Dry Plate Holder Kickstarter Campaign

A

Alan9940

Very Active Poster
Registered User
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Messages
854
Just wanted to make sure my friends on the other side of the pond were aware of this Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...v_search&result=project&term=dry plate holder

This is a brand new dry plate holder developed by Jason Lane (Pictoriographica) and Steve Lloyd (Chroma Camera.) I've never shot dry plate and I can't imagine working with LF at ISO 2, but I think it will be great fun; ergo, my pledge is in.

Ian - If this type of post isn't allowed here, please remove it. Thank you.
 
One has to weigh the costs against available second hand dry plate holders, which can be quite cheap. I can buy a number of 5x4 modern DDS plate holders for $54.

Ian
 
Blimey, I must be looking in the wrong places. I can get sheet film holders reasonably cheaply but not plate holders

Nick
 
I saw this too, but Alan has been quicker off the mark.
Intrepid are selling a pair of new Toyo 5x4 holders for £99 ($119.42 today). These new holders are slightly less at $54 each. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me. The second-hand market is a different matter and Ian seems to know much more than most of us.
I liked the ejector button.
I also liked the cunning pricing policy: 54 for 5x4, 57 for 5x7, 108 for 10x8. Happily, this puts the dimensions the Right Way Round.
 
Nick Rowland said:
Blimey, I must be looking in the wrong places. I can get sheet film holders reasonably cheaply but not plate holders

Nick
Click to expand...

I used to see boxes of plate holders at camera fairs, the sellers still have them they just don't take them any more as almost no-one was buying them. It's the same with the wooden tripod legs, you need to know who to ask.

The last time I bought modern 5x4 plate holders they were about £2 each many with film inserts as well, the same plate holders sell with no inserts for £15+ on ebay and similar prices for the film inserts.

Ian
 
I'm sure there are less expensive plate holders out there to be had, but I backed this campaign because: 1) Unlike Ian G, I wouldn't know what to look for in the used (very used?) plate holder market, 2) I like the idea that this holder was developed by the guy who brought back a production dry plate and by the guy behind Chroma cameras, and 3) I just like supporting new things in the LF segment, especially if I think it will be something fun to play around with!
 
There are actually other manufacturers of new plate (wet or dry) and film holders, and yes they are more expensive but better made.

I have a box of Agfa APX100 7x5 glass plates (and can get more), so it's a fallacy to say re-introduced, Ilford still make plates but to special order.

I just don't think the quality of many of these Kickstarter projects warrant any support when there's far higher quality second hand equipment available for far less.

We are seeing cameras of unfinished design, developing tanks, and spirals with issues, lenses that never materialise, and I can speak first hand of buying better second hand for a tiny fraction of the costs of these poor products which won't ;ast long.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
We are seeing cameras of unfinished design, developing tanks, and spirals with issues, lenses that never materialise, and I can speak first hand of buying better second hand for a tiny fraction of the costs of these poor products which won't ;ast long.
Click to expand...

Truthful words for sure! Let's hope this campaign doesn't go like the TravelWide (didn't support that one) or the 5x4 Instant B&W Film (did support that and never got the actual reward product.) Honestly, if I was knowledgeable enough to shop around for a used plate holder, I probably would have gone that route. Like David mentioned above (I think it was David) I do like the little push thingy to easily remove the plate.
 
Alan, I restore cameras some quite badly damaged and that gives a unique insight into why they've often failed.

One I've just restored for myself and despite having a name "The Standard" has no makers name, and design flaws indicate it's not from a major manufacturer. The major flaw is the geared rear standard has two brass fittings that move in wooden slots. As this standard has to be moved and aligned every time the camera is closed there's been excessive wear and the back can jump out of alignment on the rack and pinion, Usually the rear standards move in a brass slotted bar

Another camera I'm in the middle of restoring has issues because screw holes are so close to edgs they don't hold, the front standard has no wood joints the upright just but against the bar at the bottom and then two brass plates either side hold it all together. as a consequence the front standard had snapped at some point.

1713
I grafted in new mahogany. On the upright on the right the bottom screw on the side is actually exposed. Por design caused the break, it's back together and solid now. This is made by a reputable Manchester manufacturer but may be an early cameras made in their own workshops, their earlier cameras had been made for them by Bill Cliffe (a company). You don't see issues like this on the Thornton (& Pickard) cameras made by Bill Cliffe.

In this case the uprights are surprisingly thin and both were cracked. There was damage to the corner of the focus bed which had been poorly repaired as had the front standard which indicate at some point the camera had been dropped.

Maybe I'm cynical but when I see rubber bands being used to hod backs and film/plate holders in place I think Heath Robinson.

Ian
 
Ian Grant said:
Maybe I'm cynical but when I see rubber bands being used to hod backs and film/plate holders in place I think Heath Robinson.
Click to expand...

:D I think Morley Baer. His 10x8 was so used he needed rubber bands to hold it together... But, the man made some fantastic images IMO!
 
At least he used it in order to need the extra help from the rubber bands - when a product brand new needs 'em, I'm not convinced of its intrinsic quality....
 
Ian Grant said:
I used to see boxes of plate holders at camera fairs, the sellers still have them they just don't take them any more as almost no-one was buying them.
Ian
Click to expand...
I sold quite a large box of plate holders and bits of wooden camera at a fair for £50 and was happy to have unloaded it all. Useful to the right person but not to me. This was the remnants of an auction purchase from which I got what I wanted. Local auctions can be a good source of plate holders but they know to sell them mixed in with other stuff so the outlay and messing about disposing of the unwanted items, as well as the up front cost, can be off-putting. There are plenty of used plate holders around but they can take a bit of finding at times.
 
I'll keep my eyes open, I'm on the auction alert system but for some reason I haven't seen any. One day, my luck must change
 
I put my faith in elastic when I shop at Marks & Spencer. Seems to be reliable.
 
JimW said:
At least he used it in order to need the extra help from the rubber bands - when a product brand new needs 'em, I'm not convinced of its intrinsic quality....
Click to expand...

:D Definitely!
 


More information on the use of elastic bands in photography at about 2:14. There's a section on Lightroom at the end.
S. O'Nions, Esq. is a multi-format photographer and his gentle accounts of using LF cameras in the British landscape may be of interest. He comes from a darkroom background.
 
David, I've been subscribed to Steve's YouTube channel for quite awhile now...love his straightforward manner and presentation.
 
Alan9940 said:
David, I've been subscribed to Steve's YouTube channel for quite awhile now...love his straightforward manner and presentation.
Click to expand...

Thanks Alan. Whilst my YouTube channel only has a single video (which I created for the UK Photography Show which unfortunately didn't go ahead), I do intend to make more videos in the future, when I have some available time outside the workshop!

With regards to our ChromaGraphica holders, these are now available via several retail outlets worldwide, including Freestyle Photographic in the US, and Analogue Wonderland in the UK soon. Whilst I'm sure we all have experiences of crowdfunded campaigns, writing off all products funded in the same way, before they've even been used, is a little short sighted. Also, comparing the availability of a handful of legacy plate holders from camera fairs for personal use, to the introduction of a brand new retail product available off the shelf isn't really a fair comparison, but I understand that many people still do that.

We're about to launch our new ChromaGraphica wet plate holders too, available in 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10 sizes via Freestyle initially, followed by several more retailers in other countries.

Apologies for not replying to this thread sooner, I don't have a lot of free time to browse forums any longer and have only just come across this one.

Cheers
Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top