Mido II 5x7 Film Holders

[Jay DeFehr]

I just found two of these at the Goodwill for $1.99 ea. With the dark slides out, I can see daylight where the light trap would be in a traditional holder. Do these holders have no light traps? If not, how does one use them? Is the dark slide not to be fully removed for exposure?

[Cor]

Jay,

If they are the same as the 4*5 holders (and why shouldn't they?) than you'll need an adapter,/holder as well, the adapter goes behind the ground glass, the envelope/holder for the film in the adapter, at least that is how I understand the system. But I guess you knew that already,

See also http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=73849&highlight=mido

Best,

Cor

[Jay DeFehr]

Hi Cor,

Yes, that part I understand. The light trap might be in the adapter?

BTW, one of my ancestors from Veere was called Cornelius (the weaver). Is Cor short for Cornelius?

[Drew Wiley]

There is a clamshell style holder which sandwiches around the thinner holders, but each holder has its own darkslides too.

[Jay DeFehr]

Yes, I see the darkslides, but when removed from the holder, I can see daylight where the light trap should be. That's a problem.

[Drew Wiley]

Good luck ever finding a clamshell in this size.

[Jay DeFehr]

Drew,

Are you saying the light trap is in the clamshell?

[Cor]

Hi Cor,

Yes, that part I understand. The light trap might be in the adapter?

BTW, one of my ancestors from Veere was called Cornelius (the weaver). Is Cor short for Cornelius?

..Yup Cor is short for my baptized name which is Cornelis, which ended up as Cornelius oversea, it's rather an old fashioned name nowadays but used to be quite common in the past.

Best,

Cor

[Drew Bedo]

The Mido system seemed like a good idea when they came out; light weight, compact, reusable etc. But they were never widely used and never replaced standard film holders. I have never used them, or even held one in my hands. There must have been a reason they never caught on. Not a better mouse trap after all I guess. Anyone know why?

[Jay DeFehr]

Cor,

I think Cornelis/ Cornelius a fine name, and There are still Cornelius Defehrs, today. One of them, Arthur Cornelius DeFehr, founded a furniture empire in Canada.

Drew,

These are the first Mido holders I've seen, firsthand. I don't understand the lack of a light trap, but beyond that, I think the main reason they never replaced the standard holders is because they were too late, and the standard was too well established, to which the necessity of the clamshell adapter testifies. There might be other reasons, as well, but I think the standard is the biggest hurdle an innovation must clear.

[ashlee52]

I once owned the mido holders. There was a thin "stop" which kept the outside envelope from coming too far off the inner part which held the film when you pulled the envelope out as you do with Quickloads. When the holder was inside the plastic adapter everything was kept in close enough contact to be light tight. When not in the adapter the outer envelope could come off (to load the holders) and would not be light tight unless fully closed. It's been 15 years so at least that's how I remember it.

My results with the Mido holders were extremely sharp so they were well engineered. At the time I think they were outdone by the commercial Quickloads which promised less dust problem. Today I'd love a set of Mido holders for hiking.

[Drew Wiley]

The clamshell had a black velour lining which functioned as the light trap. The Mido
story is a bit complicated. This was basically a one-man operation, I believe. The type of plastic he used was discontinued at some point. I have mixed feelings about the
system myself. I have two 4x5 clamshells and a dozen holders, and last used them on
a backpack a couple years ago. Every now and then one will get a light leak at the
corner of an image. Sometimes it will spoil the image, sometimes not; but using these holders is a gamble. These holders do save bulk and about a third of the weight. I gave
up on them when the Readyload/Quickload concept finally got the bugs worked out of
it; but once that got discontinued itself, I reverted to testing the Mido holders again.

[Jay DeFehr]

Thanks, guys; that clears things up a bit. The system seems a bit complicated, but it's an interesting approach. Thanks for the info.