Hello everybody,
I am new to large format, shooting 4x5 for a year now. I shoot mostly alpine landscapes and the results of my negatives are very inconsistent. Until now I thought the problem was uneven development of the negatives but more recently I started to think of light leaks.
So I tested my film holders today - and I recognized light leaks with all of my seven film holders (4x5 Fidelity Elite holders).
In a dark room I put a flashlight into the bellows of my Intrepid 4x5 camera, inserted a filmholder and pulled out the dark slide. I could see light through the felt of the dark slide slot (at a certain angle), and even more when the slide was still a bit inside and bent (see pictures).
It seems not much, however, when the film holder points towards the sun when taking a photograph it obviously is enough to cause film fogging.
I bought the film holders used from two different sellers and they looked very good and not much used. Is it possible that even quite new holders cause light leaks? What do you do to prevent light leaks? Cover the film holder using a dark cloth when taking the picture?
Thanks!
Roland
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