I had bought a couple of strips of Newton free glass years ago on eBay from a company specializing in scanner accessories. Never got round to using them and from various moves, they got lost. Now I see they are hard to get on eBay.
Since the glass is said to be etched, does shooting through Newton free glass hurt resolution?
And why is Newton free glass so pricey and hard to get?
The dreaded Newton rings!
I actually just joined to ask a similar question since Iāve been digging into ANR stuff lately for work (I do digitization work for a university, but shoot film for me). Definitely looking out for resources here, especially if it comes in multiple sizes. Itās really useful for holding odd sizes or cuts of film in place
ANR glass from darkroom negative carriers. like Omega 4"x5" definitely does hurt my resolution when capturing, but it seems like thereās some that I just havenāt used yet thatās more finely textured. Digital Transitions heritage division advertises that their 8"x10" ANR coating is effective to at least 10000 ppi, but no other company Iāve talked to yet has any similar specifications. Itās a pricey holder though. Hereās other places Iāve looked and what I know about ANR glass vendors.
Scan-Tech - no more as of last month it looks like. I know of people that have used this for negatives at least to 4000 ppi
BetterScanning.com - only certain sizes I think, sent me a form response when I asked about custom sizes
Focal Point - no more
Knight Optical - no specs offered for digital camera or scanning, I have a sample piece that looks like it may not be fine enough, but might work for 4"x5". I can report back.
Negative Supply - their 4x5 holder looks pretty good and Iām talking about it with them now. Only one size of ANR glass it looks like.
No idea why itās so expensive or where these companies are getting their supply from!
Thanks for the info. Was Scan-Tech on eBay? Maybe I bought it form them? It was about 5 or 6 years ago.
If I do ever find some glass, I will give it try to see what, if any, res loss results. You mention 4000 ppi. What issues develop if you go over that? And is that dpi? If not, what is ppi?
Here is an old thread on anti-Newton ring glass.
anti-Newton glass, how is it made? | Photo.net Photography Forums
Kinda a mystery how it is made. I wonder if you etched glass with hydrofluoric acid lightly if that would do it? One of you scientists should look into it.
I hope I find mine. Have not seen them in years. I had strips for 35mm and 6x6 film. Maybe the guy selling them would make them somehow? Terrible getting some of these extinct film related itemsā¦crazy prices!
Beseler Anti-Newton Glass for the 45M, 45V and 810 Series 7005 (bhphotovideo.com)
Iāve seen some Scan Tech glass sold on ebay I think, but it was sold on a separate website.
The BetterScanning and Scan Tech glass can probably go over 4000 ppi without a problem, thatās just a standard I know this person captures at without any problems. PPI is for pixels per inch, so Iām probably using it the way youāre using dpi. When Iām shooting 35mm film, a single frame is about 1 1/2 inches wide, so I know that I have at least 4000 ppi if the width of the frame is over 6000 pixels in my capture. Thereās targets that measure this too, but a clear ruler also works pretty well. It might be overkill for a lot of people, but I standardize for work.
After spending 1.5 hours cleaning out one of my storage lockers, I found the 6x6 Anti-Newton glass. It is for a strip of 6x6 negs. It is from ScanTech purchased on eBay years ago. See instructions enclosed with glass.
The glass is etched on one side. The other side is normal. It has some nicks on the sides. (See out of focus nicks on edge of light photo.) That was how it came, they were not from me as it was still new in the bubble wrap and I never used. So was not impressed with edge finish.
AN glass can be useful but only if placed between the negative and the light source where is can do its job of preventing Newton rings, give the film a flat surface to sit on and slightly diffuse the light passing through the film.
Placed between the film and the lens, AN glass will keep the film flat but will also adversely affect resolution which is counter to the object of the exercise.
For me, best practice would be to place an AN glass below the film and use a cutout mask/carrier above.
Thanks Belinda! Iām wondering if the glass marketed as anti-Newton is just non-glare picture frame glass?
My problem is I need a āglass sandwichā to flatten it out some of the badly warped archival material I got. Just laying a little piece of glass on it does very little. I guess I will have to work with film holders and see what can be done.
Some people wet mount their negs / chromes for scans. It cuts resolution some, but not that much. But their stuff is pretty flat. I would have to wet mount between a glass sandwich, that would hopefully be Newton ring resistant from the wet mounting. But I donāt want to get into all that. Iāve got a huge Archive to deal with and very little time.
This single perf 35mm film below is not warped, it is just tightly curled. It is very hard to deal with. Reverse wind storage for a few weeks helps āsomeā but film is still not anywhere near flat.
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Above - eBay photo: Fair use
I did some test scans taping it on the scanner glass of a ancient Epson V500 scanner. (Note, some scanners donāt seem to focus well on the glass for film, you need to test yours.)
The scans show what is on the roll, but it is a pain and res is not great. The film is still curled and tape wont hold it flat, so Newton rings are not a big issue.
I think I will try one of these for the Tru-Vue films.
Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier - Photo B&H - Fair Use
Yesterday, while working in the cineā film Archive I found a little bitty plastic peep show viewer that used rolled 16mm film. It was not stereo as the Tru-Vue film is, not tinted, but the film was as tightly curled as the Tru-Vue. I guess the challenge will be masking the white light while camera scanning these oddball films.
16mm film on core suffering from vinegar syndrome.
Some of the old sheet film and chromes are heavily warped. It is pretty normal with old cineā film suffering from vinegar syndrome. But with still film it is more of a pain to deal with.
Nowā¦what have you been doing with the anti-Newton glass so far Belinda? And others?
You clearly have quite some problem there!
If it were mine, I would wet mount strips of this film between two sheets of glass. Wet mounting doesnāt cut resolution - it increases resolution and eliminates Newton rings while also making dust and scratches much less visible which judging by the condition of your film, would be a huge plusā¦and itās not as hard as some imagine.
You could try using TruVue Museum Glass. While not advertised as āanti-Newton ringsā, if not pressed too heavily against the film generally it does not produce them. However, sometimes it can happen - I would give it about a 90% effectiveness rating from my experience. It is a coated extremely clear glass usually available from higher-end framing shops who can cut it to size for you.
I understand the recommended wisdom includes:
Iāve tested this, the glass sandwich holds film really flat and used as above has no issues. But, if you focus too ādeepā beyond the emulsion and film base to the ANR surface, you can see some of the bumps.
There is an expensive glass product on the market made by Schott in Germany in very short supply, liked by the museum/conservation community. and currently available from B3K Digital in Toronto.It does an excellent job and there is no need to worry about what side of the glass is placed against what side of the film.
