Amount of Sheet Film for One Day Field Trips?

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I would lke to know on average how much sheet film, any size (not rolls) do people carry on one day field trips. How do you carry the holders and do you reload? Thanks for any input, all the best,

-- Trevor Crone (tcrone@gm.dreamcast.com), August 02, 2000

Answers

I carry all 9 of my holders if i can and i have never shot them all in one outing.for what its worth-J

-- josh (devil_music@usa.net), August 02, 2000.

I carry with me 6 8X10 film holders on a planned outting. I will expose both sheets of film in one holder on the same image. This means I will shoot 6 different images. All the locating , transporting equipment , setting up and concentration to produce one good image, will take a lot of time. Most of the time I come back with 2 unexposed film holders.

-- Dan Kowalsky (dan0judy@bellsouth.net), August 02, 2000.

i do documentary work in remote locations fairly regularly, and i generally carry enough sheet film for about 100-150 shots. since there is no way i can carry 50-75 film holders, i use the kodak readyload system - i carry one film holder and 5 boxes of readyload packets. i would be very hard-pressed to do my work without this efficient, light-weight system. the system does take a bit of getting used to, and a bit of experience to learn to handle the packets correctly - if you are not careful, you can easily not close the darkslide cover on the packet all the way and fog the edges of the negative, or if you do not seat the packet securely in the holder, you can pull the negative out along with the darkslide without noticing it and not get a shot. however, after understanding how the system operates and how to deal with these issues, i have found the readyload system to be indispensible. good luck.

-- jnorman (jnorman@teleport.com), August 02, 2000.

If I have scouted the shoot, I carry about 10 holders in a bag. If I'm away for a weekend, I load all my 50 holders and carry color and B/W to reload at night. I always carry (on long trips) the Photoflex changing bag so that I can down load anywhere. Scott

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), August 02, 2000.

Forgot to mention....I do not reload holders in the field. I carry all the equipment in either a "Lowes" ZAG large plasic toolbox with wheels and carrying handle, or, a large soft shoulder strapped luggage bag. Most of my shooting is in the Floida swamps. Hoped I helped some.

-- Dan Kowalsky (dan0judy@bellsouth.net), August 02, 2000.


For a full day, I'll carry all my 16 holders (3/4 Velvia, 1/4 Ektachrome100S) and in average will expose 10 to 12 of them (20 to 24 sheets). Never reload.

-- Jean-Marie Solichon (jardin-exotique@monte-carlo.mc), August 02, 2000.

The nature of my work is closer to jnorman's than to others who have responded. I use the Fuji Quickload system 9film packets and holders and carry up to 40 sheets (2 boxes) . I have used all of that but sometimes I don't use any. If I am on a commercial or stock assignment I'll carry more plus polaroid.

With Quickload and Readyload you don't have to bother with reloading or carrying a lot of dead weight and I don't have to spend time doing the cleaning rituals and I never have had a problem with dust or hairs on the film. The empty sleeves are returned to me by the lab and go into the recycling bin. The price I pay for this ease of use is up front: Quickloads cost about 2.5-3x of what regular film does.

-- Ellis Vener (evphoto@insync.net), August 02, 2000.


One or two 12 shot Bag-Mags, depending on the time I expect to be away from home. Incidentally, why the hell do they sell cut film in 25 sheet boxes? Every holder I know of takes an even number of sheets.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), August 02, 2000.

Trevor, I take 10 holders in a nylon stuff sack with drawstring closure (originally an "accessory" with a lightweight "stuffable" walking jacket). I also pack a large changing bag with box of film that I leave in the car, just in case! To date I rarely need to reload even if out all day. Regards Paul

-- paul owen (paulowen_2000@yahoo.com), August 02, 2000.

Trevor,

I own 11 film holders but usually take no more than 8 of them with me. I can thus shoot 16 images and I usually bring two different film types with me, one slower, one faster. I rarely shoot all 16 images though. I'm too slow, indecisive, and klutzy I think to consider bring more film than that to any shoot.

