A (slightly) different Fuji Quickload Problem

[dave_cattell1]

Hiya,

 

I'm pretty sure that this is a problem not yet discussed here as I

just did a quick search.

 

Just got back from the E6 lab to check out my Provia 100s and Velvias

from a trip to Utah to find that 13 sheets of film were totally

unexposed. All from Quickload packets and used in a quickload holder.

 

I sacrificed another fresh sheet to play with my holder to try and

figure out the whether it is something to do with the holder I have.

Sure enough I find if I follow the directions on the back of the

holder I NEARLY ALWAYS pull the whole packet back out of the end of

the holder when I'm trying the leave the film behind/exposed (step 2).

The only way that I can find to get close to 100% reliability is by

only holding the very top right of the film packet. Certainly if I

hold it how Fuji indicate then I'll never expose any film.

 

So my question is (are):

1. Does anyone else have this problem - All I hear on this forum is

that the system is 100% reliable.

2. Is there a good way to tell when the film is not out of the packet

(I think I can almost tell by the thickness and stiffness of the end

sticking out of the holder.

3. Anyone any solutions for this??

4. Have I damaged my holder? It was pretty cold in Utah so wearing

gloves may have meant I pulled too hard sometimes.

 

Looking forward to hearing your experiences...

 

Dave

[john_randall3]

Dave,

Are you somehow holding the release button down when you

pull the casset (paper) covering back out when preparing to

expose the film? That's the only way I can envision your problem

occurring. Unless the whole film cassette is not being pushed

all the way into the holder. That black metal clip at the end of the

film cassette is, of course, supposed to catch at the far end of

the holder (opposite the release button end ). Holding

(depressing) the release button would not allow that metal clip to

catch - and the film would remain enclosed within the paper

cassette, and would not be exposed.

 

Waste one! Shove that sucker into the holder again, leave your

hands completely off the button, and pull the paper cassette

back in order to expose the film. And make sure that black metal

clip is captured. Don't even put the film holder into the camera.

Just hold the film holder in your hands, with the film facing you.

Repost a.m. Tuesday. Let us know what happened.

 

Best regards,

[alpshiker]

Dave, John is right, there must be something wrong with the release command. Check the following: When you move the release button to the left, it must stay there. Once a sheet is inserted, the button must be released to the right. In that postition, the sheet must hold ferm in the holder. Try pinching the sheet through the enveloppe and removing it, it shouldn't be possible to take it out. If it does come out after it has been fully inserted, something is wrong in the holder, brobably a bent metal part due to forcing.

[brian_ellis3]

This is a long shot but you might look in the bottom of your holder to make sure something has gotten down in there that's preventing the film from being firmly grasped as you pull up the outside envelope. I had the same thing happen to me with a Readyload holder. Turned out that at some point a sheet of film had been stuck in the holder and when I pulled it out the metal clip on the bottom of the stuck envelope stayed down in the holder, which prevented all subsequent sheets from being firmly clamped when the outside envelope was pulled up. Caused me to lose about 50 photographs I thought I'd made on a 6 day, 2,000 mile photography trip.

 

I don't use Quickloads so I don't know whether there's anything comparable on them but after the above fiasco a Kodak rep told me about a trick to make sure the film is down in the holder and not up in the envelope. With Readyloads, you can (or could with the old version, haven't tried it on the new) lightly rub your thumb and forefinger across the top of the envelope after you've pulled it up to make the exposure. If you feel a slight ridge around the center of the top of the envelope it means the film is still up there and you have to try again.

[karl_amo]

I experienced the unexposed film problem. I traced it to air getting into the packet, causing the packet to balloon a little. The ballooned packet pushed the holder's pressure plate in enough to prevent the holder from grabbing onto the packet's metal clip.

 

Air ballooned the packets when I drove up to a higher elevation after sealing the packets inside a bag with some air also inside. The air inside the bag became pressurized in the presence of lower ambient barometric pressure.

[claire_curran]

I use a Polaroid 545 back for Quickloads. I have run hundreds of sheets through the back. I have had two unexposed sheets in all. When I pull the paper out to make the exposure I always feel the packet, no matter how cold it is, with my fingers. If the film has not stayed in the back, I can definitely feel a ridge where the film lies in the Quickload packet. I push everything back into the holder and start again. Sometimes I must pull the Quickload out and reload it.

[bill_proud]

Dave,

I use Fuji Quikload exclusively and after at least 400 exposed sheets, counting empty boxes, haven't seen this problem.

You should be able to feel the film tab when the film sleeve has been pulled up for film exposure.

I'll be interested to hear your conclusions on this problem.

[dave_cattell1]

THE SOLUTION

 

Thanks for all the responses, very helpful as usual.

 

Accordingly I got myself a small cross head screwdriver and pulled the holder apart. Sure enough I found a clip from the end of an old sheet lodged in there. Once I'd removed it the whole things works 100% reliably, at least for the 10000000 samples I took this evening.

 

The difference is remarkable. I found that previously the film could be pulled out of the end of the holder without using the release, now it is impossible to without activating the release. So I have every confidence I will spot it happening again - but then I guess I should spot when a clip gets left behind anyway.

 

So my confidence in the system is now fully restored.

 

Thanks for the help,

Dave.

[jeffrey_scott]

I had the same problem with a type IIII Kodak Readyload holder. Turned out that the metal "finger" that holds the metal clip wasn't formed correctly and only barely grabbed the clip. I opened the holder and bent the finger and it worked okay after that. I also had film movement problems with using the single sheet TMX with this same holder; I was getting double images and out of focus areas on my film that I attributed to packet thickness and pressure plate tolerance errors. The type IIII holder was supposed to be compatible with single sheet film, apparently not! I have since replaced the holder with the new single sheet holder and it is very nice. A 25 minute exposure produced an excellent negative.