Glass Quarter Plates

[steveo_mcg]

I picked up what appears to be an unmolested pack of 12 quarter plate glass plates. They are Kodak 0.800 Super Speed Ortho (apparently). I seen them cheap in a local charity shop whilst out on my lunch time stroll, couldn't resist.

Now I'm not sure what to do with them. I suppose I could build a pin hole camera or try and purchase an appropriate sized functional camera. I don't want to "waste" them but at the same time they were very much an impulse buy and I don't want to spend a lot on a camera for some potentially dead plates and what are the odds of getting more cheap...

Any ideas??

 

[sparty]

Get yourself a quarter plate folding camera, there's plenty about. And share your results!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Another "new" camera, well its probably for the best...

I seen some cheapish at Rocky (I know) but evilBay seems dear, any where else I should check. Don't suppose it needs to work that well, as long as the lens is basically clean and bulb mode works, I expect I'll need some phenomenally long exposures to get an image.

 

[Asha]

Any ideas??

Send em to me....

Tbh Steve, I'd be sceptical if they will still work depending what age they are though saying that i've had results from very old film so who knows.

A cheap quarter plate folder in working order is an idea though i dunno wether you'll get "cheap working order"!

Why do you have to live so far away...... all your answers/requests lie in my alladins cave!

Perhaps you could arrange to go on a TP film meet with someone who has a suitable camera for you to use....dunno how many folk still mess with 1/4 plate etc now as most from what i read about lean more to 4 x 5 simply because of film availability.

Makes me one of the strange ones with obscure formats :nuts:

 

[steveo_mcg]

I have become increasingly sceptical they're not just a foggy mess. So figured I'd try one, some how. I think maybe tape some card over a plate in the changing bag, expose it for a couple of minutes then put it bag in the bag, stick it in the tank and develop it. Rodinal 1+100 (why not) for an hour and see what comes out.

My thinking is if I get broadly clear patches where the card was and the rest of the plate darkens, even with some base fog, I'll try and do something with them. If its just a blank/foggy mess I might just fix them to remove the emulation and use them to try wet plate.

 

[Asha]

I have become increasingly sceptical they're not just a foggy mess. So figured I'd try one, some how. I think maybe tape some card over a plate in the changing bag, expose it for a couple of minutes then put it bag in the bag, stick it in the tank and develop it. Rodinal 1+100 (why not) for an hour and see what comes out.

My thinking is if I get broadly clear patches where the card was and the rest of the plate darkens, even with some base fog, I'll try and do something with them. If its just a blank/foggy mess I might just fix them to remove the emulation and use them to try wet plate.

Go for it!.....You have 2 hours in which to complete your mission and report back ...your time starts NOW!

There's only one way to find out if you can get anything from them isn't there?......play around with em , it's all part of the fun.

 

[steveo_mcg]

I'm quite sure my boss would object to me attempting my mission in the next couple of hours and I've got two bikes that need to be repaired this evening so its probably Thursday's job.

 

[ChrisR]

I'm quite sure my boss would object to me attempting my mission in the next couple of hours and I've got two bikes that need to be repaired this evening so its probably Thursday's job.

... and it's now Friday... we're waiting...

 

[Asha]

... and it's now Friday... we're waiting...

He's deep in thought Chris....wondering wether to send the plates to me so I can waste MY time instead to see if they're usable! lol

 

[steveo_mcg]

Not had much time the last few days, 'ave no fear I fully intend to waste my time just as soon as I get some which is mine!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Finally had a go at these. There is some life in them but I don't know how much. I covered one side with backing paper and assaulted it with a flash, souped for an hour in rodinal at a slightly unknown concentration since the plate was bigger than my tank should really take. The uncovered area is noticeable the whole plate is pretty dark but that might have been me being slightly slapdash. The bit which was not submerged in developer has gone clear post fix. The edges have got a little crinkled which I think was because it was in the water too long.

For my next experiment I'm going to put bands on but set up in the bag with a bit more controlled exposure. Now I've got a plate I can make an envelope that I can load in the dark more easily.

Wonder if a converted box camera pin hole is the way to go, need to find somewhere I can set up for an hour or two to try and make an exposure.