6x7 roll film holders, any improvments yet?

[Bill Glickman]

There has been much discussion through the years on roll film holders. I was in the market for a 6x7 roll film holder and was curious if there was any new sati sfactory "slide in" roll film holders. (similar to inserting a film holder) I do have one Toyo one now, but it puts a lot of stress on the back when inserting due to its excessive thickness. The other big problems has been film buckle c aused by sharp turns on the rollers. Any new RFH that solved some of these pro blems? Or is the Horseman 6x7 still the standard? As a side question, anyone have experience with Horseman or Toyos Rotary 6 x7 back for 4x5? Is it bulky, is it worthwhile?

[Bob Salomon]

Linhof Rapid Rolex

[Chris Ellinger]

I just installed a 6x9 sliding back on a Wista VX, and am converting a couple of lenses to "press" shutters, for studio portraits. The Wista back has an interesting feature: a coupling cable that automatically opens and closes the (press) shutter when the back is shifted from viewing to taking positions. I'm still putting the system together, but it looks promising so far. The Wista sliding back is essentially the same size as the sheet film back, and only a couple of ounces heavier.

[Brian Ellis]

I used the Calumet 6x7 roll film holder for several years. That holder has come in for some criticism for light leaks and film flatness problems. However, I never had any problems with mine, it worked flawlessly in the Tachihara with which I used it. The only thing I didn't like was the complexity of loading it with film.

[Jeffrey Goggin]

Be careful when using a Toyo back on a non-Toyo camera since they are designed to compensate for the focusing shift caused by Toyo's use of a Fresnel ahead of the ground-glass. Accordingly, the pressure plate is recessed slightly further into the body (.197" on mine) versus the .185" - .187" of the typical Horseman or Graflex backs.

Mind you, they're great backs otherwise and although expensive, worth every penny in my opinion. Of course, I have a Toyo 23G so they work perfectly on my camera without any modification or adjustments.