Film holder depth for 8 X 10

I'm building an 8X10 camera, and am presently putting together the ground glass back. In order to get the glass in the correct position, I need to know the correct film holder depth. Is there a standard film holder depth for 8X10? If so, what is it? Does anyone have any input on which brands of used 8X10 film holders to buy, and which to avoid? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know the correct depth, but i can say for sure that

there is an ISO standard. Used holders: on the LF page there

are comments about used 4x5 holders which might apply also

to 8x10 holders.

I have built several large format cameras including an 8x10. I found that an easy way to

determin the proper ground glass position is to use and actual 8x10 holder for your camera's

sring back plate and mount the the glass into the slot where the film normaly rests. You

can find some nice wooden Graflex and Kodak holders that when striped of the paint and stained

are quite nice to look at. If you can find the Graflex holder with the large metal plate at

the top held to the holder with slotted screws you will find that this is easiest to take

apart and put back together again after you have taken out the center plates and mounted

the ground glass. I recommend that you stay away from plastic holders.

 

<p>

 

If you have questions, please feel free to Email me.

 

<p>

 

Britt Leckman

Northern Virginia Community College

The standard film holder depth is 0.197 inches and film is

assumed to be 0.007 inches thick, so the surface of the film

is 0.190 inches (4.83mm) back from the face of the film

holder. This is very very close to 3/16 inch (0.1875 inches)

so using a 3/16" shim might be the easiest way to get the

glass at the right depth.

 

<p>

 

If you are building the back from scratch, get hold of a film

holder first to get the dimensions right, especially to get the

slot for the light-trap ridge correct. New 8x10 film holders

are pretty expensive. Even used modern (plastic) ones are fairly

pricey. Older wood ones can be cheaper but make extra sure

they are in good shape, light tight, and not warped. Condition

is more important than brand name.

Ooops!!! Another question from Chris prompted me to realize

that I made a dumb mistake. The 0.197" depth is for 4x5

holders, and doesn't apply to 8x10 holders. I don't know the

ISO standard for those, but Chris reported a depth of

0.255" - 0.265", and when I quickly re-measured one, I got

about 6.7 +/- 0.3 mm (0.26" +/- 0.01").