I recently acquired an odd lot of Graflex 8x10
film holders, which included several marked 'plate holders'. They look the same, and have the same dimensions as the film versions, but do not have metal film sheaths. Does anyone know if there are any subtle differences? Can you add sheaths to these plate holders and use them as you would film holders? Chris

Yes, in general you can add film sheaths to plate holders and turn them into film holders, but it's probably not worth it for 8x10" if the camera takes standard holders, since film sheaths are hard to find, and used wooden 8x10" film holders go for around $15 a piece (figure $30-50 for used modern plastic holders in 8x10").

I have 5x7" Graflex plate holders and a 12-plate bag mag with film sheaths, but those are non-standard sized, so it makes sense to do this for that camera. I also recently picked up some 5x7"-to-4x5" plate converters with 4x5" film sheaths, so I can shoot 4x5" in my 5x7" Press Graflex SLR if I want to (which I might for color or for shots to be enlarged, since I have a 4x5" enlarger, and not a 5x7" enlarger).