Robb

-- robb reed (reed@nhrc.navy.mil), August 02, 2000.



Trevor: I carry 12 holders and usually shoot both sides on one scene. That gives me 12 shots, which is a lot if you take the time to set up the shot properly. I also will take a 220 Calumet back and a couple of rolls of film just in case. I carry my holders in a small zipup camera and video camera case I found at Walmart for $20. It just fits the holders stacked vertically and has a pocket for filters, etc. The shoulder strap makes it easy to carry. It is a black nylon bag and works better than anything I have ever tried. I have also carried holders in the nylon lunch bags in the school section of Walmart. They close with hook and loop.

Note to Bill: The same guy determined that sheet film will have 25 sheets and wieners come in packages of 10 and buns in packages of eight. Don't you hate to have one sheet of film left in a box! Not only is it a pain in the behind to store, it probably won't match the emulusion of the next box you open.

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alanet.com), August 02, 2000.


Depending on the type of outing I've planned, I usually load all twenty of my holders with mostly Black and White and maybe two or three with Ektachrome. I typically pack about 6 holders of B&W and 1 or 2 of color in my backpack and head down the trail. I've got more than enough to keep me busy until I start to get hungry and head back for my car at which time I offload the exposed holders and take on some fresh ones. Seldom do I run out during the day. When I get back to my motel room, I wait for dark, tape visquene over the bathroom window if there is one and unload the day's work and reload. This system seems to work well for me. The only other thing I might recommend is packing each holder in a ziplock bag and putting some kind of label on each bag so you can record the exposure info on it. My holders are numbered so I reference the notes to those numbers.

-- Robert A. Zeichner (razeichner@ameritech.net), August 02, 2000.

I own 5 4x5 D/Ds, so take 10 sheets of film on a day trip. All APX100. Each D/D goes into its own ziploc plastic bag, and then all 5 go into another bigger ziploc bag in my backpack.

Some days I shoot all 10 sheets (rare). Other days I shoot none. Cest la vie!

Good luck.

-- Carey Bird (cbird@tig.com.au), August 03, 2000.


Depending on what I shoot on it varies from up to 24 images (B+W or col neg) or 12 for slides, as I take two pictures of the same image (or perhaps more if I feel it is worth submtting to a library), however, I have of late, considered buying a couple of boxes of polariod type 51, and shooting for the negative.

-- David Kirk (David_J_Kirk@hotmail.com), August 03, 2000.

I've got a similar question/dilemma coming up. doing a 50+ mile hike over a week at Evolution basin and I'm trying to decide how to split my Velvia/Tmax budget.

Along with my Tech. expedition and (ugh) Bogen 3021, I've budgeted 5 pounds for photo stuff. That's gonna be hard to do.

-- Doug Broussard (vought@best.com), August 04, 2000.



I have 40 double holders. On a trip to ghost towns or the like, I load 5 with Techpan, 5 with IR, ten with TMax 100, ten with TMax 400 and ten with Tri-X. Depending on the weather, light potential, subject matter and such I may take more Tri-X or TMax 400. If I am going to a place where the subject matter is very detail oriented such as the Bristle Cone pines in the White Mountains I use more techpan. If I am headed to an area that is rich in IR with contrasting components I will take alot more IR. I always have 20 Velvia Quickloads and 20 TMax Readyloads in the pack. I usually shoot all my film. I tend to shoot more than the average person so your requirements may vary. The farther from home I stray the more film I tend to shoot. Film is cheap, time is not. At the end of the month I'm going to NoCal and Oregon to shoot volcanoes and beaches. So I'll take extra film. I have always found a motel or other place to load up film. Motels are very accomodating when you explain what it is you are doing and that you only need to borrow a dark bathroom for a few minutes. I always send them a nice 11x14 signed when I get back. I also try and stay there if I need a place to stay on another journey throught the area always relating the story to them. It makes it easier for the next guy coming through. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), August 05, 2000.

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