Newbie to LF, Dumb Question...

Hi,
I'm new to large format and this may be a stupid question... but if I'm shooting color negatives and I need to get them developed by a lab... how do I give the negatives to them? With medium format there's the roll of paper to protect the negatives, but what do you do with 4x5 negatives? I wouldn't give them the negative holder would I? Thanks,

Brent

either hand over your film holders with the exposed but unprocessed negs them.
or in your changing bag (or in a darkroom) unload your film to an extra film bag/box (like the one you purchased the film in) and hand the box of negs over.

I never give my holders to a lab, learned the hard way not to do that, just unload the holders and put in the box the film came in and then lable the box as 'Exposed film' handle in dark only! And after they process it, I always ask for my boxes back, so I have extras when shooting on the road.

Dave

It kinda depends on your lab and how productive you are. I work with a small, local "Pro" lab and leave my film in film holders all the time. I'm not a high volume producer so, I only leave one or two at a time. I've never had any problems. However, they don't do much 4x5 business anymore -- in fact, I would not be suprised if I were the only LF customer they have at the moment -- so anyway, there is very little chance of my film holders getting mixed up / lost. About once a month, the owner makes a case for ready loads / quick loads.

When I was working in studios we always put exposed film in the plastic bags in emptied film boxes for pick-up and delivery. Rubber-band (use two) or tape the film box to prevent disasters. Even with 100+ holders, we shot enough that we needed to cycle film through them faster than the processing cycle, especially over a weekend when labs were closed. This was all E-6 and studio lighting, so the top sheet was processed and inspected for any necessary push-pull adjustment, then the rest run at the chosen adjusted development.

I wouldn't give film holders to a typical lab because of the danger of mis-handling or loss. If someone drops holders, a light leak could result and ruin your next great shot before you find out. If you don't yet have an empty film box and bag, ask the lab for one in good shape. If you do trust the lab completely, and it's small and carefully run, you might give them holders if you have plenty to keep you stocked while some sit at the lab. Mark them clearly, obviously, and permanently as yours.

Lee

Everyone has good suggestions. I shoot almost exclusively Velvia, so I use primarily QuickLoads, they are more expensive, but I don't have to load/unload film holders and shipping the exposed film to the process is easy (not to mention less hassles when going through airport security).