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Sounguru
16-Jan-2007, 01:57
I have 2 4 x 5 cameras that I recently aquired.

One is a View Grapic and the other is a Speed Graphic.

What I need are film holders I have about 40 but several are on their last leg due to age. i want to get around 150 so I can pack at home for a weekend of shooting without having to try and reload in the field.

Any suggestions I have seen them ranging from $10 to $80 with $10 being more in my price range.

j.e.simmons
16-Jan-2007, 06:09
It just depends on what you are willing to do and what your budget is. I've bought a lot of filmholders on eBay - some have been perfectly good - others in need of repair. I've used some of the holders for parts. The Fidelity holders seem to have held up best. I also have come across a number of good wooden holders that seem to be rather unpopular. If you're buying used, inspect them closely, then test them, either with paper cut to fit or with some outdated film. Take the loaded holders outside and wave them around in the sunlight for a few minutes. Any leaks will show up when you develop. Also, be sure to check that they fit well in the camera. Some holders can be off a bit and not seal well.
juan

naturephoto1
16-Jan-2007, 06:12
I have 2 4 x 5 cameras that I recently aquired.

One is a View Grapic and the other is a Speed Graphic.

What I need are film holders I have about 40 but several are on their last leg due to age. i want to get around 150 so I can pack at home for a weekend of shooting without having to try and reload in the field.

Any suggestions I have seen them ranging from $10 to $80 with $10 being more in my price range.

Do you really expect to take 150 to perhaps 180 4 X 5 images in a day??? :eek: :confused:

You may want to take a look at this thread:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=22380

Rich

Ed Richards
16-Jan-2007, 06:13
150 is a lot of holders! I admire your ambition for a weekend of shooting, combined with two weeks of processing.:-)

The best way to get holders at reasonable prices is to just haunt ebay, put your best bid on every set of good holders you see, and wait. About half the time someone will come in and make a high bid, but many times no one will bid and you will get holders cheap. I picked up 30 good holders over a couple of months and I think I averaged less than $10 a holder, some for $5.

photographs42
16-Jan-2007, 08:01
300 exposures in a weekend? When I make an exposure, I make a back-up and on a really good weekend outing, with lots of photo opertunities, I might expose 20 sheets (10 different images). If you are photographing 10 hours a day for two days, that’s 1200 minutes. 300 images works out to an exposure every 4 minutes. Then, it takes me about 2 hours to develop, proof and catalog 6 negatives so there is another 100 hours of work. I don’t have that kind of stamina.

Jerome

PS: I just reread your post and see that you have 2 cameras and one of them is a “SPEED” Graphic :D . Maybe that’s what I need.

cyrus
16-Jan-2007, 08:06
Buy grafmatics.

naturephoto1
16-Jan-2007, 08:10
Buy grafmatics.

50????? :eek: :confused:

Rich

Sounguru
16-Jan-2007, 09:41
Well I figure that I may come back with some film not shot but I don't want to miss any. When I first took it up and was shooting just with the Speed Graphic I was chasing a chipmunk and went thru all 10 sheets I had in about 15 to 20 min. Now if I shoot alot of landscape I'm sure I won't use as much.:D

Thanks for all the input so far guys.

Alan Davenport
16-Jan-2007, 09:51
If chasing chipmunks is what you like to do, you might consider a 6x7 camera. (i.e., 120 roll film) How many times did you get close enough to the chipmunk to use more of the film area than that?

Sounguru
16-Jan-2007, 10:07
Actually he was only 3" to a couple feet away most of the time he was a friendly little guy:D

roteague
16-Jan-2007, 10:19
I went to Australia for a month, and didn't take that much sheet film. :eek:

Richard Kelham
16-Jan-2007, 11:21
Your rucksack will be so full of film holders you won't have space for a camera. I think a sense of proportion is needed here...

Dave Parker
16-Jan-2007, 11:36
I have 2 4 x 5 cameras that I recently aquired.

One is a View Grapic and the other is a Speed Graphic.

What I need are film holders I have about 40 but several are on their last leg due to age. i want to get around 150 so I can pack at home for a weekend of shooting without having to try and reload in the field.

Any suggestions I have seen them ranging from $10 to $80 with $10 being more in my price range.

