Film slipping in holders

[ed_brock2]

I shoot 5x7 and use Fidelity holders. Quite often the film slips out

of its recessed area and slides under the hinged end (loading side)

of the holder and masks off 1/2 inch or so of the image. I regularly

tap the other end of the holder before placing it in the camera, but

this obviously does not guarantee it has moved back to the original

position. It is very disappointing to have moved up to large format

with all of the time-consuming control, then not get the full image I

saw on the groundglass.

[ronald_moravec1]

After loading, store vertically. Next time you ruin a frame, don`t process it and experiment.

 

I saw a pro tapping 8x10 holders at Chicago lakefront one evening. 4x5 never seems to shift in Fidelity or Rightway holders for me.

[paul_owen]

I've found tapping does help! Another option is to use small pieces of low-tack, double-sided tape on the inside of the holder - once the film is loaded simply press the surface gently and there is enough "stick" to hold the sheet in place but still allow simple removal too.

[dr_smith]

I just experienced this last weekend for the first time. When I got home, I took an exposed sheet of 4x5, put it in the holder and then went about rapping on the side of the holder to see if I could get it to slip out of place(and yes, I verified that I had the holder the film came from). I was unable to get the film to slip out of position.

 

Then I started to evaluate what happened when I put the film into the holder. The best explanation I have is that either I didn't ensure I could feel the circle impression at the top of the film before closing the flap, or the dark slide caught the lip of the film and pushed it out of position when I put the dark slide back after loading. From now on, I will be careful to ensure the film is in the proper position and I won't completely remove the dark slides when loading film. I'll have to also check to see that the film is really in the lower slot - Once or twice the film ended up in the dark slide slot and I couldn't re-insert the dark slide without buckling the film. Because I don't want to completely remove the dark slide, it's still possible for the film to be behind the dark slide, but riding in the dark slide slot which won't be detectable until taking a shot(believe it or not, I've had this sort of thing happen. Took the picture and then discovered I couldn't re-insert the dark slide because the film is blocking the path).

 

Take extra care in loading your film and it shouldn't be a problem. At the very least, use a spare sheet of film to experiment and try to figure out what went wrong. In my case, I didn't lose the image because I almost always take 2 shots for each scene and the second shot was ok.

[john_cook1]

It is very easy to load a holder with the film under only one of the side tracks. The larger the format, the easier it is to do.

 

I always feel both sides of each sheet to make sure it is under BOTH side tracks, before closing the slide. An index fingernail at the bottom film/track corners will confirm this.

 

Worse case scenario: the slide can actually catch on a film only half-seated and snap it out of the holder into the camera bellows.

 

I have seen color photographers lose a whole bracket of exposures because a sheet of film was wedged inside the bellows, blocking the light from succeeding shots reaching the back of the camera.

[thirteenthumbs]

With subject holder empty, remove the darkslide and check the loading flap to see how well it is closing. Is the hinge tape holding the flap up a little? The loading flap may be worn allowing film to slip under it. The tape suggestion above may be the solution.

 

All my 8x10 Lisco Regal plastic and wooden holders have a raised lip at the load end and a coresponding notch in the flap that provides a film plane slightly lower than the loading opening.

 

Charles

[michael_a._smith1]

Your problem is almost always caused by the film not getting

under the guide at the light trap end of the holder. When loading

the film, run your finger or fingernail along the edge near the light

trap and make sure the film is under the guide. Then check the

flap end with your finger to make sure the film sits below the

slighly raised area that the flap sets on. If the film is properly in

place and you still have the probelm, get rid of the holder.