LOAD 50 4x5 Motor drives

[tex]

I have two of something called "LOAD 50" the best I can tell they are 4x5 Motor drives film backs but know nothing else about them. I was hoping someone here could fill me in with more info about what I have.

[EdSawyer]

Pics? Sounds interestng!

[Jac@stafford.net]

I have a hazy memory of such a thing. It fed from a magazine of 50 sheets of film.
A picture would be helpful.
.

[Bob Salomon]

I have a hazy memory of such a thing. It fed from a magazine of 50 sheets of film.
A picture would be helpful.
.

I thought that one had the name of an animal like fox or wolf.

We sold quite a few 5" roll film vacuum backs that shot 5x5". They were used for all kinds of neat imagery from the National Archives using a bunch of them to record documents to EG&G shooting nuclear tests to NASA and the USN using them on the Space Shuttle program.

[dsphotog]

A 5 inch roll back would be cool.....
Then there's film developing.

[Bob Salomon]

A 5 inch roll back would be cool.....
Then there's film developing.

The Linhof used 5" film on a modified NATO spool. Most users machine processed it but their was a stainless steel developing tank for 5" made by Fairchild so it was possible, if the correct chemicals were available, to do it at home. Fairchild even made a motor to agitate the film for the tank.
We used some of these tanks to process some of the film that we shot over Cuba when we worked out of trailers on the flight line in the USAF.

When the film had been developed and was ready for the PIs, who worked at the other end of the trailer, someone would yell FILM! and one of the guys would have a wet spool in each hand and while someone would open the door the one with the film would run as quickly as possible, while swinging the spools for balance, to the PI section. Once Curtis LeMay was standing in the middle of the hallway, smoking his usual cigar, when the door opened and one of the heavier guys came running as fast as possible down the hallway. He knocked LeMay over! LeMay asked what the rush was, someone said film, LeMay said "carry on" and took a puff on his cigar.

[Jac@stafford.net]

A 5 inch roll back would be cool.....
Then there's film developing.

I worked with this chap very long ago. Aerial film processing (http://www.aerialphotolab.com/film_processing.htm).

[Jim C.]

A 5 inch roll back would be cool.....
Then there's film developing.

I knew there were bag mags for 5x7 never realized till I got one how heavy it is,
a 5" roll back would be monsterous depending on how may feet of film was in there ! :eek:

[David A. Goldfarb]

I knew there were bag mags for 5x7 never realized till I got one how heavy it is,
a 5" roll back would be monsterous depending on how may feet of film was in there ! :eek:

I have a film bag mag and a plate bag mag for my 5x7" Press Graflex. The film mag isn't too bad. The plate mag, which has film sheaths in the plate septums, is heavier, but I can only imagine how heavy it would be loaded with 12 glass plates!

[tex]

I knew this would be the right place to get some feedback. I am traveling this week but will post photos as soon I get back. Much thanks for the replies.

[Alan Curtis]

In the 1950's my father was a civilian photographer at Holloman AFB/White Sands Missile range in NM. He photographed rockets, rocket sleds and airplanes using 4x5 roll film shot at high speed. The film was in a large canister on the side of the camera. Apparently this photographic equipment was pretty common with military aerial photography work. He was using it from the ground.

[Alan Curtis]

This was photographed with that equipment. http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?75932-Aircraft/page6

[dsphotog]

Thanks Alan, great images!