Large Format Filmholder Choices - Regular, Readyload, Quickload, Grafmatics
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Figure 1 - Some holder selections: Clockwise from top left, a Kodak readyload holder, a Kodak readyload packet, a Grafmatic, and a standard Fidelity holder.
4x5 filmholders - a bevy of choices
One of the issues that confronts large format photographers is film holders. With a large format camera, you put a piece (or several pieces, as we'll see) into a film holder, which then is closed with a darkslide. This holder is then inserted into the camera back, the shutter closed, the darkslide removed, the exposure made, and the the darkslide replaced.
Simple, right? Well, it is. But there are several problems a holder must solve:
- It must hold the film flat and in the correct location when inserted into the camera.
- It must be light-tight.
- It must allow for some way to record and indicate whether the film has been exposed or not, and whether the holder is loaded or not.
- Naturally, you'd like it to do all those things while being as small and light as possible. Inexpensive would be good, too.
For 4x5 photographers, there are currently a handful of solutions:
- regular film holders, currently manufactured by Fidelity, Lisco, and a host of other companies, including Toyo.
- Fancy film holders, such as those made by Linhof. Some of these use a vacuum to hold the film flat.
- Grafmatics, which are no longer being made but for which a thriving used market exists.
- Kodak Readyloads
- Fuji Quickloads
- Fuji Quickchange system
- At least two varieties of Mido holders.
Some of these, like the fancy Linhof holders, I have no experience with and can't comment on. The others I discuss below.
Note: different film holders give slightly different image sizes, because the opening at the film plane varies in size from holder to holder. The sizes I've measured are:
Holder height(mm) length(mm) Fidelity Elite 95 120.5 Kodak Readyload 92.5 119 Polaroid 545i 95.5 122 Grafmatic 95.5 117.5 The polaroid holder will produce a differently sized image on a quickload or readyload packet than on the Polaroid film, which has a built in paper mask that sets the image size.
Regular Film Holders - Fidelity, Riteway, Lisco
Regular filmholders are still the mainstay of the 4x5 world, and for the large format world that's not 4x5, they are often the single choice.
The usual film holder is dual sided, with with a darkslide for each side. Each holder will hold two sheets of film, one behind each darkslide.
I know of three main manufacturers for regular holders, Lisco, Fidelity and Riteway. Rumor has it that all three are actually made in the same factory. The Riteway holders have a clever little button which prevents the darkslide from being pulled unless the holder is in a camera. This interlock does not work correctly in some cameras, which would, I expect be a major hassle.
The darkslides have tabs on them for you to grab, and the tabs have a white/silver side and a black side. Virtually all photographers use the two sides to distinguish between holders which hold exposed fim and those which hold unexposed film. Different photographers use different systems to distinguish so if you find yourself sharing or borrowing holders with another photographer you will need to make sure you both understand what convention is used.
My preference is:
- white side showing means that the holder is loaded with unexposed film. ONLY a white side showing holder is ever loaded into a camera to be exposed.
- black side showing means that the holder can be one of two things:
1. loaded with exposed film
2. Unloaded
Note that this convention avoids the important errors: 1) trying to expose an unloaded holder, which loses an exposure. 2) exposing a previously exposed film, which loses two exposures.
Regular holders are simple, reliable devices. Their only shortcomings are:
they're heavy and bulky
they must be loaded and unloaded by the photographer (or assistant), which makes an opportunity for dust on the film.
they're not cheap - figure abut $15 apiece new, and you'll need more than you think unless you want to reload holders during a session
One of the tasks which seems daunting when you start out in large format is loading holders - not because it's a difficult task but because it must, of course, be done in the dark, and it's unfamiliar, and you don't want to load the film wrong. It's not a difficult process but I've written a little page that describes how to do it, complete with pictures.
Packet film (Readyloads, Quickloads, Polaroid)
Kodak and Fuji also sell 4x5 film in a preloaded form. The Kodak system is called Readyloads, and the Fuji system is called Quickloads. Both systems involve the film being in a cardboard envelope-like packet, which is inserted into a holder, which is in turn loaded into the camera. Instead of withdrawing a darkslide, you pull the cardboard envelope part way out, which leaves the film in the holder, ready to be exposed. After exposure, you run the cardboard envelope back in, and then withdraw the whole light-tight packet from the holder.
Although Kodak used to market a Readyload system which had two sheets of film per packet, the current product holds one sheet per packet; Fuji Quickloads hold one sheet per packet.
The advantages of Readyloads and Quickloads are:
compact
lightweight
the packets make it easy to keep notes with film, since you can write on the packet itself.
They're not without disadvantages, however:
Both Quickloads and Readyloads are more expensive than buying boxed sheet film and loading holders - more expensive by more than a factor of two.
Not all the emulsions available in 4x5 are available in Readyloads/Quickloads. Most notably, the only B&W emulsion widely distributed in the USA is Tmax-100 (TMX). However, Fuji Acros is direct imported from Japan by Badger Graphic (www.badgergraphic.com)
The older two sheet Kodak Readyloads were plagued by the fact that they were perfectly reliable for some people and unreliable for others. However, the new single sheet Readyloads appear to be very reliable.
