How many film holders do you bring for a day out?

[Drew Wiley]

Quickload and Readyload sleeves were great for long backpacking trips. Since their disappearance, I've had to resort to roll film holders on long treks.

[esearing]

Quickload and Readyload sleeves were great for long backpacking trips. Since their disappearance, I've had to resort to roll film holders on long treks.

I'm surprised Ilford never took up that market creating their own readyload for the existing holders. It was convenient even if more expensive per sheet.

[G Benaim]

10 for 8x10, 5 for 7x17.

[David Lindquist]

I'm surprised Ilford never took up that market creating their own readyload for the existing holders. It was convenient even if more expensive per sheet.

That would have been really nice. I remember hearing that Polaroid assembled the Readyloads for Kodak (can any one confirm this?) and Fuji would have had the similar process in place for their instant film. For Ilford to set-up to do this from scratch probably would have been daunting particularly from a money stand point.

I'm old enough to remember (and to miss) film pack.

David

[Michael Kadillak]

A minimum of 12 for 8x10 and half a dozen for 8x20 and 11x14.

[Dugan]

That would have been really nice. I remember hearing that Polaroid assembled the Readyloads for Kodak (can any one confirm this?) and Fuji would have had the similar process in place for their instant film. For Ilford to set-up to do this from scratch probably would have been daunting particularly from a money stand point.

I'm old enough to remember (and to miss) film pack.

David

Polaroid marketed repackaged Fujichrome as Polaroid Professional Chrome 100D and 64T in ready loads, IIRC.

[Alan Klein]

I just started 4x5 LR two years ago. I'm still playing around with different films so I take all eight holders with me loaded with different film. This way I can switch off and take two shots, one in color one in BW. Or use a color that;s better suited for the lighting conditions. Right now, I have holders with Tmax100 and 400, Provia, Ektachrome and have some Velvia 50 in the fridge ready to go. I think I have a touch of OCD.

[abruzzi]

I just started 4x5 LR two years ago. I'm still playing around with different films so I take all eight holders with me loaded with different film. This way I can switch off and take two shots, one in color one in BW. Or use a color that;s better suited for the lighting conditions. Right now, I have holders with Tmax100 and 400, Provia, Ektachrome and have some Velvia 50 in the fridge ready to go. I think I have a touch of OCD.

I do something similar. I'm narrowing my scope on B&W films, only shooting a few, but I always bring a holder or two with a chrome loaded (mostly Provia or E100 at this point.) I'm not very good at color, and I'm beginning to think that C41 is a lost cause for me but shooting chromes are fun, and I love viewing them on a light table, even if they go no further than that. But sometimes when I'm shooting B&W, I see a scene that I want to capture in color as well.

[Drew Wiley]

The cost of tooling and setup for the Quickload & Readyload concept would be disproportionate today, given much smaller sheet film sales. The first version was simply Polaroid style 545 packets substituting early Fujichrome 50 sheet film instead. After exposure, the steel roller squeezed the adhesive packet light tight. Reliable; but the film plane itself wasn't ideally right on. I have a big Cibachrome on the wall from one of those, and the lack of full precision can be seen upon closer inspection.

The later version from Fuji, in thinner single-shot sleeves, with its wider choice of emulsions, including Acros black and white, was considerably better. Meanwhile, Kodak tried to play catch-up, and first came out with a half-baked dicey two-sheet sleeve before finally improving their own product analogously to Fuji. The dedicated holders are a whole story of their own. I stuck with my own superior modified, lightened 545 holder for both brands. But the Fuji packeting had been subcontracted to Polaroid all along. By the time the specific machinery began wearing out, Polaroid itself had become a bankrupt dinosaur, and Fuji saw no financial incentive to invest in a comparable system of their own. That was almost as painful to me, a backpacker, as stepping on a dead porcupine in the woods at night barefoot.

I have one box of E100G Readyloads left in the freezer which I might thaw this Spring, hoping it's still good. Otherwise, when I especially need compactness, I use my set of thin Mido II holders (plus clamshell adapters). Nowhere near as light as the Readyload/Quickload systems (about a third lighter than ordinary holders), but only half the bulk as ordinarily, so still a good option.

[Alan Klein]

I do something similar. I'm narrowing my scope on B&W films, only shooting a few, but I always bring a holder or two with a chrome loaded (mostly Provia or E100 at this point.) I'm not very good at color, and I'm beginning to think that C41 is a lost cause for me but shooting chromes are fun, and I love viewing them on a light table, even if they go no further than that. But sometimes when I'm shooting B&W, I see a scene that I want to capture in color as well.

You can shoot color chromes and then switch them to BW when editing. Get the best of both worlds.

Provia 100: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alankl...in/dateposted/
BW from Ektachrome 100: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alankl...in/dateposted/