Q. for 8X10 shooters

[Bob Fowler]

What is your brand preference for 8X10 holders?

[Michael Kadillak]

Modern Fidelity brand holders although I have heard that Lisco and Fidelity are now made by the same company. Hard to justify the touted but overly expensive Sinar or Toyo because of the results I already get.

Reasonable in price and available. Hard combination to beat and they have never let me down with questionable registration or ligh leakage.

Cheers!

[Ralph Barker]

I use recently-manufactured Fidelity holders, as well. No problems so far.

[Mark Sawyer]

Same here, Lisco Regal II's and Fidelity Deluxes. Pretty much interchangeable and no problems except occasional dust, which is an issue with any film holder. I have some older wooden holders which now live happily in retirement. Bite the bullet, invest in good filmholders. You won't regret it.

[David R Munson]

My favorite are the old Kodak/Graflex holders made of wood and metal. I have one Lisco holder and, while it does the job, it doesn't seem as sturdy as these. I just picked up two on eBay in really nice condition for about $30, so you can find good deals on them too.

[Gem Singer]

Hi Bob,

The Fidelity Elite and Lisco Regal II holders seem to be the most popular film holders available. I recently purchased a set of the newest style 5X7 and 8X10 Fidelity holders, and so far, am very pleased with them.

[Oren Grad]

There's not that much to choose from in terms of new 8x10 holders from major vendors - it's Lisco/Fidelity at about $70, Toyo at about $130, and the Sinar Adhesive holder at $500++.
Lisco/Fidelity is really the industry standard, and works fine for me. For a bit more, you can order them with metal rather than plastic darkslides, but I've never broken a plastic one. I've never seen any explanation as to why the Toyo, which seems to be of similar construction, should be worth almost twice the price. The special feature of the Sinar is a patch of adhesive material that keeps the film from shifting or buckling. I can't recall hearing of anyone who has bought or used one.

Lotus offers new 8x10 wooden film holders, but at current exchange rates the price is over $400 each.

The main alternative to new Lisco/Fidelity is used Lisco/Fidelity of various vintages, as well as older wooden and hybrid metal/wooden holders by various makers. For my taste older holders of either metal or wooden construction are usually more trouble than they are worth, because the dust and dirt that's accumulated over the years in hard-to-clean nooks and crannies of the holder always seems to emerge and land on your negatives right in the middle of what should be clear skies. But some people with more patience than I can muster have reported success in cleaning old holders with careful use of a vacuum cleaner and compressed air, and retaping the end flaps as necessary.

I do have a handful of old wooden holders that have been disassembled, cleaned up and partially rebuilt by Alan Brubaker. But that's so expensive that it's worth doing only for ULF holders or for holders in odd smaller formats that are otherwise very hard to find in good shape - mine are 6.5x8.5 and 7x11. For 8x10 it's cheaper just to buy new Lisco/Fidelity than to pay Alan to refurbish old wooden ones.

[Merg Ross]

I agree with David. The Kodak/Graflex holders have served me well through the years.

[Moe_4073]

Agfa holders that work nice too.

[Eric Leppanen]

I own a variety of 8x10 Fidelity Elite and Lisco Regal II holders, and have been very happy with them.

[Frank Bagbey]

I long for a bunch of Toyo 8X10 holders. They are SO SMOOTH! But since I did not win the lottery, I am using a mix of wood and plastic Lisco holders. I have had no problems with them.

[John Kasaian]

I'm with David and Merg. Any holder that works is worth having, but the Eastman Kodak made by Graflex wood/metal ones can be dissassembled for repairs or cleaning. A terminal case can be cannibalized for good parts to keep others going strong. This sounds wierd, but I develop an affinity for the holders I've repaired on the kitchen table late on rainy nights like tonight. Be patient and you'll find reasonably priced examples on eBay. The Agfa/Anscos are nice too, but the one's I've had were riveted together so I can't see paying as much or even more for an Agfa than a Kodak/Graflex. Nor is there anything wrong with plastic Liscos(I've got 14 of 'em) but the wood/metal Kodaks are my faves.

[jens peter]

Toyo 8x10 DDS, stored in pink static bags (12x16 = Staticbags.com). Flat, flawless function and no problems with dust. Good luck!

[jens peter]

sorry, not 12x16, but 12x15....

[Bob Fowler]

Thanks everybody. All of my 4X5 holders are Fidelity and Lisco, but my 5X7 holder collection is all over the map! I'm just moving back to 8X10 after many, many years and was wondering what ya'll were using (back in the day, I had a boatload of wood Kodak holders). I"ve always had an affinity for Agfa holders - I think because of their darkslides more than anything else - and have managed to get 3 of them for 8X10. As of last night, 6 Fidelity holders are on the way.

Thanks again folks!

[Steve Williams_812]

I purchased six new Fidelity 8x10 holders last spring and began having "light leak" problems along one edge of my film (TXP). Almost looked like a development surge mark. After some failed sleuthing someone here suggested that I sand the surface of the plastic where the slide enters the flap, that some of the new holders are so shiny that they reflect light.

Damn if he wasn't right----I sanded off the shine and the problem went away! So if something like that shows up on your film, get out the sandpaper.

steve

[tim atherton]

Midos

Occasionally finicky and a bit more fragile than regular holders - but so much more thinner and lighter

[Sal Santamaura]

I own four from Toyo and prefer them for smoothness and absolute immunity to leaks, even with direct sunlight on the dark slide slots. I also have a dozen modern Fidelity/Lisco samples that work fine as long as one protects their slots from direct sunlight with the dark cloth when slides are out. All these holders were purchased new.

By the way, in case you do win the lottery, check out this (http://largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/496858.html) thread before purchasing any new Toyo holders, 4x5 or 8x10.

[John Kasaian]

Sal,

I've never had a smelly Kodak/Graflex holder!