Polaroid sells their direct positive materials in 4x5 in packets, too. Most interesting for B&W workers is Type 55 P/N, which can give either a print or a negative. The negatives are excellent, fine grain, high quality, athough no development control is available.
A more in depth review of packet film systems can be found at www.butzi.net/reviews/readyquick.htm
Grafmatics
A Grafmatic is a cunningly designed film holder which holds six sheets of film. Each sheet of film is held in a thin metal septum. Six septums are stacked and inserted into the grafmatic body, and the mechanism of the body allows the photographer to circulate the stack, bringing each sheet to the front to be exposed, and then shuffling it to the back to bring another sheet forward. Rather than attempt to document this I'll point you to the grafmatic manual on the graflex.org web site at http://www.graflex.org/speed-graphic/grafmatic/ which hopefully will make it all clear. Trust that the thing actually works, however improbable or Rube Goldbergian it might seem.
Alas, grafmatics are no longer manufactured. A thriving used market exists, with a continuous stream going by on Ebay. Expect to pay about $70 US for a clean working grafmatic. If you buy one, make sure all the septums are present and are unbent. With missing or bent septums the grafmatic is useless.
Grafmatics are slightly more compact than regular holders, and about the same weight. Enough regular holders to hold six sheets of film would cost about $45, slightly more than half what a clean used grafmatic would run you.
Grafmatics have other advantages beside being somewhat more compact than regular holders. For instance, you can move from one sheet of film to another with astonishing rapidity, an advantage in a portrait session or in rapidly changing conditions.
The only downside to graphmatics is that if you pull the darkslide with the shutter open (a common large format error) it's possible to fog all six sheets of film.
Mido versions I and II
Mido holders were made only for a brief time, and sold directly by the manufacturer, and through Brandess-Kalt. There are (at least) two different versions.
Although I've not seen or handled the version I holders, I have managed to gather some information on them. Version one is like a reloadable readyload packet. The film is slipped under flaps on a central carrier, and then the carrier (and two sheets of film) are slipped into an envelope. To make an exposure, the envelope and carrier are slipped into a holder, and the envelope is partly withdrawn, just as for a readyload packet. After the exposure, the envelope is pushed back in.
User reports of the reliability of the version I system vary widely, with some people reporting that they are impossible to load, some people reporting light leaks, and some people reporting unqualified success. My understanding is that the inventor was constantly improving this system and that there may be several subversions of the version I system.
Version II is fundamentally different. With the version II holders, the actual film holder is a very thin conventional two sided holder, complete with darkslides, loading flaps, etc. In order to get correct film positioning, this thin holder is inserted into a clamshell like spacer, which wraps around the holder and pads it to the dimensions of a regular 4x5 double sided film holder.
The Mido II holders are easy to load (or at least as easy as regular holders). However, in the quest to reduce the thickness of the holder, the little recess that allows you to get a fingernail under the film has been eliminated, which makes unloading difficult.
At one point, many 4x10 cameras used the thin Mido II holders exclusively, since Mido were the only manufacturer of 4x10 holders. Users of the 4x10 Mido II holders report various problems, mostly pinhole light leaks in the darkslides and in the septum that separates the two sides of the holder. Users of the 4x5 Mido holders report better success, with the most common complaint being light leaks between the clamshell spacer and the thin holder. Several users have commented that the problems with the spacer centered around inserting the holder in the camera back, and that with care the system is eminently usable.
The thin Mido II holders do represent quite a savings in space and weight over conventional holders and grafmatics. A Mido II setup to carry 12 sheets of film weighs 27.6 ounces loaded; with regular Fidelity holders the weight would be 36 ounces, and with grafmatics, 34 ounces. The Mido setup for 12 sheets would consume less than half the volume needed for regular holders and just more than half the space needed for grafmatics.
The big difficulty with the Mido II system appears to be that it is out of production and appears only rarely on the used market.
Making a choice
One of the big disadvantages of large format is that the camera pack tends to get both bulky and heavy. Making a good choice from the available options for filmholders can make a big difference. The following tables gives weights for different number of sheets of film. As you can see, Readyloads and Quickloads are lighter than regular holders and grafmatics, even for small amounts of film. Once the number of sheets to be carries (assuming no reloading) grows, the advantage quickly becomes overwhelming.
# sheets Readyload quickload Fidelity grafmatic 6 12.67 14.32 18 17 12 15.64 18.94 36 34 18 18.61 23.56 54 51 24 21.58 28.18 72 68 30 24.55 32.8 90 85 36 27.52 37.42 108 102 42 30.49 42.04 126 119 48 33.46 46.66 144 136 54 36.43 51.28 162 153 60 39.4 55.9 180 170 66 42.37 60.52 198 187 72 45.34 65.14 216 204 78 48.31 69.76 234 221 84 51.28 74.38 252 238 90 54.25 79 270 255 96 57.22 83.62 288 272 102 60.19 88.24 306 289 Weights are in ounces.
