Problem with New Kodak ReadyLoads

[Mike Lopez]

I've read about the various problems Kodak had with these holders during their earlier production. I've also read that Kodak corrected the problems (light leaks), and that the current generation of these holders are fine. Is anybody having any problems with a "modern" ReadyLoad holder? I have two negatives that look odd. One has a dark vertical band on the left side of the contact print in the landscape orientation. That is, a negative density appears on the film, showing up as a dark stripe on the contact. The other has a similar band further into the frame. Same orientation. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm going to develop five more sheets today, so I'll be able to see whether the problem is persisting. Thanks for any information.

Oh yeah, the film is TMAX 100.

Mike

[Steve Hamley]

Mike,

I've only had one problem with mine, easily fixed. I noticed the small screws that hold the thing together had loosened to the point of causing a small light leak. I tightened them up and that fixed the problem. The leak was along the long side of the film.

Thanks!

Steve

[Doug Meek]

Hi Mike.

Yes, I have also been experiencing problems with the new holder. I have had streaks of light coming in from the right side of the chromes on about 10% of my shots. I brought up this very issue on a Photo.net thread this last April and received responses from a couple of other posters who were experiencing the same leaks. At the suggestion of a poster, I returned the holder to Kodak for replacement. The contact at Kodak was Peter Vimislik and he can be reached at peter.vimislik@kodak.com. Peter was very helpful and responded to my email within a couple of days. I received a replacement holder in about 2 weeks (after sending in my original holder and some sample chromes for Kodak to examine).

Unfortunately, the replacement holder is no better than the original. I still get the leaks in about 10% of my shots. I am now beginning to suspect that the problem may not be with the holder, but rather with the Readyloads themselves. The clips on the Readyloads are not held in place as securely as the clips on the Fuji Quickloads. Also, the Readyload clips get "snagged" on things much easier than the Quickload clips. The fact that my leaks are always on the right side of the chrome also lends credence to my theory. Not one of my leaks was ever on the left. I do a great deal of hiking and perhaps I am not protecting the film as well as I should, but the fact of the matter is that I have never had a single light leak on a Quickload clip, and I've shot at least 500 Quickloads this last year alone. All of my failures have been with the Readyloads.

Anyway, you might want to try contacting Kodak as I did. I have to give Kodak credit for trying to be helpful. Like I said, the problem may be with the film itself and not the holder. On the other hand, if you are more careful than I am with regard to how carefully you pack and transport your film, that would seem to indicate that your problem lies with the holder and not the film. Hope this helps.

One last thing - I always shoot Readyloads in the Readyload holder and Quickloads in the Quickload holder.

[Alan Davenport]

Not that this is exactly on topic, but... I shoot Readyloads in a Polaroid 545i holder. No problems, ever.

(FWIW. YMMV.)

[Ed Candland]

I had a problem (light leaks) with one that I purchased last year. I called Kodak and they send me another holder right away, after I returned the old one. I had posted about this on photo.net. With the new holder I have yet to see any problems with light leaks, but I must say it is a bit tricky to get the film seated. It hangs up if you don't bend the film ever so slightly, foward towards the front of your camera while inserting it. I desided to live with this becuase there aren't any light leaks and I've learned how to insert the film without any problems.

Good luck. Ed

[Mike Lopez]

I meant the horizontal orientation as opposed to vertical.

If the problem persists, I will switch to traditional holders. The jury's still out. But the strong point of the ReadyLoads is that you can carry one holder and as much film as you want on a camping trip and not have to do anything with the film in the field. We'll see what happens with the next few sheets.

[thomas gage]

..in the past year i've shot alot of kodak 4x5 color neg and so far have had no light leak problem with the present generation kodak "readyload" holder...as part of my in the field work flow, i always tap the white pull out tab towards the holder to help seat the far edge of the film into the metal clip before i press the red button to remove the film from the holder...i hope this info helps in some way...good luck!...tg.

[Paul Metcalf]

What method do you use to process your film? Per chance do you use the Jobo 4x5 reels that hold 6 sheets of film in a tank? If not, don't bother reading on. I noticed lines on some of my frames that are a result of the Jobo reels preventing development solution from reaching the film. This occurs at the two small contact points along each edge of the frame. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, and all of the time it makes little/no difference as the line(s) do not extend out into the frame very far (a few mm's), but they are noticeable. I decided to accept this as I do not have enough room in my dark closet (smaller variant of a dark room) for trays and I'm too cheap to use the incredibly expensive Jobo expert drum (which doesn't fit my CPE2+ anyhow).

I have both quickload and readyload holders, have used quickloads in the readyloads (readyloads hangup in the quickload holder but there is a mod), and have had only one sheet (500+) "fail." (and it was actually my fault when removing from holder). Wish I could get FP4+ in a ready/quickload format.