wooden film holders vs. plastic film holders

[Alan Edward Klein]

Hi ... the Chamonix wooden film holders are superbly machined. In 10 years, only 1 whole plate wooden film holder failure requiring the light seals to be renewed.

Perhaps if you work in a wet climate, the wood tolerates humidity/expansion less well than plastic Fidelity/Elite types. Much like cameras - some are made of wood; others of ABS resin; some of metal. The Chamonix wooden film holders aren't perhaps the final word in quality or tolerance, however they are exceptionally worthwhile and can be renewed and restored over time.

RJ

What issues besides light seals went on the Chamonix? How did you replace the seals?

 

[RJ-]

What issues besides light seals went on the Chamonix? How did you replace the seals?

Hi Alan,

It wasn't the light seal issue: the wood partition of the wooden wholeplate film holder had warped and was no longer plane parallel. Not a manufacturing issue either, since it was working light tight for years.

Istvan Soltesz of Argentum Cameras (Hungary) repaired the Chamonix holder.

Kind regards
RJ

 

[Ambrown31]

I noticed the brand new Toyo 4x5 holders are $150 for 2 now. They used to be much more expensive but I believe that puts them on par with the new Chamonix holders.

I have many Toyo holders and really like them.

 

[GKC]

The wooden Kodak holders are a lot easier to repair!
Install missing dark slide locks? A piece of cake with threaded Ells from a hardware store
Replacing tape hinges? No problem with a little care---those wooden flaps are fragile!
You can even unscrew the metal plate holding the light trap and try replacing the velvets

I did repair a plastic once. It arrived with gaffer's tape covering a large hole in the plastic.
I filled it with PC-7 pigmented with black model paint and dressed it down with a file and 600 grit
That holder is still in the fleet.

 

[Coldstored]

One advantage with wood over plastic to me is durability when dropped. I've dropped a wooden holder several times and it has not cracked once. However a plastic one was probably a little brittle from age, but it cracked bad when hitting the ground. I don't know if this is relevant to your question, but it was an interesting observation on my end.

 

[GKC]

Q: Are they important?
A: Yes!

If the little dark slide retaining lock thingies are missing, I throw the whole holder in the trash. Junk. Destroyed by someone

If a film holder doesn't pass my muster for any reason, I put it in my cannibal box.
One day each year when the weather is inclement I can usually assemble one or two good film holders from parts.
It keeps me out of trouble(for a little while anyway)

 

[pbromaghin]

Are these locks important?
I mean, a slide won't come out by itself. If erroneously pulled, that would be when already inserted into the camera. To me it seems much more important to get unexposed vs.exposed right.

Or do mean that by accident both slides could be pulled the same time?

It won't come out by itself, but it will come out if your fingers land on it when pulling the holder out of the camera after the shot. Oh, and they can both come out at the same time. Don't ask how I know.

 

[AgX]

Thank you. Such Murphy's Law experiences are instructional.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The problem with metal holders like the otherwise excellent Hoffman ones is that they're way more prone to condensation in damp weather if used outdoors. They're also harder to handle in very cold weather, just like a metal tripod. I've never broken an ABS plastic Lisco/Fidelity holder. Wood would seem much more susceptible to cracking if dropped. But ABS can become far more brittle than normal in very cold temperatures; I learned that the hard way when an "unbreakable" equipment case easily fractured in the cold. ABS drainage pipe is way thicker and has a cellular wall, so holds up much better than a thin filmholder could. The Lisco/Fidelity darkslides themselves transitioned from ABS to a more flexible plastic in later years. I don't know about very early ones. My Mido II holders use thin circuit board materials.

 

[Warm Winter]

I have and have used both wood and plastic ones with no real issues from either so far, excepting holders that were broken to start with that I avoided using. For me, the thing that is essential is more the tactile markers on the darkslide so it can be oriented properly when loading. It's at worst annoying to find a holder side that wasn't swapped around to the 'unexposed' side marker and having to change it, but isn't a critical thing.
The only wood holders I have run into that were broken came apart at the glue joints cleanly and should be fixable with the correct glue.
Some materials like to be stored one way, some like another. Plastic dislikes UV, wood dislikes moisture and temperature swings.
How you might repair or scrap one would be different but in functionality I personally have not noticed a difference except in how they feel when I pick up one vs the other.
Should absolute worst come to happen, well, wood is biodegradable and plastic can be recycled but is slightly worse environmentally. But that isn't likely a factor to consider when buying a holder.
Teak is quite weather resistant and good, that sounds like a really good holder choice honestly. If it's the wood of choice for marine stuff because it can stand up to the water, sun, salt air, and everything else, then a camera holder will probably do rather well and not need as much worry if the weather is less than ideal.