Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: marking film holders

  1. #1
    -Rob bigcameraworkshops.com Robert Skeoch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Burlington, Ontario
    Posts
    520

    marking film holders

    I'm looking for a way to mark my holders so I can keep track of which negative came out of what holder. Years ago I think I had a couple of holders with notches in them along the flip-up bottom portion. I guess I could use a small saw and notch my holders like that but maybe somesome has a better meathod for matching up the negatives and what holder number they came from?

  2. #2

    marking film holders

    Thats the best way I know of. I used a very fine file and grooved 8 backs all in a different location, then permenetly numbered each back and then took a sheet of film, lyeyed it in the holder and marked each groove of each back with its #. Now I know where every tranny comes from which back

  3. #3

    marking film holders

    I went with the notched film holder idea. I learned about it in school years ago, and it's worked great. I notched the 10 holders I had in school, and after years of acquiring new ones and telling myself to notch them all, I finally did, and it's made life a lot easier.

    Originally I used a triangular file to make the notches. That was fine for 10 holders back then, but I now have approx. 75 holders, and the filing was taking WAY too long. So, I actually used a small drill bit on a drill press, not drilling straight down, but keeping the bit in one position, and moving the holder in and out to carve out the notch. Worked pretty good, and went a lot faster. Did all 75 in about an hour.

    I can totally understand why some people wouldn't like to mess with there holders like this, and I can see how you could easily slip and ruin one. As you can see by the images I posted below, there is no light leak in past the notches, as long as you don't carve too far. I've been lucky in that not a single one of mine has had a problem. My method is this: notches for 10's on the left, 5's in the middle, and 1's on the right. So, 3 notches on the left, 1 in the middle, an 2 on the right is the #37. See this page for a few images to illustrate this better I hope:

    http://www.doerzmanphoto.com/film_holders.html

    Notched Holders

    Now, the way I usually shoot is to take two sheets (more if the shot warrants it, or the light is changing rapidly) of each shot, record the holder number and info (shutter, f/stop, lens, filters etc, etc) on my little digital voice recorder. When back home or in camp at night, I transcribe my notes to paper. Then I download one sheet from every setup into the same box (unless there are any pushes or pulls) and have the lab run them normal. When I get them back, I know exactly which sheet is which, and can judge how to run the remaining sheet from each setup if any adjustments in exposure are needed. I used to have to download into lots of separate boxes, and that is a real pain.

    I will admit the only problem I have with this method though. When shooting an image that is very dark or black on the edge with the notches in it, it is very hard or next to impossible to see the markings on the film, so that can make for guess work. The way I've gotten around that is that with my notes and memory of what order I shot them in, I'm able to narrow it down, and it all works out.

    Of course, Readyloads and Quickloads are great ways for easy organization, but they are a lot more expensive I'm afraid. I use them when backpacking, but stick to the holder most other times.

    Best of luck, and I hope I didn't ramble too much Take care!!

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    115

    marking film holders

    A small set of jewelers files, of various shapes, also works well. My system is half-circles=10's, triangles=5's, skinny rectangles=1's. I use the Roman numeral system. Be sure to scrape any loose stuff off and smooth it well with sandpaper.

  5. #5
    Photographer
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Pine Junction, CO
    Posts
    992

    marking film holders

    Ralph Lambrecht has a very nifty binary system in his book "Way Beyond Monochrome." It's too complicated to outline completely here, but he uses a space for each number 1,2,4,8,16, and then a combination of notches in the margin of the light trap to signify the holder number. With these numbers you can get to 24 holders (8 + 16 + 24). If you have more holders, add more spaces: 32, 64, etc. It works very well.
    Keith Pitman

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    832

    marking film holders

    ^,^,^,^,^,^
    1,2,4,8,16,32

    With only 6 notches you can mark as many as 63 holders.
    ^^^^^^ = 1 + 2 + 4+ 8+16 + 32

    No?

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Baton Rouge, LA
    Posts
    2,428

    marking film holders

    Once the film is out of the readyload and in the soup, I do not know how to relate it back to the annotated readyload envelope. Any tips?

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    127

    marking film holders

    64, if you start numbering at 0.
    Leigh Perry
    www.leighperry.com

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    832

    marking film holders

    Leigh 64, if you start numbering at 0.

    LOL! Be carefull. Someone might actually use it that way. Oy, who wants to file 63 film holders anyway?

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Location
    Lund, Sweden
    Posts
    2,214

    marking film holders

    One other advantage of starting numbering from zero is that Fidelity and Lisco holders come ready-notched. Thoughtful of them, no?

Similar Threads

  1. Marking height of Enlarger
    By brian steinberger in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 25-Feb-2006, 03:11
  2. Marking negatives; what kind of pen?
    By Ole Dyre Hesledalen in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 13-Feb-2006, 03:27
  3. film holders vs. plate holders
    By Rob Lun in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 3-Jan-2006, 03:16
  4. Marking filmholders
    By Mark Sawyer in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 30-Apr-2005, 11:03
  5. Marking 4x5 negatives
    By Calamity Jane in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 30-Mar-2005, 08:32

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •