Bendy film holder

[Dirk Rösler]

Hi, I bought some used Fidelity Elite 8x10 holders in good condition, so I thought, but now I notice that seen from the top the slit where the darkslide goes in is kind of bent, but not the holder itself (especially the one in the middle). You can press it down from the side and there is quite a bit of play. Does this matter in any way? I only used Toyo holders before (pictured at the bottom as a comparison, as you can see the slides' lines are parallel) so I don't know if that's common for the Fidelity holders.

[Daniel Stone]

keep em in a black bag, withdrawing just before inserting holder into camera, and replacing back into the bag after re-inserting darkslide.

I got my 8x10 holders(old fidelity's), and they had this problem. I didn't feel like wasting film/paper to test for light leaks, and so far haven't had any using the 'black bag method'.

simple, cheap, and damn effective. 11x14 paper bags work quite well for this purpose, and they're light tight, also quite water resistant too.

-Dan

[dsphotog]

Good hint Dan,
I use the black bags Ilford paper comes in.

[Dirk Rösler]

Good practical advice, thanks, but I'd rather not get into that bag thing as it is fussy. Surely someone will know whether this is a real problem or not?

[David de Gruyl]

Good practical advice, thanks, but I'd rather not get into that bag thing as it is fussy. Surely someone will know whether this is a real problem or not?

You can check:

throw some paper (or film) in it, put it in a brightly lit place for an hour, flip, wait an hour, develop? Try to keep track of which side is which.

(the time is arbitrary. it could be two weeks, it could be ten minutes, maybe. I don't know the minimum time for the exposure to be visible).

The density should be very low, but if this is a problem it will show increasing density from one side to the other. If you have an actual light leak, it will probably expose most of one side / edge of the paper. You will also see it the first time you expose a sheet of film, anyway.

[Daniel Stone]

I can get approx 3-4 8x10 holders in a 11x14 paper bag, generally with some room to spare.

not fussy at all(IMO of course ), keep the bag in your backpack/film holder case, and just pull the holder out when you need it.

-Dan

[Glenn Thoreson]

Not normal. I would definitely check them for light leaks. Things like this is what happens to plastic when subjected to heat. That's precisely the reason why I stick to the old woodies.

[vinny]

I have several like this that are almost new. No leaks, no black bags, no problems.

[Dirk Rösler]

Thanks Vinny, that's what I was hoping to hear. I have peered through the gate/slit with the slide removed and could not see any traces of light. I suppose there is a light trap in there.

Time to shoot some 8x10 film!