Feb 9
The Other Camera Test
I titled this entry The Other Camera Test to distinguish it from Andy’s recent Camera Test. Alas, my test wasn’t of a castle, nor of anything remotely daguerreian.
I got a new camera with the idea of using it for daguerreotypes. It’s an old plate camera from India in the format of 6 1/2″ x 12″. I put in a lens I pulled out of a photocopier a few years ago and attached it using a foamcore lens board. With a foamcore shutter/lens cap I made the exposure 15 second exposure on to a piece of VC RC paper. It came out quite nicely, no fall off and the focus seems pretty good. It ended up a bit contrasty but who knows what you’re going to get when using VC paper without filters. I’d like to try an exposure focused at infinity but I’ll have to wait for a spare moment during the day.
A heat removal device is currently under construction to help relieve the heat that builds up in the plate during development. At the moment it’s looking more like a small time travel device…
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Looks like you have a keeper there. Focus is especially good considering the number of empty beer bottles. 😉
I will be curious to see your “heat removal device”. I bought a 108 LED red spotlight recently and will eventually try it for Becquerel development. Part of the reason is that it doesn’t put out much heat. It may not be strong enough to power the development process though – it is rated at a 60 watt equvalent, but the wattage all goes into the active frequency. We shall see…
I briefly tested my incomplete device last night and it seemed to keep the plate at around 65°F. It was a very quick test and I’ll run temperature comparisons between the old and new developing units when the new one is complete.
A red LED becquerel developer is on my list of things I’d like to build. Make a small container with a ton of LEDs on the top and a timer to give repeatable developments. The idea of soldering several hundred red LEDs kind of put me off from the idea. Never thought of using an LED spotlight though. I’ll be curious to see how it works.