sure made for easier ground glass viewing. Chuck

A better 75-85mm will probably be a Tessar type lens. They will not cover 6x7 or 6x9 very well. They may illuminate the film area but may not be sharp at corners. You could use a 100-105mm with no problems. But I can't see any of these lenses being better than a 101 Ektar. These are fairly inexpensive. An older 80mm is the wide field Ektar, but these seem to be very expensive. I would love to try one on my Century but not at $200-300.

Chuck

Are you using large format now and thinking of switching to 5x7? Or

are you thinking of getting into large format from what? I find that

using easy to shoot handheld cameras helps me loosen up. Sometimes

you can get tripod bound. It does help that I see alot of great work

people do with Diana/Holga cameras. Landscapes too. If you're

getting into large format prepare to slow down. I'm not sure that

just using large format helps you see images any better but the ones

you do see will be technically better.

Here's a place that sells a nice diffuser to use for this purpose:

 

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http://www.expodisc.com/

I use a 3005 on a Unicolor 352 motor base. I had to modify the base

switching because the large drum was not making a complete revolution

before reversing. You should be using a reversing base. Are you

getting a complete turn from the Beseler? I ended up setting mine

for approximately two turns before switching.