Tachihara 11x14 Cut Film Holders

Good day ULFers,

Does anyone here own Tachihara 11x14 film holders? Can you comment on quality, light-tightness, etc? I need some more 11x14 film holders for upcoming trips. They seem to be reasonably priced. Thanks & best regards, Markus Albertz

Hi Markus,
I have one I bought from Midwest Photo. The quality is of the holder is exceptional. My only complaint is that the film channel is extremely tight making it difficult to load the film. I have had to resort to wearing gloves to load film so that I don't leave fingerprints on the negatives.

I had some for a while but ultimately sold them. My problem was that loading them was always a struggle. The septum feels as though it's spring-loaded. The film will slide in freely if you keep some pressure on the septum, but with such large film I found that to do that and also get the film aligned with the flanges so it will slide in, I needed three hands. Alas, I have only two.

I ended up with some S&S and Fidelity holders, which work fine for me.

Thanks, Gentlemen. In fact, I was wondering about the pressure plate/ spring loaded septum. It sounds like there are better options.
Best regards, Markus