4x5 Filmholders and Traveling

DougGrosjean · Dec 12, 2006

Hi all,

I'm in the process of buying just the right 4x5 press camera (right being when condition, price, and availability meet), to use as a landscape camera when traveling.

Question - for people who travel with 4x5 and filmholders, how is it done?

My understanding is that you have a new pack of film. You have filmholders, and a changing bag.

I'm assuming you load the filmholders in the changing bag, expose the film as needed, then transfer the exposed film into a light-tight container until you can process it back at home? Then re-use the filmholders for the next day / shoot?

If it matters, I'll be traveling by motorcycle, hopefully to Alaska and back. Am figuring on taking a pack of color slide film and a pack of b/w print film.

Sorry for my ignorance - I started 20+ years ago with 35mm and its cassettes, then 2 years ago got involved with 120 roll-film and changing bags and daylight tanks, and now this....

Thanks!

Doug Grosjean

BradS · Dec 12, 2006

A changing bag works but can introduce a lotta dust. Also, if you're prone to excess body moisture, they can be a frustrating hassle. Better still to get a changing tent. The film changing tents I've seen all seem to cost real money though. So, I've never purchased nor used one.

Personally, I always bring a changing bag but, when I'm travelling, I prefer to load and unload film holders in the bathroom - if at all possible. In most modern hotels, it is entirely possible. Just roll up a bath towel and shove it under the door. Turn out ALL the lights in the room. If necessary, wait 'till well after dark. Beware of flourescent lights - they glow long after the switch has been turned off.

Loading and unloading the film holders in the bathroom avoids all of the issues associated with the changing bag.

reellis67 · Dec 12, 2006

I'm with Brad on this one. It gets hot in a changing bag very fast, not to mention the lack of space in general. I've never used a tent, but they look like they'd be much better if you can afford one. I usualy do what Brad suggested, wait until night and reload in the bathroom, which in most hotels have no windows. Turn out the room lights to keep the glow around the door frame down and if it still seems too light, stand in the shower with the curtain pulled and work on the floor (as long as it is dry).

I've found that having more holders is better than changing often, but if you're traveling by motorcycle, space in your saddle bags is already at a premium...

Have a blast and please let us know how it goes!

- Randy

reellis67 · Dec 12, 2006

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Empty film boxes are fine for storing exposed film, just be sure to save the black bag and mark clearly on the outside that this is the one with exposed film in it. Don't try mixing exposed and unexposed sheets or you'll end up thinking that a little film goes a long way if you know what I mean...

- Randy

athanasius80 · Dec 12, 2006

I've done exactly what you propose, except it was Ireland in January and I was backpacking. You can "just" change a 4x5 holder in a small changing bag, but I recommend doing it on a tabletop (not your lap) and making sure you have a spare film box to put the exposed film in. It will get steamy inside the bag, and you will probably have dust issues. You may want to look into the tent. Either way, good luck man!

mjs · Dec 12, 2006

I've changed film in both bags and tents and my preference is a hotel bathroom. In the great scheme of things, all three work but the bag is least convenient while a darkened bathroom is the most convenient. My biggest gripe is the exhorbitant price of a film changing tent: it's outrageous. Fortunately, a bag can be easily transformed into a tent by the simple expedient of carrying along a couple of 1/8" diameter wooden dowl rods about 4" longer than the diagonal measurement of the bag (your milage may vary depending on the size of your bag.) Fiberglass rods are better (and a use for old fishing rods,) but wooden dowels are cheap and easy to find. Stick 'em inside the film changing bag, ends in opposing corners across the diagonal, and voila! instant tent.

mjs

HerrBremerhaven · Dec 12, 2006

I would try not going with regular film holders, and switch to a Kodak Readyload and Fuji Quickload system set-up instead. You can carry much more film with less weight and bulk, plus avoid the hassle of a film changing bag.

The downsides are limited film choices and higher cost per sheet of film. This is something you might want to consider, though the convenience factor might be worth the added expense.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
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KenM · Dec 12, 2006

When I travel with my 4x5, I stuff as many loaded grafmatics as possbile into my carry-on roller. If I have to change film in a hotel room, I use the bathroom since it's usually in internal room with no windows. While I've never done it, carrying a small amount of black plastic and duct tape would help you light proof a room in a pinch, assuming you don't have to cover entire windows

Really, I try to avoid unloading/loading film on the road if at all possible. For long trips, I'll have about 8-9 grafmatics, which holds a lot of film. However, I also carry a 6x9 rollfilm back and a bunch of rollfilm.

naturephoto1 · Dec 12, 2006

I agree with Gordon. I gave up with film holders for travel years ago. I use a Kodak Readyload holder with Fuji Quikload film. You have a more limited selection of film and it is substantially more expensive. But you avoid the dust and the headache of loading film, and have a substantial weight reduction.

Rich

DougGrosjean · Dec 13, 2006

Thanks for all the good advice.

I'm probably stuck with the changing bag and filmholders, as we (m/c trip to Alaska) will be camping, and rarely (maybe never) in hotels.

I'll go back to lurk while I continue searching for a 4x5, but I think a purchase will happen soon, and then I can learn hands-on instead of just reading.

Doug Grosjean

Richard Kelham · Dec 13, 2006

mjs said:
I've changed film in both bags and tents and my preference is a hotel bathroom. In the great scheme of things, all three work but the bag is least convenient while a darkened bathroom is the most convenient. My biggest gripe is the exhorbitant price of a film changing tent: it's outrageous.

