New to 4x5 film holders

[Christopher Walrath]

Aw, heck. Anything 4x5. But I'm learning. Hey, I just got 5 new (to me) 4x5 film holders from a seller on eBay. (Reminds me to leave feedback). Anywho, where does the film go? Surely not in the slot that holds the dark slide. There is a slot inside of that against the center of the holder. Is this where the film goes and are there any tricks to getting it in and out and making sure the emulsion doesn't get scratched or anything? Or am I over vexing this, as usual. I gotta stop this thinking thing . . .

[BradS]

Pull the dark slide out about half way. Lift the flap. The film slides in the slot below with the back side of the film touching the center of the film holder and the emulsion side facing dark slide, of course. Just hold the sheet of film by the edges and don't worry about it. Practice in daylight with one sheet (That's what the 25th sheet is for in those wacky 25 sheet boxes).

[Bob F.]

The link I always send people to: http://www.butzi.net/articles/filmload.htm

Have fun, Bob.

[Fotoguy20d]

The link I always send people to: http://www.butzi.net/articles/filmload.htm

Have fun, Bob.

I just printed this out a couple of days ago (couldn't remember which corner the notches were in). Just got a Grafmatic in the mail today and couldn't figure it out at all. Found this link courtesy of google. It seems easy enough now. Definitely an improvement over the film holders, I think.

Dan

[Curt]

Paul is right on the money.

The white side and black side of the dark slide can be used to prevent confusion about which holders are loaded, and which are exposed, etc.

Different photographers use different conventions, so if you share holders with someone, you'll need to make sure you use the same convention.

I use the following one: Film holders which are loaded with unexposed film have the white side of the dark slide showing. All other film holders have the dark side showing.

So, if a holder has the white side showing, I know it's OK to put it in the camera and expose the film in the holder. If it's black, either the film is exposed (and I don't want to re-expose it) or else it's an empty holder. Either way, I don't want to put it in the camera.

[Christopher Walrath]

Yeah, Bob. Great page. Answered all of those questions. More to come as they occur to me. Something that occured to me. I got three Liscos and tow Agfas. The Agfas are about 1/2 shorter than the Liscos so I need to be careful not to put the Agfa darkslides into the Lisco holders. Should be easy enough.

[Andy Tymon]

Chris, the only time you really need to pull the darkslide out all the way is when making an image, you can pull them out half way to load them. I always check that the film is seated under the film rails by gently hooking my finger under the film(at the flap end) and if I feel resistance then I know it's loaded correctly. There is nothing like making an exposure then trying to push the darkslide back in to feel resistance or worse looking through the groundglass and seeing something obscuring the view,take the back off and find a piece of film in your bellows!

I never trust those little catches that catch the film holder and stop it from falling out,I use them but for insurance I use a 1.5" piece of 1/2"masking tape over the darkslides. This prevents acidental exposure if the catches aren't great and you reach in the bag and pull out the holder by the slide end. The tape is removed before exposure and I stick it on my pant leg then when I have made the exposure replace it(making sure i put the darkside out). It comes in handy as you can write what n+ or _ dev you want to give that neg, plus if you will always know if the holders have tape on they are loaded- and no I don't have any affiliation with masking tape manufacturers

[Christopher Walrath]

Ah, I'm a cheapskate, at least my employer makes me so. We're talking older wooden one piece jobs. No flaps for me. (great)

[bdial]

Chris,
Are you sure about no flaps? I've got some wooden holders that are close to 100 years old, and they have flaps. Note that the darkslide holds them shut.
Barry

[Konical]

Good Evening,

I'm surprised that no one so far has mentioned the advisability of using an anti-static brush on the holders and on both sides of the darkslides before loading film. Having dust specks on negatives is highly frustrating.

Konical