New Ebony camera??!!

[George Hart]

There's not much activity here right now so here is a tickler for the traditional gifting season!!! On the Ebony website a newcomer seems to have crept in: http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/main.SVWholeplate.html. A full-plate camera, in 2006? How many do they expect to sell? Does anyone make film in 8.5 x 6.5 inches these days? Opinions and feedback please!!!

[Dave Parkin]

Retro Photographic Ltd have wholeplate film for sale on their website from around £12.50 for 10 sheets. Looks like they have at least two film speeds for sale.

Perhaps the "rush" to whole plate will be for contact prints, bigger than 5x4 but not as bulky as 10x8 and some would say a more pleasing shape.

Retro also have wholeplate paper for sale

Dave

[Sal Santamaura]

Retro Photographic Ltd have wholeplate film for sale on their website from around £12.50 for 10 sheets. Looks like they have at least two film speeds for sale.

Perhaps the "rush" to whole plate will be for contact prints, bigger than 5x4 but not as bulky as 10x8 and some would say a more pleasing shape.

Retro also have wholeplate paper for sale

Dave

There's another source of wholeplate film -- Ilford. Both FP4 Plus and HP5 Plus can be purchased. See this post

http://www.apug.org/forums/439451-post44.html

for details on where and how. Act soon!

I really enjoy the arrangement where wholeplate negatives are printed on 8x10 paper. It leaves a nice border for handling and corner mounting under an overmat when dry.

[Apple]

Hi Sal, you've found us from over the pond

I'm a very infrequent poster (mainly lurking) on the US LF site. It's a decent source of info as you lot have probably had / used / sold anything that we're likely to come across in the UK.

We're recently starting out over here but are growing fairly quickly as people come out of the woodwork... (doubt there'll be a take-over from our side any-time soon though )

Andrew (Andrew_4548 or something like after the rebirth...)

[Sal Santamaura]

...We're recently starting out over here but are growing fairly quickly as people come out of the woodwork... (doubt there'll be a take-over from our side any-time soon though )...

Take-over is not a concern! I encourage cross-lurking and cross-posting; there can't be too much sharing of information.

[Sal Santamaura]

And now for the rest of the story...

http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/

[PAUL O]

Hi Sal - interesting choice of format! I've recently been discussing format popularity with Ian W at Ebony - surprising the requests that Ebony get for formats other than the expected, 5x4/5x7/10x8. There has been a recent "rush" on 20x24 too - 3 of them custom built for photographers over your side of the pond
I'm currently waiting for an estimate on an Ebony 4x10 - just coming to terms with the possibility of having to trade in my wife and daughter to buy it

[Keith Tapscott]

There's not much activity here right now so here is a tickler for the traditional gifting season!!! On the Ebony website a newcomer seems to have crept in: http://www.ebonycamera.com/cam/main.SVWholeplate.html. A full-plate camera, in 2006? How many do they expect to sell? Does anyone make film in 8.5 x 6.5 inches these days? Opinions and feedback please!!!

It would be interesting to know how much it would cost to buy in the UK.

[Sal Santamaura]

It would be interesting to know how much it would cost to buy in the UK.

An email inquiry to the contact address at Ebony Camera's Web site

hiromi@ebonycamera.com

will elicit a prompt response from their English-speaking representative. Ian Wilson is even a UK native, so the answer will be in your native tongue.

[Keith Tapscott]

It would be interesting to know how much it would cost to buy in the UK.

An email inquiry to the contact address at Ebony Camera's Web site

hiromi@ebonycamera.com

will elicit a prompt response from their English-speaking representative. Ian Wilson is even a UK native, so the answer will be in your native tongue.

Unfortunately, the stupid National Lottery machine that draws out the winning numbers, keeps getting the numbers that I have on my ticket wrong during the prize draw.

[Sal Santamaura]

In the 4+ years since our "whole plate renaissance" began, my approach to negative storage has evolved. I tried Secol sleeves, but they carry a risk of scratching during insertion/removal, since they are so tight and rigid. For other sizes, I had been using interleaving folders and paper envelopes, including placing whole plate negatives in that 8x10 combination. However, even this wasn't satisfying, given the cost, total thickness and awkwardness of handling multiple items in the darkroom.

Another manufacturer began offering polypropylene fold-over sleeves for whole plate after some users requested them. I don't get along well with the fold-over design; inserting and removing negatives in it has proven even more of a nuisance than dealing with two-part systems. The material is soft and feels like its surface holds dust/grit.

Last year I tried and very much liked the high density polyethylene (HDPE) negative storage envelopes offered by Archival Methods. These have become my standard for 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10. They are pure HDPE; no slip agents or other chemicals are used in the envelopes or during the manufacturing process. They do not generate static electricity. Since they're a bit loose, negatives can be inserted and removed easily with no danger of scratching. The only drawback was lack of a dedicated size for whole plate.

Recently I contacted Archival Methods and petitioned them to add a new size that would specifically accommodate whole plate negatives. They agreed and said they'd notify me when the new product became available. That email arrived this morning and I've already ordered a large quantity. Here's the product page:

http://www.archivalmethods.com/Product. ... oductid=84

I encourage everyone using whole plate to buy these envelopes for negative storage. They're very well priced and readily available. If you're looking for a matched size box into which the envelopes+negatives will fit, I've found and purchased these:

http://www.conservationresources.com/Ma ... ion3_4.htm

The perfect way to organize your collection of perfect size negatives!

[michaelfinch]

Also have a look at: http://www.secol.co.uk/POCKETS.SHTML
I've used their products and have no complaints.

[Trevor Crone]

Personally I prefer the 5x7 to whole plate. I have a 5x7 reduction back for my Ebony SLW810 but the kit is still bulky and fairly heavy. I just need to convince the wife that I really just need one more camera (Ebony 5x7 non-folding), and it will truly be my last