Mido Film Holders Reborn???

[CXC]

I want one for 8x10.

[Sal Santamaura]

cool! "rumours of my demise" etc...

A search of the Social Security Death Index returns no matches for Kumanomido. I wonder how those rumors got started!

[tim atherton]

Considering the price of 11x14 film holders, it might be worthwhile making the dies, if enough people would order the film holders. But then, I have never seen a Mido film holder, so I don't know whether they would work for ULF. I also don't really understand the references to getting the hang of the way they work before good results can be expected. What is there to get the hang of?

Talking about 8x10, and I don't have one right here, but they are essentially like regular film holders, but only about 1/4" thick. As such, a lot of things we take for granted with regular film holders don't always apply.

For one thing, they are somewhat more flexible and slightly more fragile.

You can't just rip out the darkside and slap it back in again - if you don't seat it quite right and flex the slide on putting it back in, you can cause a light leak, for example. Also, because the darkslide is only a fraction away from the film, you have to be a bit more careful loading etc.

And because it doesn't have pronounce "shoulders"where the darkslide goes in, it's much easier to find you have grabbed the top of the darkslides rather than the holder, when pulling them from a bag or case - and have thus pulled the darkslide out 2" rather than the whole holder...

So yes, they are a bit more fussy. But the big big plus is that they weigh in at between 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular holder and take about 1/3 of the space. So for 8x10, I can easily carry 10 -12 holders in a back pack with the camera - and transport even more easily.

[photographs42]

I spoke with Mr. Kumanomido again about price and while he is just getting back into production he has a few left from previous production runs. He said a 4x10 would probably run about $150.00 from current stock. (He kind of came up with that price on the spur of the moment so I don’t we should hold him to it but it is a ballpark idea.)

I also asked him about 11x14 and he said he had a prototype for that but had no camera to test it on.

I e-mailed him the address of this forum and suggested that he might like to join us in this conversation and I think he might do that. If you would like to e-mail him directly, his address is: skumabear@sbcglobal.net.

He welcomes your e-mails but lets hope he joins us here.

Jerome

[Mido Holder]

This is Shin-ichi Kumanomido, the inventor of the Mido filmholder. I had a series of serioius health problems and now have recovered enough to resume making film holder again. I have some old die cut materials left to assemble for 4x5, 8x10 and a few 4x10 and 5x7. For those interested in 11x14 holders, I have one prototype sample made by hand cut madrial. To make 11x14 dies (required for each layer of material including darkslide), it is very costly, but if there are enough people interested in I will have dies made. For any serious person interested in testing the protopype 11x14 holder, please contact me. Any other odd size film holder can be made, but I need a sample holder to measure all dimensions.

Sincerely,

Shin-ichi Kumanomido

[Ron Marshall]

I hope your health continues to improve.

Would you be able to tell me what you anticipate the price to be for the 5x7 holders?

[alec4444]

I'm interested in 11x14 filmholders too, and I would gladly go in with anyone wanting to place an order.

I'd also like to test it, but since I'm new to ULF and I haven't shot a single sheet of film in my camera yet I probably shouldn't be the person to test them.....unless you wanted to find out if "any idiot" could use them...

--A

[Mido Holder]

This is Shin-ichi Kumanomido. I have come through a series of major health problems, and now am back into photography and Mido film holder making. I have some 4x5s, 8x10s left over material ready for assembly, and a few 4x10s and 5x7s. I will accept orders from the forum members, but the current stock is limited. I will make also other formats as long as
the photographer supplis me with a sample hilm holder of the format.

Shin Mido

[Gordon Moat]

Cool stuff. After reading the short Butzi review and description, I am left with more questions than answers. I currently use mostly Kodak Readyload and Fuji Quickload holders. I would be very appreciative of anyone who could describe their experiences using the Mido holder, especially anyone who could compare it to the Readyload/Quickload holders.

A large part of the Readyload/Quickload convenience is dropping off film at the lab. I rarely ever process my own film. If the Mido system can be used as a drop-off set-up, or if it must be dropped off complete with holders at a lab, or emptied for lab delivery, it would be helpful if someone could comment on that usage scenario.

While I am happy with most of the film I can get in Readyload/Quickload, there are some films that are not avaible that way that I would like to use. At first glance, it seems the Mido holder might be something I would like using, if it is really like the Readyload/Quickload system. I have little interest in using regular holders. Thanks in advance for any comments.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

[Capocheny]

I've only heard of these famed holders in the past and have always wondered what the differences were between them and the modern holders.

So, in essence, it's safe to assume that the differences are that they are thinner and far lighter than the modern counterparts?

If this is the case... for those who are interested, perhaps it's a good time to get together and place a good size order to make things financially feasible for Mr. Kumanomido.

I'm interested in 5x7 and 8x10... and, maybe a few 4x5s.

Gordon,

IIRC, from seeing some that were listed on the bay... they're more like regular holders than ReadyLoad/QuickLoads. So, again, if I'm not mistaken... you would still unload them like you would for regular filmholders and take them to the lab in the same film boxes.

For the experienced users... am I correct on this?

.

Thanks for the heads-up Kerry!

Cheers