Topic: Do you notch your film holders

[Francois]

I have this odd question about notching film holders.
Some of you might be wondering why one would go to that trouble? Well it's pretty simple. Then you have multiple film holders, there is the possibility that one will fail and start leaking light at some point. But if you carry multiples, it can be quite a puzzle to try and figure out which one is the problematic one. So, carving notches in a part of the holder so that the notches are apparent in the image can definitely help discard the broken one.

Now, I've been looking all over the internet and have seen a few solutions. Some just drill holes straight through the flip-up gate of the holder. Others file only the interior part while others file through the whole gate.

And then there's the numbering system.
Some use a roman numeral like system involving three different files to do units 1, groups of 5 and tens (▲█●)
Some use a binary system 1,2,4,8,16,32 where the position of the notch indicates the location (100000,010000,110000,001000,101000)
Some still use a location based code ( Units       Fives       Tens )

So, which system did you settle on?

[ManuelL]

Oh my, I think my brain is way too small to understand this. Are you speaking about slide film holders (e.g. 4x5)? I have mine numbered with little coloured labels and have a little book in which I write down what film I am loading and which images I am taking.

P.S. I googled it now and understand the idea. But I think I will stay with my little book and sticky labels.

[Indofunk]

Someone please let me know when this thread returns to English.

[Ed Wenn]

Francois: that's a VERY personal question. I'll choose not to answer.

[LT]

Why is there no option for a jedi-based system like the one I use? I just use the force. It hasn't failed me yet.

[Francois]

I might be over-engineering things a bit once more 

[jharr]

I'm afraid that any thread that starts off with binary in the OP falls squarely within the flower foul territory.


jasmine by James Harr's Photos, on Flickr

[Indofunk]

Good call James

[LT]

I might be over-engineering things a bit once more 

never stop Francois. It is what makes you you, and we all love you for it!

[Bryan]

At this point I don't have a system but I do need one.  I was thinking of just numbering them on the outside, there is a spot on most of them that you can mark with a pencil.  I like Manuel's system of labels.  I started thinking about this after getting a light leak on one of my negatives but it may also have been from the holder not properly seated.  The springs on my Rex Laboratories camera are kind of weak.  I never heard about the notching method, it sounds interesting.

[Francois]

I know there was a company (maybe Lisco) who had some holders that had a movable identifier on them... from memory it imprinted a number in one of the corners.

I have a bunch of old Riteway DDS's that have a small number printed on them. That's nice but once the film is out of them, the association becomes a mystery unless you are very methodical about things.

[jojonas~]

I only have one holder so no problem. it's marked but I dunno if it's "1" or "I".

[Francois]

Mine are all random numbers... But I have several that have the same one.
I'll have to fire up the label maker to make something that makes some sense.

[astrobeck]

I don't notch mine, but I do have them numbered and keep notes...
 

[Francois]

Thanks all.... This is my first survey where people have resisted the urge to push buttons 

[Phil Bebbington]

For me to answer this question it would require me to admit I have a LF camera, get it and use it. So, I choose not to answer.

[LT]

For me to answer this question it would require me to admit I have a LF camera, get it and use it. So, I choose not to answer.