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Thread: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    32

    Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Greetings to everyone.
    I am new in here i hope I am posting on the right place.

    I need a changing tent or large box-bag for loading 4x5 film.
    Any of you have experience with the Chinese options popular at ebay?
    I saw some old Harrison, too, but they are too old and may not hold much longer.
    Any suggestions or advice?
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Seal off a bathroom or closet

    I hate those bags
    Tin Can

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    32

    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    At home I have a room.
    I need it for travel, something light and easy to carry.
    But thanks for the suggestion.

  4. #4
    Niels
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    Jan 2022
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    Denmark
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    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Put a cardboard box into a large changing bag. It works for me.
    ----
    Niels

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Newbury, Vermont
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    2,293

    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Niels the box-in-the-bag idea (for use when traveling) is great! Will try this!

    Otherwise, when I'm traveling and staying in at least occasional hotel rooms, I'll seal off a bathroom door with black tape which I buy cheap (because I use lots) from our local Job Lots store. Sometimes I'll also use a rolled up towel (or my dark cloth if the towel is not enough) under the door because that area is often difficult to seal with tape alone.

    Another good use of a dark cloth is to use it to seal off a window. I'll usually bring a plastic 35mm film can of push pins which I can use to affix the dark cloth around a wooden window frame, placing these along the top and sides for two reasons...that this is more effective than running them across the faces of these frames, plus the little holes this creates won't be as visible to hotel staff! But sometimes the pins alone are not enough and I'll need to supplement with a bit of tape. Just be really careful not to peel off any wall paint!

    But the thing about hotel bathrooms aside from needing to pre-clean flat working surfaces are various sources of light which might not be noticed until its too late. Things like florescent fixtures which glow after they're shut off...small blinking lights on smoke detectors...and/or (more typically in the case of "cheap" hotels) - light coming through utility holes (like for pipes and wires) in the walls.

    So its always best, after "sealing off" an unfamiliar space...to wait for a bit - before unwrapping your precious film - to let your eyes adapt to the the dark to see if the dark is truly dark!

  6. #6

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    Dec 2005
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    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    I haven’t checked out the Chinese changing bags/tents but all of the Chinese photo products I’ve bought over the past couple of years have been much higher quality than I ever imagined… and good service too. Some shipped from China; some shipped from Kentucky.

    I use a changing bag and generally have done so for a long, long time. It takes a bit of organization but it’s not a deal breaker.

  7. #7
    Alan Klein's Avatar
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    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    I bought a new Harrison. Save up for new. Why buy someone else's headache that has light leaks that they're dumping on eBay?

  8. #8

    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Hotel/Motel bathrooms are fine because they don’t have much dust and usually don’t have much to block off….But…look at the exhaust fan really carefully in the dark. Been there, done that.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    399

    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    What's wrong with getting one of these? https://www.adorama.com/adpfcr.html
    Looks almost like the good old Calumet used to. The Calumet one was a joy to use.

  10. #10

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    May 2015
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    Re: Need box/tent to load 4x5 film

    Quote Originally Posted by nitroplait View Post
    Put a cardboard box into a large changing bag. It works for me.
    Did this on some commercial shoots, but noticed some debris in changing bag after box was removed... Will the debris end up on film???

    Evolved for me to adapt one of those wire file hanging racks from a file cabinet drawer... The pointy ends were made dull to prevent damaging bag... They collapse flat, and there is more room in the bag as the supports are slender, and the right size for a large bag... I can load 8X10 easily in mine...

    Steve K

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