150 holders is pretty darn ambitious! to say the least, I don't know that I ever shoot more than about 10 exposures(5 holders) in a single day when shooting 4x5 gear, and then I reload in the evening for the next day of shooting, I don't know that I have ever owned more than 25-30 holders at any given time, and currently I carry 10 holders on a trip with me, which includes my yearly week long trip to Yellowstone twice a year..When my older holders start to wear heavy, I retape them and go from there...the only time I replace a holder is if it gets warped(wood) and broke in some manner that allows light leaks.

Good Luck

Dave

cyrus
16-Jan-2007, 11:56
50????? :eek: :confused:

Rich


You don't need 50 - they're reloadable! :)

I use a handheld 4x5 polaroid conversion much as a "snap shot" camera when travelling.

I take 5 grafmatics with me - 1 in the camera and 4 on a belt. About lunch time, I just reload them.

Pat Kearns
16-Jan-2007, 12:06
150 film holders, thats 300 sheets of film at roughly $1 per sheet for a weekend of shooting. I don't know who is bankrolling you, but would you please mention my name to them.:D

Sounguru
16-Jan-2007, 16:47
Wife wanted to kill me when I shot a case of 35 velvia 50 in a weekend.

Brian Ellis
16-Jan-2007, 22:19
Photographing a moving chipmunk with a 4x5 camera? Exposing 300 sheets of film in a weekend? If only there were a few more photographers like you wet labs would still be in business.

Seriously, 300 photographs in a weekend is a gigantic number of photographs. I don't mean this facetiously but in all seriousness, I think you need to slow down a whole lot. Unless the light is changing rapidly or something else requires really fast action give a good bit of thought to what you want the photograph to look like, walk around and check things out from different angles, see what the light is doing, how the shadows are falling, the contast range of the scene, things like that. 4x5 photography doesn't lend itself to making 10 slightly different photographs of the same scene and then picking the best one later, if for no other reason than the cost of the materials and the money or time it takes to process them. Spend a lot more time thinking and composing and less time photographing and I think you'll find that you don't need 150 film holders.

Sounguru
16-Jan-2007, 23:22
I am playing around with running the speed graphic like the old press protographers did. So alot of hand held and on the go type shooting.

One of my goals is to shoot people in downtown seattle. I rarely use the back for focus but use the rangefinder instead. John the gentleman who sold me the cameras showed me the setup he used to use when shooting new articles so I'm trying to perfect that style. I always loved the old press shoots. I'm even trying to rebuild the flash and get it up and running.

So having alot of film on hand is a must. Basing off what John said he ran in a weekend of good news events

On the view graphic if I shoot more than 20 it will be a miracle since it is a monorail and takes alot more time.:D

MIke Sherck
17-Jan-2007, 07:15
If you're going to shoot that much film you should seriously look into the Fuji or Kodak Quickload/Readyload systems. One film holder and as many boxes of film as you can carry (or afford.) Or polaroid film. Grafmatics wouldn't be a bad choice, either, if you can find enough.

300 sheets of film in a weekend just boggles my mind!

mjs

Ed Richards
17-Jan-2007, 08:15
I do shoot handheld like the old press photographers, using a Technika. Readyloads are really a pain handheld, with the sheet flapping in the breeze, and all the hassle of pushing it back in and carefully removing it so you do not pull it off the film. Regular holders are much faster and more fool proof - but note, more, not completely fool proof. Unless you are a real obsessive compulsive you are going to get some double exposures.:-)

That said, it is still a lot of shooting. You did not mention the processing side - if you can afford to get it all professionally processed and proofed, it could be a lot of fun. I would certainly shoot more sheets if I did not have to come home and process and proof them myself. If you have to process it yourself, you will quickly realize the virtues of more careful shooting because you will spend so much time processing and proofing that you never go out to shoot again.

Sounguru
17-Jan-2007, 09:29
I have access to a lab and a tech to do the printing for me...... for cheap and since I'm not really trying to make perfect shots but learn the style more if they mess up a couple I have no problems with that. Once I get the style down and don't out of focus every other shot then I will go for a pro lab.

Gordon Moat
17-Jan-2007, 13:57
I would think a roll film holder might work a little better, especially with you using the rangefinder for focus. With a 6x7 holder, you can get 10 shots per roll on 120 film. Sure, the film are is smaller than 4x5, but still quite a good size to make prints. If you can find a back that allows you to use 220 roll film, and if your favourite film is available in that size, then you can get 20 shots per roll. Find one with a lever film advance, and you can be quite fast from one shot to the next.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio (http://www.allgstudio.com)

cyrus
17-Jan-2007, 14:28
I am playing around with running the speed graphic like the old press protographers did. So alot of hand held and on the go type shooting.

