Film holder repair

[Harley Goldman]

I have numerous Fidelity 4x5 film holders. The little locks that lock in the dark slide twist quite easily, largely negating their function. They rarely stay in place. Any suggestions on how to fix them so they don't twist as easily? Other than that, the holders are in excellent condition.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Donald Hutton]

Harley

I actually remove those from all my holders - when I load filmholders, I place a piece of masking tape over the darkslides and write notes on it - film type etc, and exposure details after it's exposed.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I think everyone has this same issue with film holders, and I don't know of a good way to fix it. One thing I do is place each holder into a one-quart zip lock bag. The bag keeps the holder clean of course and as the top of the holder JUST fits inside, the dark slides can't accidently slide out or get caught on anything.

[Richard Schlesinger]

My problem is that those rotten little hooks are nearly impossible to turn. I get them either locked or unlocked and then can't move them without a pair of pliars.

[mark blackman]

use an elastic band. Length-wise it will keep the slides in place and tell you holder is loaded, horizontally it tells you the holder is empty. If you want to get fancy, use different coloured bands for different film types.

[Brian Ellis]

I never bother with those things, some of mine are too loose, some are too tight, some are just right but not many. I only recall the dark slide inadvertantly moving up once in the ten or so years I've been using large format cameras.

[chris_4622]

I haven't taken any out to see what the threads are, if any. If there are threads you could use a razor knife to cut a toothpick, wedge a piece in and then put the metal piece back in, it should be tighter.

[John Kasaian]

Harley:
Are they wood or plastic fidelity holders? If they are wood, just unscrew them and either replac them with larger dia. "L" hooks(you'll have to trim the shrt leg of the "L" and file off the sharp edge) or shim the holes with whittled down wood match sticks or toothpicks and Elmer's to give the theads something to grip firmly into. OTOH if they're plastic I don't know what you'd do.

Cheers!

[ronald moravec]

I just need to know how to work those with gloves in the winter.

[dan nguyen]

If you can take the hooks out, use a plier to bend a bit in the middle. The hook won't be straight and it will give extra grip when you put back in. You may need to try a couple time to fit your taste.