Quickloads are they the way to go?

[Gary Tarbert]

Hi, For several years i resisted using quickloads ,because i was misinformed the price was for 10 sheets!!now i realise it is for 20 i would consider switching for colour use only!! because the b/w is double , the price difference for colour transperency film is
a lot closer (if you double 2x10 sheet packs)i would continue to use my film holders for mono work.Just curious are quickloads the way to go?What are the advantages/disadvantages etc. cheers Gary

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Quickloads make sense if you do a lot of work in the field, spending many days outdoors camping and photographing. They make it a lot easier to keep track of your exposure information- just write it on the Quickload. In addition, they're a lot more convenient- after a long day of photography, including hiking and schleping around all your gear, do you really want to be messing with unloading and loading film holders, only to get a few hours sleep and then drag yourself out of the tent an hour before dawn? Quickloads also save weight, if you're planning on carrying your gear any distance. They also virtually guarantee dust-free film.

However, as you pointed out, the cost is somewhat of a disadvantage- certainly for B&W where they cost more than twice as much per sheet. The new Velvia 50's are going for $4.00 a sheet in QL, which is making me seriously consider getting some 4X5 film holders!

[Aender Brepsom]

As Brian said, if you work outdoors, QLs are very convenient as you do not have to reload film holders in a changing bag. Film flatness is excellent and I have never had any dust problems until now. If, like me, you do not shoot hundreds of sheets per month, the higher costs for QLs is not a major problem, considering the advantages involved.
I carry the Fuji QL holder and 20 sheets without the card box in a Gnass Gear pouch.

[Scott Kathe]

Gary,

I'm going through the same decision process right now. I've always loaded my own Velvia 4x5s but recently I've been using Velvia 100 quickloads and Provia 100F quickloads. Cut sheet film you load yourself is about 2/3 the price of quickloads and that amounts to around 75 cents a shot more for the quickloads with the film I use. But quickloads are lighter and take up less volume, you don't have to reload your film holders and you don't have to deal with dust. I'm going to switch over to quickloads for color and still load cut sheet film holders with FP4+ for black and white. FYI, I still consider myself a beginner.

I know people write exposure information on the quickload sleeve but is there an index number on the sleeve that matches a number on the sheet of film?

Scott

[Steven Barall]

If the convenience is worth the extra money to you then do it. If you need more of a shove here it is. If you figure the cost of processing into the overall price per each sheet then the extra cost for the Quickloads is an even smaller percentage increase relative to using the loose sheets because the cost or processing stays the same.

For me, knowing that I can just grab the camera and a box of Quickloads and run out the door is well worth the extra price.

[scott_6029]

Depends. I would have both. If going local or studio or not far from the car then much less expensive to load your own. Plus more film choice. I.e. ilford. It's also a lot cheaper for color as well.

IF however you are going backpacking , camping, hiking, or far from the car and weight is a factor, as well as bulk, - forget it, hang the expense and get readyload.

You can buy used 4x5 holders inexpensively.

[Eric James]

Brian and the others have pretty well covered it, but I’ll add my two cents.

I had a Quickload holder malfunction in the field so I'm an advocate of having an extra one on hand. I don't carry the extra one in the field but I try to remember to bring it along in the car. One of these days I hope to disassemble the broken holder to gain a better understanding of how they work and what could be done in the field if one fails.

Another point - the holders come and go from the market place. When the supply becomes thin you can expect to see someone here looking for one and wondering if they have been discontinued.

[Scott Kathe]

I had a Quickload holder malfunction in the field so I'm an advocate of having an extra one on hand. I don't carry the extra one in the field but I try to remember to bring it along in the car. One of these days I hope to disassemble the broken holder to gain a better understanding of how they work and what could be done in the field if one fails.

Great-I hadn't thought of that anyone have a spare they would like to sell?

Scott

[Eric James]

You might try here Scott:

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=29225

[Frank Petronio]

Since I went to scanning instead of enlarging, dust is less of an issue and I like the ability to use ISO 400 films. I recently bought up a bunch of Grafmatics with a Harrison Pup Tent and couldn't be happier.