One of my goals is to shoot people in downtown seattle. I rarely use the back for focus but use the rangefinder instead. John the gentleman who sold me the cameras showed me the setup he used to use when shooting new articles so I'm trying to perfect that style. I always loved the old press shoots. I'm even trying to rebuild the flash and get it up and running.

So having alot of film on hand is a must. Basing off what John said he ran in a weekend of good news events

On the view graphic if I shoot more than 20 it will be a miracle since it is a monorail and takes alot more time.:D



You can skip the focus issue altogether if you really use the camera like the press photographers did, using the hyperfocal distance focusing method.

There was a site somewhere that provided the necessary dof data for various lenses/formats...

Ron Marshall
17-Jan-2007, 15:32
For running around you should get a Grafmatic film holder, six sheets per holder:

http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/grafmatic/


I am playing around with running the speed graphic like the old press protographers did. So alot of hand held and on the go type shooting.

One of my goals is to shoot people in downtown seattle. I rarely use the back for focus but use the rangefinder instead. John the gentleman who sold me the cameras showed me the setup he used to use when shooting new articles so I'm trying to perfect that style. I always loved the old press shoots. I'm even trying to rebuild the flash and get it up and running.

So having alot of film on hand is a must. Basing off what John said he ran in a weekend of good news events

On the view graphic if I shoot more than 20 it will be a miracle since it is a monorail and takes alot more time.:D

Sounguru
18-Jan-2007, 09:36
sweet thanks Ron

John Bowen
19-Jan-2007, 09:24
I'm so glad that you are shooting film. What the world needs is a few more photographers that shoot 300 sheets of film in a weekend. That ought to keep film alive for a while. Go man, Go!

walter23
19-Jan-2007, 10:20
150 holders? You should try one of the new fangled cameras that somehow puts 150-300 fairly high detail images on a single little 1.5" square of plastic - I think they call them Compact Flash cards or something. I'm not sure what kind of camera takes them - maybe Ebony? I hear they're really good.

Otherwise maybe consider quickloads or readyloads.

Seriously though, you say you're still trying to learn the style. The secret to learning the style is to SLOW DOWN. I came back from a 2 week vacation with about 30 shots and 90% of them were better than I typically get working quickly with my digital SLR. The secret was that I was inhibited from shooting because I only carry 7 film holders, so I really had to carefully consider my priorities and take a lot of care while setting up shots.

If you still think you need 150 holders, the cheapest way is probably ebay, though you're not necessarily guaranteed good condition. 150 holders new would run you about $9000 at $50 per pair. You might get a volume discount if you call up Badger graphic though with that kind of order. But honestly, I think you'll be missing out on one of the better qualities of this type of photography if you try to overdo it like that. You can learn more by going out with your camera and NO film than going out with 300 sheets.

Still, as was pointed out, I have no reason to discourage you from becoming a high volume shooter - I depend on film sales for access to film myself, so if you can start buying tons of the stuff it's all good. Get about 20 likeminded friends into this as well :)

walter23
19-Jan-2007, 10:32
Wife wanted to kill me when I shot a case of 35 velvia 50 in a weekend.

Hah, and I thought my hobbies were expensive..

David_Senesac
19-Jan-2007, 11:05
I would bet that by the first time you have reloaded 150 holders after one of your super days on the streets, you will see the unpleasantness of reloading in a whole other light. If you shoot that much film you will have ample opportunity to becoming really fast loading and unloading film even in the field with change bags. The more film you load the more automatic and easier it becomes. Just like humans on some manufacturing assembly line or tying your shoes. At first we all have trouble clumsily slipping film into the grooves on holders while grappling with the holder doors but these days for me film goes right in in one quick smooth push 80% of the time. Like my hands have learned the correct finger orientations, wrist articulation, and motion. Don't ask me what I do as I could not relate such with words. ...David

Ole Tjugen
19-Jan-2007, 11:22
How much does one 4x5" holder weigh?

I don't actually know the answer, but I know that I wouldn't want to carry 150 holders. Not to mention loading and unloading them, keeping track of the negatives, getting everything developed while still knowing which negative is which, an which holder it was in, and - is that 80 holders with exposed film, or is it the 70 holders with unexposed film???

10 holders is about the practical limit for me. If I need to bring more holders, I supplement with 10 9x12cm holders. I always bring a changing bag and extra film.