UVP X - Salted Collodion - Premixed

This stuff is actually great! I mixed my own chemistry for many years but I know prefer this blend. It is consistent and does not lose speed so quickly so I feel confident enough to buy larger bottles. I use it for studio portraiture work and even after 2-3 months I can still use 1- 2400 ws light with a modifier ( Beauty Dish or Softbox) and a reflector to get well lit photos. Often I will use 2-3 lights as well depending on what I am going for.

UVP-X is some form of magic unicorn blood. I’ve split a 500ml bottle into 2 smaller bottles. One I kept out in my studio under the lab hood and used as a test bottle for 12 months. The other I kept in my chemical fridge for the same time and left sealed. After 12 months the X left in my studio showed only minor signs of speed loss and a noticeable amount of contrast gain. The refrigerated bottle shows no signs of death 16 months after delivery. Speed has gone down by MAYBE 1/3 of a stop. Amazing stuff and a great place to do business with

I used UVP-3 for a few years, was relatively happy but hated the short shelf life and the constant management of mixing, aging, throwing out old unused product, and my impression was that the tonality was hit or miss, often too high contrast. UVPX gives me stupid nice tonality (beautiful even range), is easy to work with, and has incredible shelf life (used product a year old with great results). Of course the cadmium formula requires gloves at all times, but worth it for a collodion that just works wonderfully every time. 6+ years into wet plate and this is my go to, highly recommended.

Great collodion formula! Nice and bright results. This one is my go-to collodion for portrait work.

It's quick, that's for sure. Pricey, but worth it.