Can film be used in plate holders?

[Ironage]

Just a quick question.

Can film be used in old plate holders? Are there any modifications necessary?

[Louis Pacilla]

Yes. They are called film inserts which are made usually of aluminum and hold a sheet of film which is then slide into the plate holder. They were manufactured for years and can be found to fit most plate holder sizes but you will need to take the time to locate the correct inserts on eBay and then enough of them to fill as many holders as you wish to use. That could take a little time so get going and good luck.

[Jim Jones]

There are at least two ways to do this. One is to tape film to something that will support it in the plate holder. I use a sheet of aluminum the size of a glass plate but slightly thinner and painted black. The other way is to use a septum formed of thin metal, also painted black. Three edges are rolled over to form channels to hold the film. This holds the film slightly behind the plane of the ground glass. One can compensate for this by focusing slightly closer to the back after focusing on the ground glass, by shimming the ground glass, or letting the depth of field cover any focusing error. These septums were commercially available when film was replacing plates, and occasionally show up on the for sale/wanted forum here.

[IanG]

Film converters are quite easy to find I have then in Quarter plate, 9x12 & 5x4, no spares though at the moment.

I had planned to make some and bought the aluminium sheet a couple of years ago then got quite a few inserts in a bulk purchase of metal plate holders.

Ian

[Joe Smigiel]

This holds the film slightly behind the plane of the ground glass. One can compensate for this by focusing slightly closer to the back after focusing on the ground glass...

Jim,

Are you saying that one needs to correct focus if they use commercially-produced film sheaths like those made by Kodak for their plate holders, or are you just taking about homemade film sheaths?

[IanG]

On the film sheaths I have there's a0.24mm shift if the emulsion plane between a plate and a sheet of film in aa sheath, In practice no-one bothered to compensate when they were made and their images didn't suffer.

Ian

[dwross]

On the film sheaths I have there's a0.24mm shift if the emulsion plane between a plate and a sheet of film in aa sheath, In practice no-one bothered to compensate when they were made and their images didn't suffer.

Ian

+1

[Jim Jones]

The focus shift is very slight as Ian and Denise say. Perhaps people using Aero-Ektars wide open need to consider it. There are many other factors they should consider. For example, according to the 1951 ANSI standards for 4x5 film holders, there can be more shift in the position of the film than the 0.24mm in the septum emulsion plane that Ian measured. When using septums, I stopped down and didn't compensate.

[jcoldslabs]

Here is a photo of two Kodak sheaths for reference, although they came in sizes ranging from 2x3 to 8x10:



Jonathan

[Drew Bedo]

Why not just get a few Film Holders? I understand the potential cost issue, but there ate tons of them available and they work great for film.