120 slide mounting

[peterqd]

I've now received the first roll of Velvia 50 x 120 back from the lab, nicely cut into strips and slotted into a clear plastic pockets, not mounted. I can't do any decent scans yet or project them as they're not mounted. Looking at the film with a magnifying glass the shots look nice and sharp, but about half seem to be about 1 -2 stops underexposed. This roll was a test of the camera's shutter speeds and meter, so I was half-expecting this sort of result. I'll be making a separate post about meters shortly.

The question I wanted to ask now is about slide mounting. I can't find a lab that will mount the 120 slides - they all seem to do 35mm slide-mounting but processing-only of 120 film. I found where I can buy 120 slide mounts to do it myself, but is this normal or does anyone know a lab (pref in UK) who will mount 120 slides?

[Orio]

If they look underexposed at your magnifying glass, they will look perfect in projection.

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[peterqd]

[bob955i]

DIY Peter?

http://www.photomart.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?ProductCatalogue=8677SLID&CatID=6

Orio's correct too about your slides looking underexposed - once you project them, they'll look great. I regularly underexposed my slide film by around 1/2 to 3/4 stop for more punch.

[peterqd]

Thanks Bob. It looks like DIY then. Thanks for the link, they're a little cheaper than the one I found.

[Laurence]

Hello Peter: First off, congratulations of getting the slides all processed and ready to mount!

I've been using a 120 slide projector and mounting my own for quite a long time. I've tried all the mounts (glass, double-glass, cardboard) and found that the plastic is the easiest and best-performing.

I keep a limited number on hand (somewhere around 75 or so), and then just exchange with new images when I'm done looking at the current "crop" of images. It's easy enough that I don't really worry about the time it takes to swap them out.

You don't really need the glass to "flatten" the transparency. There can certainly be a period of "buckling" when the slide first contacts the high heat in the projector, but I simply warm them up first and that helps tremendously. Maybe they STILL buckle a little, I don't know, but for my eyes and viewing they are marvelous just the way they are.

I agree on the underexposed slides being just fine for projecting.

Peter, what projector are you using?

Also, if you ever get a chance try some black and white transparencies from dr5. Wow!

Larry

[peterqd]

[Laurence]

I went with the Bausch and Lomb Balomatic 755. This was after considerable research and also I was able to get "first hand" opinions from two owners.

I will post, tomorrow, an image of the projector, as well as the description of the projector, in my user's manual to give you a better idea of the configuration.

I purchased mine for $75 three years ago. Lamps are readily available.