There still more to do, but I’ve made and tested the first functional prototype Epson V-series carrier for 4×5 film!
The focus is surprisingly pretty close for my scanner though I need to make the bottom half both a smidge taller and the inlay a smidge deeper. I have been looking for ways to adjust focus, one being nylon screws. I haven’t found a reasonable cost effective screw size for that yet and actually someone on Activity Pub pointed out that they simply use tape for their homemade carriers. Simple and effective such that I will probably test that approach for these.
At first I wasn’t happy with having to use a film inlay instead of posts like a conventional darkroom carrier, but having done it this way, I actually rather like it! To the point I wonder about perhaps using a similar design for some of the thicker negative carriers (like the Omega D2).
Even better still, using an inlay means it should be possible to use ANR glass on the topside. I don’t plan on making a full glass solution but having the glass on top will help press some curlier films down. Something that may prove very helpful for 120. And on the note of 120, one design option I am looking at is an edge to edge inlay. This means longer strips of film can be used than what the original Epson scanners could accommodate. I haven’t even started the 120 design yet so we’ll see how that shakes out once I get there.
Overall I’m really happy with the design so far! A few tweaks and I’ll at least be switching to this for me own scanning. The thumb notch for being able to easily pick the sheet up alone is a near game changer for me!
This is the first part of a multi-part series (maybe) on a product I have been wanting to make for a long time. With all the film I’ve been scanning from our Iceland trip, it seemed like a good time to tackle this as it has been on my radar for some time.
It might not look like much, but it is the first large-ish test print for what I hope to become a film carrier system for the Epson V-series scanners.
To make one point clear right out the gate, I do not want nor intend on competing at the high end. BetterScanning, for instance, makes some incredible flatbed scanning solutions complete with the ability to do wet-mount and with a precision focus system.
Instead I am looking at having something perhaps in between the Epson OEM trays and BetterScanning. I may have an option for top ANR glass (be it true ANR glass or museum glass) but these will otherwise behave similarly to my darkroom and camera scanning carriers. One difference between those and the Epson may be that I may have to settle for using an inlay. I had wanted the bottom piece to be entirely flat but because I also want to use the mounting holes on the Epson flatbed, I need to work around geometry while also keeping the negative in the focus zone.
A lot more testing needs to be done still. I said this might be a multi-part series because I’m not yet sure if this will end up turning into a real product or not. Too soon to say though my initial work has been fairly promising. If you are interested in something like this, please let us know! We love to hear from our customers, especially when it comes to products we think might be helpful to the growing film community!
As some of you may know, we’re going on vacation to Iceland coming up here soon. As part of my (over) preparation, I decided to upgrade and add to my filter collection. As an aside I’ve made quite a few accessories for the trip, some of which I have already teased which includes some circular and rectangular filter cases which I’m rather fond of.
Anyways! Among the filters I decided to pick up were Hoya X0 (light green) and X1 (green) filters. I’ve never used green filters but it seemed like something worth trying going to a country with lots of green things. My main black and white film will be T-Max 100 so I decided to use one of my recently expired rolls of TMX in 120. This also let me test a new film back for my Hasselblad while doing so. The test was simply taking photos of my color chart on our outdoor seat during the mid afternoon on a cloudy day. I metered on the middle grey patch of the color chart which matched the incident reading as well. Here are the results:
Here’s a flatbed scan of the PrintFile sleeves of the film I shot. So it’s not the sharpest but the goal here was to just compare the color swatches to my X-Rite Color Chart. The exposures go left to right and down and are as follows:
1: No filter
2: Hoya K2 Yellow
3: Tiffen Yel 15 (more of an orange)
4: Tiffen Red 25
5: Hoya X0 (light green)
6: Hoya X1 (green)
7: K2 without any exposure compensation (so same shutter speed as shot 1)
8: G0 without any exposure compensation (so same shutter speed as shot 1)
9: Pretty sure I messed up my aperture setting on this one
10: X0 with +2 exposure, though also messed up my aperture
11: X1 with +3 exposure
12: X0 with +2 exposure
I developed this roll in Zone Imaging’s 510-Pyro (which by the way we do carry on the store!) at 1:100 for 12:30 with 404ml working solution in my DIY rotary. I don’t think that plays a huge role here but 510 is likely the developer I will be using to develop most of my black and white films from the trip.
As an aside, Mrs. BitByBit Photo gives me a hard time to this day about how much that color chart cost for what amounts to color dyes on plastic. But nonetheless, it gives a good sampling of lots of colors I might see in the field. I’ll admit though a color chart won’t necessarily tell the whole story. Either way, here is what it actually looks like (taken from my phone):
So far my initial conclusions are that the X0 and X1 seem fairly similar to the yellow filters though are less steep on the light blue shades. I expected a bit bigger of a difference, and that may be the case with other films perhaps. I was surprised to see how much of a difference there was with the K2 filter. I often see TMX mentioned as having a “built-in yellow filter” and while I actually also tend to agree, it’s probably very mild or at least shows that the K2 still has a noticeable effect compared to no filter. This was actually the main reason I decided to do this test and I’m glad I did as that was somewhat unexpected.
From an exposure compensation perspective, I think the exposure compensation provided by Hoya and Tiffen is pretty spot on. Noting I used whole stops here and rounded to the nearest slower shutter speed for values in the middle. I do think the Red filter could use a bit more exposure based on the above though. Not by much, but by a little. I used my (recently CLA’d) Hasselblad with 80mm lens for these tests so there could also be some mechanical tolerances going on here, though that’s what I would experience in the field anyway and not something I wanted to worry about here.
