Strange metal cassettes

[Huub]

Yesterday i was given a dozen metal cassettes by someone who told me they were 4x5 cassettes. Obviously they aren't, because they are a lot smaller then the double slides i generally use and they don't fit the back of my Toyo camera. The outer dimensions are 14.5 x 10,0 x 0,4 mm. They are one sided and when opening them they show a nice stretch of dark red velvet, followed by a 9 x 12 inlay. I put an old piece of 9x12 film in it, which fits nicely. The 9x12 inlay can be removed, but you need considerable force for it and i don't see how this can be done in the dark without damaging the film in it. When tehy are removed the cassettes shows a nice spring mechanism to hold in the inlay in place. Does anyone of you know what these are and how to use them?

 

[Ian Grant]

They are plate holders with cut film adapters. You need a pre-WWII 9x12 camera to use them with, the only problem is there was no standard so there's a few different edge types and you'd need to find what camera they fit.

If you wantto sell them let me know.

Ian

 

[Huub]

I do have a couple of Grafmatic filmholders and they are not the spetums tht belong to these. Each of the cassettes consist of three parts: a slide, a holder with the felt and the springmechanism and a 9x12 insert.

 

[GregW]

There is a very informative sticky in the plate camera section that describe these clearly. The septums allow the use of film in an otherwise glass plate holder. As you can imagine very useful for someone shooting with an old Avus or the like.
greg

 

[Sirius Glass]

They look like the Grafmatic flim holders however the holders are missing a loop. The fourth photograph is of a Grafmatic Septum. See http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/accessories.html#Grafmatic

 

[Ian Grant]

They look like the Grafmatic flim holders however the holders are missing a loop. The fourth photograph is of a Grafmatic Septum. See http://graflex.org/speed-graphic/accessories.html#Grafmatic

It's just coincidence, some film inserts to adapt plate holders for film use do look similar to Grafmatic septums because they have the same purpose although are used in a different context. These ones are just very common 9x12 dark slides (film holders).

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ian

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thank you. That is interesting and answers a whole series of questions that I had.

 

[Huub]

I had a look at the sticky treath on the plate camera forum and have to conlude that they are cassettes for a linhof type camera. Now to find such a camera...
Thanks for helping me out!

 

[Ian Grant]

I'd guess you could use a Graflex septum as as film adapter in a 5x4 plate holder.

In the US Eastman Kodak made quarter plate film adapters to fit 9x12 plate holders, I acquired two brand new with their original box from the US this week week along with a full box of a dozen )and 4 extra) quarter plate film adapters for "quarter plate" plate holders.

Commercial dapters (Kodak, Zeiss etc) usually have strengthening ribs and it's the more simple 3rd party ones that are most similar to Graflex septums.

I had a look at the sticky treath on the plate camera forum and have to conlude that they are cassettes for a linhof type camera. Now to find such a camera...
Thanks for helping me out!

You replied as I was writing. You'd need a pre-WWII 9x12 Linhof, however some other cameras took the same holders I'm not sure which, possibly Silar.

Ian

 

[Ikon]

I think these cassettes are made for reproduction work with the Durst Otoka-system. I own some cassettes that look exactly the same, with different inside formats (6x9, 9x12 and 13x18) for the Larka-system that fits on the Durst G139 enlarger. Durst had different systems for reproduction with enlargers (Ursix, Urnov, Otoka, Larka and Larka 205 - according to an old copying manual), all with different sizes of cassettes.