Which 4x5 film holder?

[newmoon2night]

I've only used Quickload before but want to try 4x5 sheet film.
No idea which film holder to use.
I'm in the UK and looking at Robert Whites website they sell the Toyo holders, and Teamwork Digital sell Fidelity Elite holders.
The Fidelity work out less expensive.
There doesn't seem to be a massive difference in price between used and new (i.e if I bought five it would probably cost £60 more) so for overall peace of mind I'll probably start with new.
Which do I go for?
Is any particular make lighter weight or more durable, or easier to use than another?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Final question - is the F64 film holder bag available in the UK, and if so where? And if not where to get in US please?
Thanks.

[Archphoto]

I have been using Fidelity for the past 20 odd years: never had a problem with them, can recomend them to you.
I don't know the Toyo's and don't have one to compare theweight, but they should be around the same.

Peter

[Michael Graves]

I've purchased Fidelities and Toyos--both new and used--and I don't see that the Toyo holders are worth any more than the Fidelities. There are going to be arguments to that statement, but that's how I see it. The better holders that I've used are the Riteways. I like the locking slide.

[Robert Ley]

I have switched to the newer Riteway holders. They have a locking darkslide and the ability to record a two digit number on the film edge. You should be able to pickup used film holders on ebay for about 10-20% of new prices and they will work for you just as well as new. I have never bought a new film holder and all the used have worked just fine for me. There have even been some on sale on this forum. I have quite a few older Riteways, some that are like new that I would be willing to sell. If you are interested, drop me a PM.

[Toyon]

You will not have a problem with either brand. Get some of each and decide which you prefer in the field.

[Peter De Smidt]

I like the Toyo more than the Fidelity by a smidgen. Both work fine.

[rdenney]

Badger Graphic Sales sells f.64 bags.

http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=222

Rick "who was looking at them recently" Denney

[Bruce Watson]

Is any particular make lighter weight or more durable, or easier to use than another?

In the end, they were all made (that is, Rightway, Fidelity, Lisco,... except Toyo which is still made in Japan IIRC) in the same shop Calumet owns in LA, but the same guy. They all weigh about the same, and have about the same durability.

If you buy new, do yourself a favor and find a zip lock plastic bag that the holders will fit into (in the US, a ZipLock one quart freezer bag is a good fit for 5x4 holders), take the holders out of the box and put them into the ziplock bags immediately. Don't let the holders touch anything that isn't really really really clean (like your filmholder loading table in your darkroom). In the field the holders should be either in your hand, in the camera, or in a ziplock. No where else. Ever.

Cleanliness is the path to less time spent doing painful and tedious dust spotting. And that's a good thing no matter how you print. Since the holders start life clean, it's much easier to keep them clean than it is to try to clean them once they become dirty. I'm just sayin'...

[Peter De Smidt]

I recommend anti-static bags that computer equipment comes in for holding film holders. Taking them in and out of a regular plastic bag can cause dust attracting static.

[Philippe Grunchec]

@ Rick: do you know of an equivalent for 8x10 holders?

[Bruce Watson]

I recommend anti-static bags that computer equipment comes in for holding film holders. Taking them in and out of a regular plastic bag can cause dust attracting static.

I used to think that anti-static bags would be an improvement, so I bought 100 of them. Perfect fit for my film holders too. After a year of using them, I'm less than impressed. I've got about the same amount of dust I've always had (nearly none). And the anti-static bags turn out to be much more fragile -- and a hole in the bag would seem to be about the worst that could happen from a dust standpoint.

All that said, I live in the SE USA where it's nearly always pretty humid. Dust isn't nearly as much a problem here as it is in the desert SW for example. So maybe the anti-static bags would prove their worth in hotter and dryer climes. I don't know.

[Martin Aislabie]

I've only used Quickload before but want to try 4x5 sheet film.
No idea which film holder to use.
I'm in the UK and looking at Robert Whites website they sell the Toyo holders, and Teamwork Digital sell Fidelity Elite holders.
The Fidelity work out less expensive.
There doesn't seem to be a massive difference in price between used and new (i.e if I bought five it would probably cost £60 more) so for overall peace of mind I'll probably start with new.
Which do I go for?
Is any particular make lighter weight or more durable, or easier to use than another?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Final question - is the F64 film holder bag available in the UK, and if so where? And if not where to get in US please?
Thanks.

I have used 2nd hand Fidelity and Toya Holders - not much difference - both are fine.

I went for the Toyos from Robert White when I bought a new batch - just based on the cost.

Martin

[amoebahyda]

These are the 4x5 film holders that I use:

The one at the back is Quickchange film holder and 6-shot 4x5 film magazine manufactured by Fujifilm. This is the most handy film holder as changing film is just a pull-push action .

The one with best performance one at middle row, a single-shot film holder manufactured by Sinar. Besides it rigidity, at the expense of weight, it has a pressure plate that hold the film firmly and accurately at the focus plane. This gives sharpest result out of all film holders. It also equipped with film numbering, automatic exposure indicator (change from black to white when dark slide is withdrawn after film loaded) and film sensor.

The fidelity Astro is cheap and provided with 2-digit film numbering device. As there is no pressure plate, I usually knock on the far end corner before inserting into the camera to make sure that the film is correctly positioned.

The 545i film holding is good in sense that each sheet of film is separately packed and is easy to handle. However, it is not easy to often film supply nowadays.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm100/amoebahydra/Photo%20Equipment/4x5filmholders.jpg

[walter23]

Agree that used holders are the best deal. I'd stay away from old wooden ones, the dark slides can be sticky and they might be dirty inside. Get some nice condition fidelity, riteway, lisco, or toyo ones.

I like the construction of the toyo ones, but not enough to pay a premium for them. You can probably find a lot of 5 or 10 holders on the auction site or here, in good condition, for the same price as two new holders.

[Richard Littlewood]

Using both Fidelity and Toyo I've found doing long exposures the Fidelity comes out tops. For some reason with the Toyo's the film is prone to 'popping' in the middle of the short edge on the hinged flap side. All the long exposures I've made with this popping - and I tap the slide a few times to make sure it wont move during exposure - have been in Toyo holders. Never had a film moving problem with Fidelity. For day to day use there is nothing between them though.

[Peter De Smidt]

Richard, thanks for the warning. I like the contruction of the Toyo's, but I'll use something else for long exposures.

Regarding anti-static bags. I use bags quite a bit bigger than the holders and haven't had any trouble, but Bruce has probably been out shooting more with LF than I have over the last few years.