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Old 18th May 2009, 08:42 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Default Ilford Above The Lens MG Filters-8.9 x8.9cms

As a result of a winning bid on paper on e-bay I got the above thrown-in. Not really of much use to me as I have a colour head( Durst M605) although simply playing around with them tonight I discovered that they will in fact fit on top of the neg carrier so anyone with a colour head but not wanting to splash out the extra for the under the lens filters, holder etc might want to check to see if the filters will fit on top of the neg carrier.

So far so good in my education. Now for the second part of the story. Filters 0 - 3.5 seemed to be in reasonable condition except round the edges where with 35mm and maybe even with 6x6 negs the marks on filters might not intrude in the light path.

Filters 4-5 were in much poorer condition in terms of marks and smears. One even having a piece of paper stuck to it. I realised that the filters are gelatin but thought that the colour was integral to the filter. Not so it appears

I thought a gentle wash in mild dish washing liquid for filter 5 might clean it. Disaster The colour almost instantly began to come out like a cheap non colourfast T shirt. As far as I can tell the grade 5 is now lighter than the grade 4 and is probably ruined.

Well nothing ventured nothing gained I had a go with plain water on filter 4 to see if the piece of paper stuck to it could be softened and lifted. Yes it could! Trouble was it lifted the colour as well . So there's a clear spot where the paper was once stuck.

I then decided to look on the Ilford site but while it had a lot to say about MG filters, it had nothing to say about removing marks successfully.

I wonder if I am the only one to have been caught out like this, thinking that gentle washing might restore the filters?

OK not the shortest of threads but I hope you have enjoyed the tale from the "old storyteller". Remember him on the Andy Williams Show in the late 1960s?

So purely for the benefit of my education how are you supposed to remove any marks on above the lens filters?

Are these filters susceptible to any water even when brand new or is it a sign of their extreme age that the colour comes out?

I can imagine new filters getting marked from their early days and users attempting to clean them. You'd think that Ilford might say something about this.

I will waste a few 5x4 sheets of MG paper testing the filters just to complete my education and see if the prints look anything like they do with my colour head settings.

If they appear to work and recognising that I have ruined the Grade 5, then if anyone is interested in obtaining the set, including the ring binder in which they are kept and the Ilford box, both of which are in fairly good nick then send me a private message.

I so hate to throw things out when for all I know someone might be able to use them for whatever purpose, even if it is only replacing his ring binder and box, if either has been damaged.

Completely free of course

Mike
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Old 19th May 2009, 05:15 PM
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Rob Archer Rob Archer is offline
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Been there - done that! I ruined my first set of below-the-lens filters by dropping them into a tray of fixer! I tried rinsing and drying them, but I ended up with some very fetching pale-toned bits of gelatin!

Rob
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Old 19th May 2009, 10:25 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Rob With fixer I can imagine "things happening" but with simple mild soap and then just water I was surprised. Assuming that age alone hadn't made the gelatin susceptible to any liquid then I wonder how many others have been caught out when trying to get rid of smears in the absence of any advice from Ilford.

Maybe you shouldn't bother to try and wipe away any marks? Does vigorous wiping with a dry cloth damage the filters and if not how about breathing on them and wiping?

It offends my fastidiousness when doing nothing is actually the best way. It's a bit like the theory I think I once read that says that eventually the action or non action of never washing your hair actually results in the scalp achieving a balance that makes washing unnecessary for life.

Mike
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