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

[Dugan]

You are misinterpreting my point entirely.
Bye.

[maltfalc]

You are misinterpreting my point entirely.
Bye.

my interpretation is wrong, but you aren't going to provide any sort of correction? seems legit... NOT!

[maltfalc]

“Just fine” is a matter of opinion. Of course x-ray film can be exposed and processed. However it was not designed to be either exposed or processed in the ways most typically undertaken in the practice of general photography. Putting aside the technical issues, there is the (apparently unimportant) matter of tone reproduction - x-ray film is not panchromatic, nor does it have a long exposure scale. Presumably a newcomer the the LF hobby, with its inherent technical challenges, would be better served by a less recalcitrant, purpose-made product. x-ray film isn’t simply a cheaper option. It’s an alternative process.

Everybody do what they want, of course. I just don’t think x-ray film is a material someone ought to begin LF with.

i love how you're trying to portray x-ray film being orthochromatic as a negative for beginners, rather than a huge advantage over panchromatic films because you can load it and develop it by inspection under a safelight.

[Michael R]

I'm not trying anything. Non-panchromatically sensitized film doesn't "see" the way a beginner might expect, complicates metering and exposure index, and results in distorted tone reproduction. In addition, x-ray film is further removed from ortho camera films in its comparatively short exposure scale, not to mention other shortcomings. I guess being able to load film holders under a red safelight is nice, so if OP wants to do that, and wants an orthochromatic rendering, I suggest Ilford Ortho Plus.

This isn't worth arguing about. If you think x-ray film is good for general purpose photography that's fine. Use it. Recommend it. I think it is garbage. That's also fine. Who cares.

i love how you're trying to portray x-ray film being orthochromatic as a negative for beginners, rather than a huge advantage over panchromatic films because you can load it and develop it by inspection under a safelight.

[Havoc]

10x12 = 25x30cm. that's 600 100x125mm (4x5) sheets. €9.23 (total) per 50 4x5 sheets. it's clearly marked as film and shouldn't get x-rayed. even if it did, it's iso is ten times too low to be fogged by an x-ray scanner.

Ah is it? Sorry, when I read measurements without units I assume SI.

[Mudrunner]

If I have a specific subject in mind and it's inanimate, I might just take 1 holder ( I call that a "Deer Hunter" day...1 shot).
The number of holders goes up from there..depending on how long I will be out, how hard a hike it is, the variance in light conditions, the potential subject matter, my indecisiveness, my own uncertainty, and compensating for "what if", and FOMO.
So...typically anything more than 2, but less than 12. Never more than 12 on a day trip.
YMMV

[Lars Holte]

Hi Niels,

I'm fairly new to 4x5 photography - got me a Toyo 45C View camera in May 2021 and a Toyo 45A Field camera in July 2021. The 45A Field is a dream to work with. I find three filmholders (6 exposures) sufficient for a short trip with the camera (we rarely do long hikes here in Denmark, do we?). I like to work slowly and think things through, so six exposures are enough for one outing. If I plan a more elaborate project, I take six holders (12 exposures) with me. I have managed to acquire 15 holders though, as some of them came with one of the cameras. Like some people here, I work in multiples of six sheets, as my Jobo development tank takes six or twelve sheets. I don't make more than one exposure of a single subject, unless I know that I have messed something up - and you usually know that right away. If you plan to do tray development of your sheets in full darkness, then you might consider shooting multiples of four, as that is a practical number for tray processing.

I only take holders loaded with one film type with me, as I fear that mixing holders with two (or more) types of film will invite mistakes. I might plan differently, if I was going on a longer trip, though.

So far I have only used expired Agfa APX and Kodak T-Max film, but those sources have dried up, so now I have bought some Fomapan 100 and 200 and Retropan 320. I have used the expired film for experimentation and to familiarize myself with the camera and will use the Fomapan film to gain more experience. I have also bought some Ilford FP4+ for more serious work. I consider Foma film very useful and know from shooting Foma in my medium format camera that the results can be quite good, but also that there may be some (manufacturing) issues. If I want consistent results I think that Ilford is the way to go.

[rdenney]

Do not break the rules before learning them.

Start with conventional film and learn the ropes. The film will be the least expensive thing starting out.

When I formed my habits, I had ten hangers for my deep tanks, and therefore processed in batches of ten. Now, I work in batches of six in daylight tanks, but habits die hard.

I usually made the shot I wanted, and then flipped the holder and made a backup, perhaps changing one detail if I wasn’t sure about something. Of course, I made notes.

Then, in the darkroom I would load all the Side 1 negatives into holders and process. If all those came out, I might not process Side 2 negatives at all. That would also protect me against a catastrophic darkroom issue, and those have happened, too.

I have 20 holders, and routinely carry ten out of that habit. But rarely do I use more than three or four on an outing.

Most of what I do these days is color, and I still have a lot of color film in quickloads in the freezer. I have to send those off for processing. But a good year for me these days is ten photographs in large format.

I really miss quickloads, and when I run out of those I’ll probably go back to black and white. It’s been a long time since I worked in black and white.

Rick “darkroom challenged” Denney

[Kiwi7475]

We don’t need to get so hung up about x-ray. People have used it starting on LF as the main or even only film source. Some people even wrote books about it, such as this:

Built From Scratch: Adventures In X-ray Film Photography With A Homemade 11x14 View Camera

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0359607071...ing=UTF8&psc=1

I would personally keep Foma going, it’s economical, OP likes it, it already comes in 4x5, he can source it locally (fast), and he likes it.

With X-ray come more responsibilities. Glass-bottom trays to avoid scratches. Careful handling to avoid scratches. Trimming to size (did I say to be careful about scratches?). Exposure considerations. Tonality differences. On the plus side , it’s cheap, and perhaps the only reasonable film for ULF sizes for those that want to save their really expensive film for a few special occasions. It can totally be made to work with enough effort, dedication and interest. And you can see it come to life under a red light, unlike panchromatic film (with the right red light however… I’ve successfully fogged X-ray under a few “safe red lights”). I use it for ULF but it’s not what I started with, and would therefore not recommend it to those who are starting, unless he/she specifically wants to start that route for some reason (such as the book above).

[jp]

As others do, I develop 6 or 12 sheets at a time and that makes a difference in how much I shoot.

I bring 7 4x5 holders since that's what a plano ammo box holds. That box keeps them clean and dry, and I also anti-static bag the film holders within the plano box.