4x5 - 120 roll film backs?

[buggz]

Hello,
I am looking at two 120mm roll film backs for my Sinar F2:

- DA YI 6x12 multi-format roll film back - 6x6, 6x9 and 6x12.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAYI-6x6-6x9-6x12-Roll-Film-Back-Magazine-4x5-Linhof-Horseman-Tachihara-Ebony-/271260947755?pt=US_Film_Backs_Holders&hash=item3f2869952b

- Gaoersi 6x12 multi-format roll film back - 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 and 6x12, and can change format in the midway.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAYI-6x6-6x9-6x12-Roll-Film-Back-Magazine-4x5-Linhof-Horseman-Tachihara-Ebony-/271260947755?pt=US_Film_Backs_Holders&hash=item3f2869952b

Anyone have experiences with either of these?
Seems like the Gaoersi is more versatile?

[David Rees]

I have the Da Yi version. Works pretty well.

The two backs look pretty identical to me, and you can change format mid-roll with the Da Yi if you want to--but you have to be careful how you do it, otherwise you will get overlapping images on the film. I tended to stick to 6x9, btw.

mine is up for sale on the 'bay, btw...but we could come to an arrangement if you wanted it.

David.

[buggz]

Wouldn't I also need to have a mask on the GG to properly compose and frame?

[David Rees]

Wouldn't I also need to have a mask on the GG to properly compose and frame?

No -- you compose on the standard ground glass, then take it off, and put the back on to take the photo.

BTW, your PM inbox is full!

David.

[buggz]

PM cleared, thanks.
But, the film masks are masking some of the area of the GG view, no?
Wouldn't only the non-masked parts be the "final" image view?
And then, I could always make card board cut outs from the metal masks of the kit...

[David Rees]

Gridlines on your GG, by any chance? May well be centimeter lines...or the cardboard cutout works almost as well.

will send PM in a moment...

David.

[anglophone1]

you can chinagraph frame size on ground glass or use tape.................

[Drew Wiley]

My 6x9 mask is actually a tiny bit transluscent. That way I'm not distracted by details outside the final image perimeter, but I'm still a bit aware of where I am in
relation to the bigger scene. Helps me aim and compose faster. If I don't have time to put this in place (as in a situation where I might be alternating shots between
a rollfilm holder and full-sized 4x5 sheets), I just reference four tiny black Sharpie pen dots on the groundglass, marking the corners of 6x9.

[buggz]

Yes, there are grid lines on my 4x5 Sinar F2 GG.
Shamefully, I haven't played with this gear in so long, it's shameful.
Thus, the thought of the roll film back.

[Dan Fromm]

buggz, when I was shopping for a 6x12 back I use Google to find reports on the roll olders you asked about, also on Calumet/Cambo, Horseman, and Sinar. I reluctantly decided to get a Horseman (too expensive, the succumbed to a 6x12 Sinar Panorama at a decent price.

To summarize what I learned about the two Chinese backs you asked about, both seem to work well. And they're less expensive than the others.

Now go fire up Google.

[jbenedict]

I have the Horseman 6x12 back and it works great. You should be able to mark the gridlines that are already there for 6x12. It is pretty common to have 6x9 marks on a GG. Extend the horizontal lines to the edge of the GG and you have it.

[buggz]

argh, I posted the same link twice...
The correct link for the Gaoersi is:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gaoersi-Multi-Format-Roll-Film-Back-Magazine-For-All-4x5-Large-Format-Cameras-/271271799777?pt=US_Film_Backs_Holders&hash=item3f290f2be1

[buggz]

Yes, I always search and read the Google threads.
Just was hoping for something more recent.


buggz, when I was shopping for a 6x12 back I use Google to find reports on the roll olders you asked about, also on Calumet/Cambo, Horseman, and Sinar. I reluctantly decided to get a Horseman (too expensive, the succumbed to a 6x12 Sinar Panorama at a decent price.

To summarize what I learned about the two Chinese backs you asked about, both seem to work well. And they're less expensive than the others.

Now go fire up Google.

[angusparker]

Horseman is well made and holds film flat - I suspect better than the DaYi or Gaoersi options. One other difference between the various options is the actual size of the film area exposed - it varies.