DIY glass carrier for Nikon 8/9000

Johann Fuller , May 21, 2004; 06:50 a.m.

Take the standard (and totaly useless) FH-8695 120 film holder and pull off the hinged edge clamps, slide the moving side outwards and tightem the screws at each end to hold it in position. Go down to your local picture framer and get 2 plates of non glare glass in the thinnest thickness you can find (1.5mm is what nikon use in their carriers but I used 2mm as it's all I had lying around for this test) in the following exact size 62mmx205mm - glass cutters work at +/- about 1mm so tell thm it has to be exactly 62mm but about 205mm is OK . If they have different samples - get the smoothest one with the least texture. Get a stip of film and make a sandwich with the textured surfaces facing the film - tape the ends to stop them sliding about, drop it in the carrier and scan. Err that's it - I've done a scan of the same film with this and with the rotating holder and I can see no glass texture showing at all only edge to edge sharpness. If I've got time I'll post a comparison but trust me - it works - go do it and report back.

Answers

Johann Fuller , May 21, 2004; 09:15 a.m.

Further experimenting has revealed you only need 1 plate of glass -place the strip in the holder with the emulsion facing down and the glass on top of this. leica enlargers used this arrangement as film tends to only curl away from the emulsion side. With no glass between the lens and film it has to be a better solution.

Dan Wilton , May 21, 2004; 09:47 a.m.

is it possible to re-attach the clamps or are they buggered beyond repair when you pull them off? I only ask as there is a framer's round the corner and i could try it right now. However, i'm not sure how quickly i can get hold of a replacement holder.....

Johann Fuller , May 21, 2004; 09:56 a.m.

They just clip off - the lugs are very shallow and a small knife or thin blade of a small screwdriver will lever them off. I'll send you mine if you break them - I'm never going to use those bits of junk.

Dan Wilton , May 21, 2004; 01:19 p.m.

Well i've got some glass cut and have managed to take off the clips without breaking them. I'm trying a scan now but i've got a feeling the glass is too textured. We'll see.....:0)

Dan Wilton , May 21, 2004; 01:33 p.m.

Erm.....a resounding success :0)

I was expecting it to pick up the texture of the glass but comparing scans of the same slide, with and without i couldn't tell the difference when my housemate tested me, nor could he. Well there was one difference, the whole scan is sharp :0)

I can't thank you enough for coming up with the idea. I never would have attempted it and my wallet would have been substantially lighter!

If you are ever in North London give me a shout and i'll buy you a pint.

Now to get down to many hours of scanning (I have A LOT of slides to scan)

Thanks again,

A Happy Dan

Robert Martin , May 21, 2004; 03:05 p.m.

Does this modification allow using a longer length of film? I realize you can't scan more images without rotating the film strip, but my film strips are cut with 4 6x6 and 5 6x4.5 images.

Does the FH-869G allow using longer strip of film?

Johann Fuller , May 21, 2004; 03:24 p.m.

The mod does not change this aspect of the holder in any way - you have to cut 6x6 into 3's The rotating holder can take 4 6x6 but it's easier in 3's. I always insist my 6x6 film is cut in 3's anyway as that is how they fit in my files.

Robert Martin , May 21, 2004; 04:04 p.m.

Johann, thanks for the input on the carrier modification. I use the Print File sleves 120-3HB which can either be filed in a notebook or hang in a file drawer - I hang them in a file drawer. That's why I have strips of 4 6x6 and 5 6x4.5 images per strip. I guess I either need to purchase a rotating glass holder or determine how to modify one of the others to allow me to not cut my film. I just purchased the Nikon 9000 yesterday so I am just starting to address this issue.

Marke Gilbert , Jun 23, 2005; 04:08 p.m.

Johann,

Thanks for the great post. Just tried it-- works perfectly. $5.00 for 3 sheets of glass (never know when you will drop one). Scanning with just one sheet, great results. Cancelled my order for a $329.00 holder from Nikon!

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