I had already planned to bring all these filters and if I have a chance where I feel like I can burn some film on a particular scene, I might re-run these tests out in the field with a real subject just to see what comes of it. All told, part of the reason I got the K2 and X0 filters was for being able to double as protection filters, noting the unpredictable weather (including rain and wind) that I may experience while up there.
So there you go! Not particularly scientific but I learned something there and perhaps you did too!
Another random case for our upcoming trip to Iceland! This is a 6 slot graduated neutral density filter case. The cloth pockets I have for these work “fine” but I actually don’t like something rubbing against the image area of the filter. If there’s dust on the cloth, it’ll just spend time sparing the dust bits around possibly scratching the fragile resin filter.
So instead, this only grips the filters on the sides in the same spot as the actual holder used by the camera. Since that’s outside the image area I don’t have to really worry about it nearly so much. The rigid plastic also helps provide some protection from some other random stuff in my pack.
This is not the final design but it’s not too far off. I think I want top to slide over the bottom a bit like the Omega gel filter storage box I made a while back. That will look nicer and also have a place for the top to stop to avoid pushing against the filters.
The final version will also be printed in an opaque plastic to protect the filters from light fade. The box will spend most of it’s time in my 4×5 backpack but even so. I had been thinking about upgrading one of the filters (the 2 or 3-stop) to glass as well but we’ll see.
Dunno if I’ll make this an official product or not but if folks are interested in something like this, certainly let me know!
Some of you probably noticed our website was down for the last few days right on through the eclipse! We’d like to call it a side effect of the eclipse but now it was mostly my fault.
A cloudy view of the eclipse which, sadly, was the best direct view we had.
In any case, we’re working on making that better! I had a long explanation but figured most of our customers probably don’t care to read about how we run or websites – folks just want them to be up! My personal philosophy is most things on the Internet can go down every now and again and that should be fine. That includes our websites. But “every now and again” should be minutes maybe even hours but certainly not days! My apologies! We’ll do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Folks that have been keeping an eye on our socials may have noticed I’ve been working on screw together filter cases as a means to have a simple and lightweight rigid option for both storing and traveling with filters. Though I still plan to have more sizes and colors, I decided to release the product out for the sizes and materials I currently have available.
Currently available for 55 and 67mm filters which can accommodate 3 or 4 filters. I’ve tested these personally with Hoya and Tiffen filters. Most should work but some there are some brands which may be thicker. If in doubt just reach out to us!
I’ve got more designs coming, including hopefully a Reveni light meter holder for Hasselblads, large format lens caps, lens cases, more carriers, lots of things! But I’ve been wanted to design these cases for a while, in part because I need them when I’m traveling for my own needs, and thought it’d be good to share these out.
Thanks to our new Prusa XL, I can now print multi-material. This means I can make the bottom anti-slip gaskets without having to use the stick on laser cut cork. It not only seems to work better but looks much better and lets me make some further adjustments to the geometry. Some folks that have open scanning table orders will be getting to new version and I’ll be updating all our listings on our direct store as well as eBay and Etsy this week to reflect the change. Price will remain the same.
It took longer than it should have, but I finally listened to your pleas and have made a 35mm Full-Rebate (Full-Frame) Scanning Table! Available now right here on our direct store with eBay and Etsy to follow shortly. It is also available with the Raleno Scanning Table system by request and will be a normal offering at some point soon.
Honestly this wasn’t all that hard of a change to make. I had to move some of the hidden magnets around…and that was honestly about it apart from the gate sizing which I was able to take from my darkroom carrier designs. I’ve been wary of releasing a full-rebate option just for fear of film flatness. Since I don’t (yet!) have an ANR glass solution, the film flatness is impacted though it the same trade-off as in my darkroom carriers and I have found it is generally pretty minor. The flare is still certainly a factor but again like the darkroom carriers, if using good coated glass, it’s also pretty minor.
So I finally relented and am making this available! Some 120 sizes may follow for the 6×7, 6×12, and Raleno scanning tables as I am able. If folks have an interest in a 120 option, feel free to reach out!
As long last I am finally confident enough in my 8×10 drying rack design to offer it up as a product!
It is a beta product for now just because I have only been able to test a few 8×10 films, though I suspect many will work. Any standard base film cut to proper dimensions should work (though if folks find otherwise do let me know). Thin base films (like those from Astrum/Svema) will not work at present as the base is too think to support itself.
Otherwise it works similarly to the 5×7 drying rack, just bigger. This includes hold downs. These are optional but recommended as they help keep the film straight and well separated from each other.
Currently only available in the 2 sheet variant, though I do plan on having perhaps up to 6 sheet options available.
If you have any questions about the drying rack, or really anything else, feel free to use our contact us form and reach out! Otherwise if you’d like to grab up an 8×10 rack they are available now!
This might be the one, though I think I said that last time… I’ve been wanting to work on this for a while but between travel, getting orders out the door, and the incredible heat here, I haven’t been shooting much 8×10 and that’s put this a bit on the back burner. The last prototype worked well, but I did feel the sheets were just slightly too close together and, much like my 5×7 drying rack, would benefit from the optional hold-downs. The new design implements both of these changes. This would be a 2-sheet version and while I likely will offer a 2-sheet version, is mostly for economy while I’m prototyping designs. I expect to have at least a 4-sheet (and probably a 6-sheet) as a final product option. I’m hoping to test this soonish and finally have this as an official product not too long after!
