Riteway film holders

[mandoman7]

I've been long time user of the notch method, I have a set of small files with round and triangular shapes, giving them values of one and two, and then labeling the holder with the numbers. Even when I forget everything it's still easy later to link a holder with a shot later because of the general position of the markings.

I got some holders where somebody had drilled small holes in the channel along the long wide of the film, and I like that way a little better. It's quicker to do and shows a little better in the film.

With this numbering and a digital recorder I can shoot quickly in changing light conditions, which is the bottom line with note taking IMO.

[Roger Cole]

Pre-release the lock with a toothpick or other small item that can be taped over the lock.

I'd think it would be hard to do that without interfering with the light seal when you put the holder in, but maybe not. Since mine work ok anyway I haven't tried it.

[Bob Salomon]

I'd think it would be hard to do that without interfering with the light seal when you put the holder in, but maybe not. Since mine work ok anyway I haven't tried it.

Since you don't pull the dark slide there would be no light leak. All you are doing is pressing the lock in.

[Cletus]

A great notching system for film holders is covered in detail in Way Beyond Monochrome, at least in the 2nd Edition. I've used this to notch all 24 of my 'active' 4x5 holders to identify which sheet goes to which holder. For 24 holders, you need no more then six notches on any holder. The notches conform to a 4 or 6 bit decimal 'code' and really easy to use and understand. For the actual notching, it's extremely easy to notch the inside of the flap using a little precision, tapered jaw wire cutter instead of a file or G*d forbid, a sharp utility knife. To me, it's worth seeking out and buying this little tool if you never use it for anything else. Notching with this takes seconds to do, the notches are all perfect and there's almost no risk of screwing up your holder this way. Or cutting off your finger.

There are lots of benefits to notching holders beyond identifying future light leaks, although that's most definitely one of them. I often expose several sheets on the same subject using different filters or different exposures and the notches are invaluable. I keep good notes on each sheet I expose, as do most people, but being able to positively identify each individual sheet and correlate it with your notes after processing can be very difficult without some kind of system like this. I learned more about the effects of different filters using this system than I had in all the time before. And if you want to expose, say, one sheet at normal and one at N+ or -2 or something, you can process everything together and still know which was which afterward.

I know this was lots of info and many of you already know the benefits of which I speak. I'm a huge proponent of doing this and I can't recommend Way Beyond Monochrome enough. And the little appendix on notching is just a teeny tiny bit of the invaluable info this worthy tome contains. Good luck!