I would gripe about the exhorbitant price of hotel bathrooms!

I use a changing bag and have few if any problems with sweat or dust...maybe it's a climate thing? A bag would certainly be best for a motorcycling trip.

Richard

eddie gunks · Dec 13, 2006

Richard Kelham said:
I would gripe about the exhorbitant price of hotel bathrooms!

I use a changing bag and have few if any problems with sweat or dust...maybe it's a climate thing? A bag would certainly be best for a motorcycling trip.

Richard

i am with richard. i find that after a bit of practice you can load and unload film pretty fast, so it does not get to hot. i do not have a dust problem either. i will be taking a motocycle trip through N Vietnam in feb. i plan on bringing lots of film, my 4x5 pinhole, my crown and my changing bag. i plan to bring 10-15 holders, maybe less. i can always change them out pretty quick.
have fun.

eddie

Curt · Dec 13, 2006

I got tired of my changing bag even though it was big enough it was too hot. For my last trip, which I took 5 x 7 holders I bought a Changing Room brand of tent. It was a lot cooler and easy to set up and use. I like a clean dark room but it's not always available, the changing room is always available.

Curt

Prospero · Dec 14, 2006

Two Grafmatics and a *large* changing bag works for me. And I second the advice to mark clearly the box with the exposed film!

Vaughn · Dec 14, 2006

Static...

I traveled by bicycle for about 6 months in New Zealand with a 4x5. I had 6 holders and a changing bag -- wish I had space for more.

But one word of warning. I lost many negatives to high humidity static discharges. On the gravel roads, with lots of rain, and my film in film boxes, the vibration between the sheets of film created static discharges -- not the streaks one might expect in low humidity conditions, but exposed dots in clusters on the film. I have a beautiful image that takes me about two hours to spot the print -- worth it for the image, but what a hassle. Many negs I just had to give up on -- though I suppose someday I could scan the negs and clean them up that way (this trip was 20 years ago). I was using T-Max100. Sort of wish I had been using Ilford -- back then they a sheet of paper between every sheet of film -- probably would have helped...or ready loads.

I imagine that you will be replicating the conditions I experienced, but even more so on a motorcycle -- I am assuming you'll find some rain and gravel roads.

DougGrosjean · Dec 15, 2006

Hi Vaughn,

I hadn't thought about static. And I think you're right, it'll be pretty similar to a bicycle trip, but moreso. I'll have to try some short trips on the motorcyle with the LF stuff, make sure the whole system works together.

Thanks for the tips!

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 15, 2006

Also a Grafmatic user for 4x5" and I prefer to find a bathroom or a closet wherever I'm staying to change film. Obviously, if you're staying in a tent, you'll want a film changing tent (better than a changing bag).

If you separate film by processing batches and don't want to deal with the bulk of half a dozen boxes, what I've done is to make dividers with tabs that all go in one box. The divider on top has a tab on the top edge, so I don't get things reversed, and then I've got a series of tabs going down the right edge for +2, +1, N, -1, -2. If it's a long trip where I might be going through more than one box of film, I can divide the stack into two or more boxes, as I empty boxes of fresh film. If I'm carrying more than one type of film, I can bring more than one box with dividers. If you shoot a larger format than 4x5", the boxes become bulkier, so this becomes handier, as you move up in format.

If you're going to be traveling for a long stretch, you might take extra care to load and unload your film with gloves (cotton or unpowdered surgical gloves work), because acid and oils from your skin will do much more damage to your film the longer it sits there before processing.

richard ide · Dec 15, 2006

One thing I did on my last trip to India where dust can be a real problem is to put my film holders in zip lock bags with a small sheet of paper for notes. Far fewer dust problems than I have had in the past.

Vaughn · Dec 15, 2006

The quart size Ziploc bags are perfect size for 4x5 holders...

Also, you might put something (paper, etc) in the boxes of film to keep them from shifting/rattling around to prevent static discharges.

You might want a few empty boxes to put negs that you will give different development to.

vaughn

sanking · Dec 15, 2006

David A. Goldfarb said:
If you separate film by processing batches and don't want to deal with the bulk of half a dozen boxes, what I've done is to make dividers with tabs that all go in one box. The divider on top has a tab on the top edge, so I don't get things reversed, and then I've got a series of tabs going down the right edge for +2, +1, N, -1, -2. .

I tried this twice and both times wound up putting the film in the wrong divider, meaning it got the wrong processing. So now I just bite the bullet and carry along as many empty film boxes as SBR or N conditions I plan to develop for.

Sandy King

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 15, 2006

sanking said:
I tried this twice and both times wound up putting the film in the wrong divider, meaning it got the wrong processing. So now I just bite the bullet and carry along as many empty film boxes as SBR or N conditions I plan to develop for.

Sandy King

Well, everyone's got their own system. I've never made a mistake this way. Michael Smith just keeps his film in order and keeps a list, and that works for him (I suspect because he develops by inspection and can catch any mistakes that way), but I couldn't imagine doing it myself.

4x5 Filmholders and Traveling

DougGrosjean

BradS

reellis67

reellis67

athanasius80

mjs

HerrBremerhaven

KenM

naturephoto1

DougGrosjean

Richard Kelham

eddie gunks

Curt

Prospero

Vaughn

DougGrosjean

David A. Goldfarb

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richard ide

Vaughn

sanking

David A. Goldfarb

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4x5 Filmholders and Traveling

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