Plate vs film??

[norm the storm]

Hi everybody

I did photography since 1986, some goods and a lot of bads!
I do LF since 2 years...and I realize that I don't know what is a plate (dry or wet) camera. Does the <<plate>> dry or wet replace the film, it's supposed yes. How is it works? Why? Is there some specifics cameras to use plate and some others film?

I'm confused.

[goamules]

Plate cameras are obsolete, antiques, made before there was film. Plate holders fit into these older cameras. Later, film holders were made that will sometimes also fit an old "plate camera." To use plate holders, if you have one that fits your camera, you need the plates. No company is commercially making wet or dry plates. But - if you are a craftsman you can make wetplate or dryplates yourself.

[Vaughn]

"Plates" are usually glass coated with an emulsion (wet or dry). Because the glass is much thicker than the present-day film base, one needs a holder that will account for this difference -- both actually fitting the film/plates into the holder, and making sure the surface of the emulsion is on the same plane of the GG.

[norm the storm]

Plate cameras are obsolete, antiques, made before there was film. Plate holders fit into these older cameras. Later, film holders were made that will sometimes also fit an old "plate camera." To use plate holders, if you have one that fits your camera, you need the plates. No company is commercially making wet or dry plates. But - if you are a craftsman you can make wetplate or dryplates yourself.

Thank you for the answer.
It' s almost what I was thinking

[cyrus]

Many different cameras can be "plate cameras" -- they can use emulsion-coated plates instead of film. These can be either dedicated cameras or regular film cameras that have adaptations.

Of course regular LF cameras can use plates if they have the right sort of holder. Regular filmholders can sometimes be altered to take plates, or special plate holders can be made for them.

In MF, there are old plate cameras (usually folders and box cameras) but more modern cameras often had accessories that made it possible to use plates too. The Mamiya 330 TLRs and the Rolleiflex TLRs for example both had accessories that included plateholders and special backs to attach them to. I have a bunch of these plate holders for the Rolleiflex but am having problems locating the 1mm thick glass used for the plates.

Nowdays there's an increasing popularity of plate cameras as more people investigate wet plate (and dry plate) photography, perhaps in anticipation of the day when film is no longer available.

[Vaughn]

...Nowdays there's an increasing popularity of plate cameras as more people investigate wet plate (and dry plate) photography, perhaps in anticipation of the day when film is no longer available.

The obsolete can become new again!

[E. von Hoegh]

When I put a plateholder in my Deardorff, it becomes a plate camera. Magic!!

[David de Gruyl]

When I put a plateholder in my Deardorff, it becomes a plate camera. Magic!!

Same with a brand new Chamonix.

It is a matter of the plate holder fitting the camera. Many dry plate holders conform to modern standards and can be used in large format cameras. Wet plate holders that work are less common (although ebay would have you believe that the dry plate holders are, in fact, wet plate holders...).

For 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 there are (iso standard) dry plate holders on the used market. I think that 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 can also be found but I don't look for those. These look astonishingly like film holders with catches for the plates and a spring to push it forward. Typically, these hold two plates (one on each side) and might even have film sheathes so that they could be used for either film or plates.

For wet plate, it is better to use a holder which can be loaded from behind (known as book-form). Many of these from the past were camera specific. In modern terms, you can retro-fit an existing film holder to use wet plate (or have someone else do it). Or you can purchase a new (semi-custom) holder for a high price tag.