One of the 'spin offs' from my aerial photo adventures is a greater appreciation of Kodak's B+W aerial emulsions. I would like to try them out in my Crown(4x5)and my Agfa (5x7) Since these 5" rolls of film are available at really cheap prices, the only thing stopping me is: how the heck do you cut the stuff in the dark to fit holders and notch the upper right corners? I'm sure its been done before, but how? Thanks for any suggestions!

For the times that I have cut larger stock down to smaller sizes, in both film and paper, I have used a sliding type paper cutter (not a guillotine cutter) and preset the measuring guide to the size that I want.

For instance for 4 x 5 sheet film (or paper) I would set the guide to 4 inches (using 5 inch roll stock) or 7 inches for 5 x 7 (again using 5 inch roll stock).

Years ago I would just snip off the top right corner with scissors to indicate the emulsion facing me, but now I would probably use one of those tiny hand size trimmers found at a office supply store that rounds off the corner.

Either method works so long as you remember: when the notch is at the top right edge of the sheet the emulsion side faces you.

Another concern of mine has always been dust on the emulsion and in the holders, so besides careful cleaning using "wet cloths" instead of a dry dust mop, I bought last year a Negative Ion generator which attaches a charge to the dust particles in the air and drops it to the floor instead of floating around.

I was skeptical at first, but the dealer let me test it for a week and it works great for me (your mileage may vary), although I now have to vacumn the carpet more often <G>.

graflite