Old 4x5 sheet film donations?

[Douglas Gould]

OK, getting ready to load some real film into a few film holders. Never done thi s before. Not to worried about it, as I used to load 16mm film. The way I learne d that was with some old film so I could practice in the light, then with my eye s closed, then in a changing bag. This way, mistakes are non-fatal.

If anyone would like to donate one or two sheets of old 4x5 sheet film to the "h elp Doug lean to load foundation", e-mail me and I'll send you my address. Even just one sheet would be great. I'll have to owe you the .34 for the postage, as we can't do any business here.

Its not that I'm too cheap to waste a sheet of my own, but I haven't bought any sheet film yet. Still on polaroids. And, I just hate the thought of wasting a sh eet of perfectly good film when someone somewhere must have a spoiled sheet they don't want.

[Alec Jones]

Don't worry, Douglas. Before long you'll have LOTS of spoiled sheets. We all did.

[Douglas Gould]

Alec <LOL>

anyway, someone has already offered, so I don't need any more free old film.

Thanks everyone

[Steve Gangi]

I've never (so far at least) ruined any film while loading, but I HAVE developed a few sheets only to find I forgot to pull the dark slide. I guess we all have our own ways of messing up and I've found mine :)

[Anthony J. Kohler]

"I've never (so far at least) ruined any film while loading, but I HAVE developed a few sheets only to find I forgot to pull the dark slide. I guess we all have our own ways of messing up and I've found mine :)"

Not to mention forgetting to close the shutter before pulling the darkslide, pulling the wrong darkslide, or slipping the film into the darkslide grooves so that when the darkslide is pulled, it falls forward into the camera.

Yeah, I've found mine, too. :-))

Tony

[Dean Lastoria]

Ohhh, pulling the wrong darkslide, that's like bending a finger nail backwards. It's the worst. Ouch!!! Dean

[ed kang]

doug,

to be honest, I've never wasted a sheet of lf film. When I first started LF photography last year, I loaded my first five two-sided holders and didn't spoil a single sheet. Just go through it in your mind first.

Another thing that you can do is cut out some "film" out of cardstock or other thicker paper and use that to test with.

[bill_1041]

Doug -

Jump in!! Buy a box of film, load your holders and get out here with the rest of us experts! Loading isn't that difficult - it's the composing, exposing, developing and printing that really produces the "experience". And I guarantee you'll have a couple of sheets you can practice with in no time!

[Edsel Adams]

BW film is about $12 for 25 sheets in 4x5!Buy a box and waste a dollar's worth of film!

[Pete Andrews]

I've never forgotten to pull the slide (touch wood), but my favourite way of spoiling film used to be to leave the lens on preview, and grossly overexpose the film, before finally firing the shutter and closing it! Damned Compur shutters used to let you do this without a hint that anything had gone amiss. Copals, however, won't fire with the preview lever open, so at least you know you've ruined the shot before you pack up and go away. I quickly got into the habit of test firing the shutter before pulling the slide, but not before I grew to detest the design of Compur shutters.

[Jim Roof]

Don't forget to decide which side of the darkslide you are going to use for unexposed and which for exposed. Most holders' darkslides have a black tab on one side and white on the other. I use white for unexposed and black for exposed. Every now and then I will expose a sheet then absent-mindedly stick the slide in exactly the same way I removed it. I don't find out until I am ready to make a duplicate exposure of the same shot - then the question hits... "Did I flip the holder over to the other side?". Of course, logically there is no good way to solve this. You can stop right there and get an exposure and a clear sheet of film or re-expose both sheets and get a good exposure and a double exposure. I guess it comes right down to this - when the lab processes my film do I look like a bigger idiot by having them process a blank sheet or a double exposure. I usually opt for the double. At least that way I know I used up a little of the chemistry I am paying for!

Additionally, if you plan to shoot both chromes and negs as I do (architectural work and interiors) then buy enough holders to color code them for negs/chromes. You'll spend more money but you'll be more organized in handling your film.

[Geoffrey Swenson]

<<Don't forget to decide which side of the dark slide you are going to use for unexposed and which for exposed. Most holders' dark slides have a black tab on one side and white on the other. I use white for unexposed and black for exposed.>>

I just stuck a red dot on the exposed side of the holder tab, and this way is much easier to see if how you put it back. Without my red dot I would ruin about 1/3 of my sheets. It is much easier to see the red then the little black tab. I also number my holders side by side i.e. 1/A 1/B 2/A etc., and if you do and later realize that you made a mistake it is much easier to find the sheet to be pulled/ pushed or to be thrown away. It is also a good idea to color code holders by film. All this works for me. Good luck!