2012-12-19 // 11:27:48
BastianK
I know that there is someone who can help :-)
I was reading the messages. I think that the 545i also got the two springs for holding the metal-thing.
The 545pro isn't so easy to find so i think the other one a good choice too.
I used an old metal holder a few days ago. I was happy because it was so smooth to use... Sometimes... I also wasted two sheets of good film.
Now i use the 545i again and all is good.

2012-12-18 // 16:32:50
g.
but from me you got the 405 for 3x4 packfilm, girl.

however, if you have problems with those as well by time, indeed a tiny bit of plastic (like in the picture on the left on the bottom right corner) can get stuck in the rollers, and thus, spreading them a bit resulting in loose ends of of pos and neg after pulling out.

if you have the 500 (like this »link ), really better get a new one. they are workable, but not really designed for the sheets we can use today (they have been different in former times).
the 545i is more smooth (and also lighter) than the 545, the 545pro the best for its two springs. the digital timer of it is neglectable though. weak, and it takes more time to read the manual again and again than simply using a watch.

it is a bit wierd with the backs at time, for one for the film being expired, for the other the backs having aged as well. i got some of them, and with the one film the one works fine, and with another, another. can't tell if it's really the backs, but it's handy to have more than one.

^ Ah, my mistake. Then it must have been an eBay purchase. The packfilm back is working fine, as you can see. I guess it's time for another investment before I make any more attempts. Thanks for all the good advice.

2012-12-18 // 14:58:25
g.
sounds like holder to me. with dried out film, you normally would have the opposite problem: the leaking pod sticks the pos and neg sheet together and makes either pulling for exposure nearly impossible, or the ridge of the metal part would jump over the spring, and thus keeping the neg inside the sheet, but not in the holder for exposing.
could be the "p" unlocking is not working correctly? if one forgets to set it to P and pulls, one would have a similar result. I once had a ridge resting in the holder, which is nearly not visible, I don't remember anymore the exact wierdness in results, but it drove me crazy until i focussed it down. Inserting it the wrong way was also.. funny. and messy.
if you have the old 500 holder, this behaviour (not locking) would be normal, which one do you have? the best for expired film would be the 545pro, as it has two springs to catch and hold the ridge.
So if the pods were not dry, I'd say holder. I'd look at it in daylight with an old sheet, maybe you can figure out what's wrong. one can also open and fix them, see here »link and here »link
good luck

^ Thanks for the help! It's the old type of holder - the one you gave me, actually. And the pods did not seem to be dry (I ended up smeared with emulsion). I'll try and open the holder up. Maybe a black bit really is still wedged in somewhere. Or maybe it is just time for a new holder. Don't want to loose any more precious film. It was heartbreaking.

2012-12-18 // 11:51:07
g.
oh, that one. it's metal. but what do you mean exactly with they were all loose and came off? I am not sure, but it sounds more like a filmholder problem than one of the film. maybe.

^ I wondered if it could be the holder, too, but I'm not sure. When I pulled the film tab out just before exposure, it would just keep on coming right out of the holder and I would end up holding a separate grey sheet. So with other films, I tried being extremely careful and gentle. Instead of waiting to feel the tab stop on its own, I'd guess where it should stop and leave it there. But then when I tried to pull the whole film out to develop it, the black thing would always come off in the holder and all the different other parts would just be loose and exposed to the air. What do you think?

2012-12-17 // 22:39:23
g.
plastic?
there is none..?

^ You know - the black bit at the bottom that holds everything together and stops you pulling the tab right out of the holder until you switch to "P".

2012-12-17 // 17:45:07
BastianK
Oh yes, it really is...
I tried some sheets in the last time and there where a lot dried out of them. Just one half or something like that...
Now i am afraid to waste more.
I tried to self-develope them and it works nice :-)
I've never heard that the plastic thing is getting lost...

2012-12-17 // 17:37:42
BastianK
This sounds really bad...
What type of film you tried to shoot?

^ T55. Heartbreaking, huh?

2012-12-17 // 17:20:26
BastianK
It's a sad story...
But a beautiful picture in the end.
What happened to your other films?

^ They all fell apart when I tried to get them out of the holder after taking the shot. The plastic ridges at the bottom were all loose and just came off when I pulled the picture out. It was awful. I'd carried so much with me to Venice and dragged it all through the streets, and then I ended up destroying one picture after another.