non instant pack film

BetterSense

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I seem to recall heading about pack film that was not instant. I guess this would be something like FP100 only you would take apart the pack in the dark and get your film. Was there ever such a thing?
 

AgX

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There was no pack-film to be "taken apart in the dark". But packs of conventional sheet films lined together so that one sheet after the other could by pulling be brought into position to be exposed and then be pulled further to be stored in the back of the special cassette.
In this they were similar to those film-packs of peel-apart instant films, with the exception that they were not instant and to be stored for later processing
 

Prof_Pixel

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You could shoot a couple of sheets in a film pack and then go into your darkroom, slide the end cap off the metal film pack, remove the exposed sheets, put the end cap back on, and put the film pack back into the film pack holder for use.

I used 2 1/4 x3 1/4 film packs many times (before I bought a Grafamatic holder). There were 3 different sizes of images from my 23 Speed Graphic: cut sheet being the smallest, 120 roll film which was larger and film pack sheets being the largest. I have 2 negative holders for my Omega enlarger: 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 cut film and 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 roll film. I had to cut the edge of the film pack negs slightly to use the roll film holder.
 

bdial

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They use a "film pack holder" which is basically a shallow box with a dark slide and an opening on the side for the paper tabs.
Inside the film pack you have roll-film weight sheets of film that are attached to paper carriers, with a paper tab for each sheet that protrudes from the side of the pack. When you make an exposure you pull the tab which brings the exposed sheet around the side of the others and leaves it in the back of the film pack. You tear off each tab after that shot is exposed and shifted to the back.
The film pack is thin metal with a removable cap on one end that you open to get access to the exposed sheets.

I miss them, but working with them did present some challenges. They are slightly bigger than normal sheet film, so they don't fit in standard processing hangers, and some enlarger carriers need mods to work with them.
 

Dr Croubie

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BetterSense said:
I guess this answers my question. I am having a hard time visualizing how they work, how you change sheets. Do you need a special back/holder?
Click to expand...

Yep, like these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Vintage-...ter-Back-Holder-for-4x5-Cameras-/171196572263
I'm sure there's more info on them on graflex.org. Basically, it sort of worked like FP100, you pull the darkslide, take the shot, then pull the paper tab. That pulls the film around to the back of the holder (hence the film was a bit thinner than normal), you could open the back in a dark bag/room and pull out the shots you'd taken leaving the rest intact.

I've got one of these backs and a holder, but haven't used it as yet (I'll stick it on my travelwide for some street-shooting).

I've also got some smaller pack-film that doesn't fit the holder I've got (I think it's 6x9 but I don't know the exact size because it's in the fridge at home). Does anyone know if there's a graflok/4x5 back that takes these smaller sheets?
 

mopar_guy

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Kodak and other companies made these in several formats. There were 520 filmpacks for 2-1/4x3-1/4, 523 filmpacks for 4x5, and 518 filmpacks for 3-1/4x4-1/4 and a few other sizes.
 

mopar_guy

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The Filmpack was a metal cartridge that contained either 12 or 16 pieces of rollfilm with a backing paper for each sheet. The metal cartridge was placed in the filmpack adapter that had a darkslide. The first sheet in the pack was covered by a sheet of paper with a tab marked "Safety Cover". After you put the cartridge in the holder or adapter you would pull the safety paper out and the first sheet was ready to use. After each exposure you would pull the numerical tab and the backing paper would come out and move the exposed sheet around to the back of the pack and leave the next sheet ready for exposure. Then you could tear the paper off. This was a very compact way of carrying 16 shots in a format that was roughly the same size as a double sided film holder.
 

markaudacity

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It did...in the 40s. Press photogs used film packs constantly when 4x5 was the dominant pro format. Finer grain and better small cameras eliminated most of the need for quick-shooting LF gear by the late 60s.
 

Dr Croubie

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I've just had a look in the fridge, I've got:
- One 16-sheet pack of TXP 523 4x5", which fits in my Graflex Graphic Model 2 graflok holder. These holders are generally given away on the 'bay. This is what I want to use to street with my travelwide and 135/3.5 Xenar.

- Five 16-sheet packs of TXP 518 3.25x4.25", this is the one that I want a holder for. Does anyone know if there's a graflok or other 4x5 back for this size? (or even better, have one for sale?)

- I also found a pack of TXP and a pack of Panatomic X, both 3.25x4.25", both 12 sheets, the TXP says 'Dev Before July 1941', the Pan-X has no date but it's the same style of pack. I gotta stop using ebay drunk.
 

bdial

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I don't know if there was such an adaptor back, I doubt it, as there wouldn't be much reason for it "back in the day".
It shouldn't be too hard to adapt a 4x5 pack holder to take the 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 pack using some spacers of some sort though.
 

mopar_guy

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The drawbacks were:

1) It was expensive because of the extra labor involved to assemble the Filmpacks (I had heard that Kodak discontinued these in the early 1990s when the last of the blind girls retired).

2) The film was on rollfilm stock, not sheet film stock and it was a little more difficult to handle.
 

Jim Noel

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The 3.25x4.25 packs were made for cameras of that size which were common before and during WWII. During the war there was an excise tax on amateur film, thus these were taxed while the 4x5 were not because they were considered "Professional".
The film inthe 4x5 was larger than 4x5 sheet film and required a different negative carrier in the enlarger.
I am down to my final six 4x5 packs of Tri-X which i reserve for those times when I need to carry equipment a longer distance.
 
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