Apparatus for a Field Worker 87 



to find that an exposure from which one expected 

 much has been irredeemably ruined by a defec- 

 tive plate-holder. It is strange that, while such 

 immense improvements have been made in cam- 

 eras, the one part that is of almost the most 

 importance, the plate-holder, should still be inade- 

 quate to the demands made upon it. There are 

 almost no plate-holders made in this country that 

 are absolutely light-tight, for the best of them 

 will not stand the test of a half-hour's exposure 

 to the direct rays of the sun without fogging the 

 plate, and many cannot be left with safety in the 

 sunlight for more than a few seconds. They are 

 the one part of the apparatus that we should 

 never select on account of their lightness, for the 

 lighter they are the more flimsily are they made ; 

 and although the cheaper, lighter ones may an- 

 swer when used with the greatest care and exposed 

 to a strong light as little as possible, still, they 

 will not stand the wear and tear that is bound to 

 fall to their lot and will soon be in such a condi- 

 tion that they will be entirely useless. I am 

 partial to a plate-holder with a hard rubber slide, 

 for, although it is apt to become brittle in cold 

 weather and correspondingly soft in warm, it is 

 the most opaque of any and cannot be injured by 

 dampness. The ones made with a dull finish are 

 the best. 



So, in selecting your plate-holders, get those 



