Kodak Pack Film (4x5)

[BrianShaw]

I just bought a new (to me) Anniversary Graphic and it came with a bunch of accessories, including a couple of pack film backs.

When did Kodak stop making 4x5 pack film? This packaging appears to pre-date my involvment in large format (1980 or so)... or was I simply unaware of a seemingly convenient film packaging?

And.. how did it work? There is a Plus-X Pack Film data sheet in the box and it seem like on put the pack into the back, put the back in the camera, puled the darkslide... then exposed, pulled a paper tab, etc. until all are gone. Then took the pack out of the back. Were they light-tight? How did the pack "flip" a new piece of film into the gate given the small package it appears to have been in? Was the film in pack films the same film as in sheet form?

[Bill_1856]

The film pack was one of the greatest features of large format cameras. You could shoot just one film and process it individually, or have 12/16 shots available almost as fast as using roll film. All this with a weight about like a single cut film holder. The only downside was that the film was on thinner roll-film stock, not as sturdy as regular sheet film. They became unavailable in the early '90s. Pity! In fact, a Damn Pity!

[BrianShaw]

Ahhh, now that you mention the thin film base I can imagine how these worked. The real pity (from my perspective) is that I was totally unaware of their existance for about a decade when I could have been using them!

Do you think there is any residual use for the backs... or are they just a curiousity that will gather dust on a shelf?

[Michael Graves]

Do you think there is any residual use for the backs... or are they just a curiousity that will gather dust on a shelf?

I like to leave one out on the coffee table just before company leaves. Then I say, "Don't forget your...your....whatever the heck that is, don't forget to take it with you."

They haven't yet.

[BrianShaw]

They haven't yet.

I get it.

[glatiak]

Film pack was wonderful stuff. Yes, 16 sheets in a package the size and weight of a film holder. The film was thinner and attached to numbered paper tabs -- pulling the tab after the exposure moved the film to the back of the pack. The tab was torn off, had a space for notations on it [always helpful]. The downside was that the negatives are a touch larger than regular sheet stock, so present additional challenges in keeping them flat for printing and filing. Also, crud could occasionally get into the box, resulting in heart-breaking linear scratches (when the film was pulled around). A spring in the box kept the stack of unexposed film pressed against the front stop -- so registration never seemed to be a problem.

[JackG]

I've seen film pack holders used as a quick and dirty ground glass holder.. Just tape in a piece of frosted glass of the appropriate size.....Pretty handy for a Graflex that doesn't have one on the back..Not so useful for a Graphic...There were film pack holders for a lot of the European cameras using one side holders. Not all of those turn up w/ ground glass panels.

[Michael Daily]

I have one in a box if you want to pay the shipping...
Michael

[BrianShaw]

I have one in a box if you want to pay the shipping...
Michael

Michael
please read your PMs.
Brian

[BrianShaw]

Thank you one and all for educating me!

Brian