Possibly the best sheet film holder ever made

[Bob Salomon]

Actually, these are made for use with film and glass plates, hence the pressure plate. This accommodation for plates also made the holders thicker. The later Linhof "Super Sheet Film Holders" that are clearly film-only were made just like a Fidelity, with no moving pressure plates.

Both the Linhof Glass Plate/Film holders and the Linhof Sheet Film Holders were available at the same time and they were discontinued at the same time.

And it is a spacer plate not a pressure plate. And the reason for the ejector on the Glass Plate/Sheet Film holder was the glass plates. It pushed the plate out far enough so it could be safely pulled out of the holder without scratching the emulsion.

Both types of holders were available either unnumbered or numberd from 1 to 12. The numbers were on small friskets on the bottom of the holder. The holders were pre-numbered. So a complete set of 6 holders would be numbered from 1 to 12. If you had more then 6 holders then for higher numbers most users filed a groove next to the frisket.

These holders were available for many years, decades. The holder that Linhof made that had a short life was their vacuum 45 sheet film holder.

[Tin Can]

Mamiya RB, plate and film sheath 2x3 DDS. I have 4 of these. Listed in their system chart.

I have a couple other really complex USA 2x3 holders, with spring loaded film sheath. Somewhere.... The film sheath pops up at a 45 degree angle.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I have quite a few of the Linhof holders in 2 1/4 x 3 1/4", 9x12cm, 4x5", and 13x18cm and use them with very thin metal plates (22 gauge). These are great for dry plate photography but you need to use very thin glass, normal weight glass lites won't work. They are terrible for wetplate, and also quite difficult to use for film as you have to push the spacer plate down to get the film in.

[Tin Can]

The Mamiya spring loaded pressure plate is easily pushed down while inserting a plate or sheath, and they have ejector slides, which pushes the plate out far enough to grasp the sides.

Mamiya RB, plate and film sheath 2x3 DDS. I have 4 of these. Listed in their system chart.

I have a couple other really complex USA 2x3 holders, with spring loaded film sheath. Somewhere.... The film sheath pops up at a 45 degree angle.

[Leigh]

Leigh, unflat film gives you something warped and out of focus somewhere, esp in the middle when the film is most likely to bow. Also, any lines you actually need to be straight, as in architecture, won't be.

OK.

I've been shooting 4x5 since 1960, and I've not noticed any such problems.

Perhaps I'm just not paying attention.

If you attempt to load a sheet into a septum with edge clearance small enough to hold the edge flat...
1) it's very difficult to load due to minimal clearance for the film to slide in, and
2) the center will bulge out due to the natural curvature of the film.

- Leigh

[Curt]

What do you need to modify to make a holder adhesive ready?

Echo----->bump

[rjmeyer314]

I've got a couple of these holders in 4x5. You're right, they are convenient to use. I like them.

[Delfi_r]

I have three 13X18 glass/film Linhof holders. Someday I'll use it with glass plates, only to try ....

[Bob Salomon]

Back in the good old days, the 80s, there was a large format salesman at Helix who when a customer said "that their lens was not as sharp as they had expected" and they wanted to upgrade the lens the salesman would loan the customer a Linhof Double Sheet Film Holder and told him to reshoot with their normal holder and the Linhof holder.

In the vast majority of cases the customer came back and bought Linof Double Sheet Film Holders and kept their old lens. We don't know what they did with their old holders.

[Drew Wiley]

With 4x5 film there is rarely a serious issue with holders unless something not really intended for camera use, like thin lith film, is placed in the holder. The exception
would be Polaroid, Quickload, and Readload holders, which unevenly tension the film. Once you get above 4x5, film sagging becomes a serious issue with any kind
of significant enlargement. So, just like Bob said, people go into a frenzy over this lens or that, but don't even bother to address a much more serious sharpness issue.