Film Holders: Fidelity, Wooden, etc.?

[Darryl Roberts]

Hi,

I now need 5x7 holders, with 4x5 all I knew was Fidelity. Does anyone know if wooden holders are good, or any suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[BrianShaw]

In my experience... it depends. Some are okay and others have been defective, probably been wet or had shrinkage due to humidity. I gave up on wood but have great success even with older plastic holders.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

In my experience... it depends. Some are okay and others have been defective, probably been wet or had shrinkage due to humidity. I gave up on wood but have great success even with older plastic holders.

Thank you.

 

[jimjm]

I've been using both plastic and older wood holders for 5x7 and 8x10. I've been lucky with the plastic Fidelity Elites and Lisco Regals so far, and have had no problems.
Older wooden holders for film and plates, like Folmer-Graflex or Century can be more hit and miss. Before buying, check for any cracks or warping, especially in the dark slides. Any cracks in the dark slides will often result in serious light leaks.
Try to buy from an online seller/photographer who has used the holders and can attest to their condition. Most unqualified eBay sales are going to be a roll of the dice.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

How about these? 12x16.5 For 5x7?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1537935949...?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true

 

[Nokton48]

Buy plastic Lisco or Graflex Riteway 5x7 holders. Just make sure they are solid and not cracked anywhere


These are like what I use in my 5x7 Norma

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXC-2-Lisc...569016?hash=item1ce9618e38:g:7xoAAOSwH3Nd-LYK

 

[bdial]

Wooden holders are fine. As mentioned, condition matters, but that’s true for all of them. I found a plastic 5x7 holder a couple of months ago that’s in lovely condition, except for a cracked dark slide. The holder itself looks brand new.
Fortunately it was very cheap, and I’ll figure out a way to fix it.

 

[Nokton48]

Sinar marked their holders with the Norma logo. They come in 13x18cm or 5x7 versions. Either holder size will fit the 5x7 Norma

13x18cm holder https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sinar-Lisc...622828?hash=item262885ecec:g:6q8AAOSwSKJdlJHu

 

[reddesert]

Don't buy 12x16.5cm or 13x18cm holders unless you are prepared to source the film to fit them. They have the same outer dimensions as 5x7 holders but take different sizes of sheet film.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Condition is everything. Even unused Fidelity 5x7 holders have turned up recently, but quickly sold for a rather high price. A whole pile in this neighborhood turned up barely used. I just can't afford the time to mess around with yet another format, between 4x5 and 8x10, as much as I like the 5x7 proportion. For critical work, I'd be wary of dimensional variances on old wood holders; it's a material capable of warping and swelling with humidity changes. I'd want to either inspect and measure something like that in person, with a precision caliper on hand, or else be guaranteed the right of return if something were amiss. I'd also want to test any old holder for their light proofness. New wood holders with carbon fiber darkslides are obviously quite expensive, but an option.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Condition is everything. Even unused Fidelity 5x7 holders have turned up recently, but quickly sold for a rather high price. A whole pile in this neighborhood turned up barely used. I just can't afford the time to mess around with yet another format, between 4x5 and 8x10, as much as I like the 5x7 proportion. For critical work, I'd be wary of dimensional variances on old wood holders; it's a material capable of warping and swelling with humidity changes. I'd want to either inspect and measure something like that in person, with a precision caliper on hand, or else be guaranteed the right of return if something were amiss. I'd also want to test any old holder for their light proofness. New wood holders with carbon fiber darkslides are obviously quite expensive, but an option.

Thank you

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Sinar marked their holders with the Norma logo. They come in 13x18cm or 5x7 versions. Either holder size will fit the 5x7 Norma

13x18cm holder https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sinar-Lisc...622828?hash=item262885ecec:g:6q8AAOSwSKJdlJHu

Thank you , just bought them

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Sinar marked their holders with the Norma logo. They come in 13x18cm or 5x7 versions. Either holder size will fit the 5x7 Norma

13x18cm holder https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sinar-Lisc...622828?hash=item262885ecec:g:6q8AAOSwSKJdlJHu[/QUOTE

What about

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lisco-Rega...90&algv=DiscV2&_trksid=p2332490.c100172.m2966

 

[Nokton48]

13x18cm film is available through the European dealers and is a bit larger in both dimensions compared to 5x7.

This size makes lovely contact prints and scans

 

[iakustov]

13x18cm film is available through the European dealers and is a bit smaller in both dimensions compared to 5x7.

Vice versa, 13x18cm film is a bit larger than 5"x7".

I use fat Linhof 13x18 holders more often than "regular" 13x18cm holders from Fidelity/Lisco (even the modern ones) as those feel more reliable to me.

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Vice versa, 13x18cm film is a bit larger than 5"x7".

I use fat Linhof 13x18 holders more often than "regular" 13x18cm holders from Fidelity/Lisco (even the modern ones) as those feel more reliable to me.

Thank you very much

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Thank you , just bought them

The seller refunded my money because he's unable to ship due to Covid 19.

 

[Nokton48]

I've been cleaning an organizing my studio space.

My 5x7 Norma with Shutter and 360mm Norma Symmar Auto Iris model, is in the foreground.

Studio Renovation 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Clean 5x7 Lisco Regals are around and that is what I primarily use with 5x7 Norma

 

[Nokton48]

These look OK and price is good

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXC-2-Lisc...569016?hash=item1ce9618e38:g:7xoAAOSwH3Nd-LYK

 

[Darryl Roberts]

I've been cleaning an organizing my studio space.

My 5x7 Norma with Shutter and 360mm Norma Symmar Auto Iris model, is in the foreground.

Studio Renovation 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Clean 5x7 Lisco Regals are around and that is what I primarily use with 5x7 Norma

 

[Darryl Roberts]

Very nice

 

[Darryl Roberts]

These look OK and price is good

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXC-2-Lisc...569016?hash=item1ce9618e38:g:7xoAAOSwH3Nd-LYK

I got two Lisco Regal Elites online yesterday. I really prefer them and Catlabs has some for $99.00 each. I'll slowly build up to 10 holders. Thank you much. What I really am looking for is a bag bellows.

 

[iakustov]

sorry, cannot resist - here is mine Linhof Bi with 5x7 and 8x10 backs.


Personally I'd rather search for decent holders - either 5"x7" or 13x18cm but most certainly search for modern plastic ones - and then buy film, but I shoot Ilford, which is readily available in both sizes. 5"x7" film should fit into 13x18 holder, but not perfectly (will dangle).
BTW, Linhof 13x18 holders have a pressing mechanism so should be ok to use 5"x7" film. But those may be too large for a field camera - e.g. they are too fat and do not go into my Rittreck View standard 5x7 back. But one could ensure if film is in via special checker and expose a number into the negative - there is a small window at the bottom where you can put a number. So they have nice little features!

 

[Darryl Roberts]

sorry, cannot resist - here is mine Linhof Bi with 5x7 and 8x10 backs.
View attachment 245585 View attachment 245586

Personally I'd rather search for decent holders - either 5"x7" or 13x18cm but most certainly search for modern plastic ones - and then buy film, but I shoot Ilford, which is readily available in both sizes. 5"x7" film should fit into 13x18 holder, but not perfectly (will dangle).
BTW, Linhof 13x18 holders have a pressing mechanism so should be ok to use 5"x7" film. But those may be too large for a field camera - e.g. they are too fat and do not go into my Rittreck View standard 5x7 back. But one could ensure if film is in via special checker and expose a number into the negative - there is a small window at the bottom where you can put a number. So they have nice little features!

Excellent. Thank you for sharing.