Hundred Foot Rolls - Got ma film on!

[Benjamin Marks]

Just arrived from B&H:

5 x 100 feet of Ilford Delta 400
4 x 100 feet of Tri-X
3 x 100 feet of FomaPan

(!!!)

I love the smell of fresh film in the morning; also the possibilities so much tasty film!

Just let me at them photons.

Ben Marks

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Marks

Just let me at them photons.

Hopefully not all at once.

[trittium]

That sounds like a nice little stock pile for the film apocalypse.

[Benjamin Marks]

Originally Posted by bmattock

Hopefully not all at once.

Nah - we're selective about the photons we'll expose film to in my house.

[sleepyhead]

Hi Ben, I thought that 100 foot rolls of Tri-X were discontinued - is it old news that they're not?

[SolaresLarrave]

Ben, how do you load film (type or brand of loader) and into what kind of cassette? I'm just curious and interested in doing this too...

TIA!

[naren]

What kind of tape do you use in your film cartridges? I just had a roll escape from the spool... not sure yet how many frames I lost. I used gaffer's tape and I know I should have been a bit more in tune with the counter and the feel, but maybe I should use a stronger tape. But gaffer's is pretty damn strong!

[naren]

SolaresLarrave,

You have to buy a bulk loader and some cartridges, mine are Adorama and Kalt respectively. As someone said the 100ft rolls may be discontinued... I bought 2 50ft rolls from B&H because they make you buy at least 2 (better than using the 100ft anyway and no more expensive).

You've got to get the bulk film into the loader in the dark of course and it requires some feel, like loading anything in the dark. So it pays to practice a bit with some spent film first. You also will inevitably waste some film along the way when loading- doesn't take too long to get it down, but you should consider that it is not waaaay cheaper. It is less convenient and you've gotta factor in the investment in purchases as well. It may be worthwhile for you if you shoot tons of film and aren't too bothered getting to the point where it saves money. Cheers.

[PhotoJim]

I use masking tape. The only downside to it is that it leaves a residue on the spool, but I really don't care. It sticks very well and it's cheap, and I don't need scissors to cut it.

[SolaresLarrave]

naren, I'm aware of the need of a bulk loader. I simply want to know which one he uses (there are several out there), and if he uses recycled or new (plastic or metal?) film cartridges.

I've been thinking about doing this myself... and the only thing that deters me is time. Not always do I have enough to develop my stuff, and I don't want to think of the room a 50' or 100' film roll takes up in a refrigerator. Or anywhere, to that matter. I'd like to buy slide film and B&W film in bulk, but the process and its risks (accidentally exposed film, dirt or scratches on the emulsion) simply scares me because I'm a bit of a klutz.

One of these days I'll make the leap, just as I did some time ago when I started souping my own film.

[EmilGil]

Originally Posted by SolaresLarrave

[...] I don't want to think of the room a 50' or 100' film roll takes up in a refrigerator. Or anywhere, to that matter. [...]

Yeah, those bulk rolls are a bit of a pain, a 100ft roll is at least 5" wide and 2" high... Can't fit many of them in the fridge at the same time

Seriously, 18 rolls of pre-loaded film with or without cardboard boxes will take up more than twice the space needed for a bulk roll. That said, a bulk roller takes a bit more space if you don't load all of the flim at once but not close to the space needed by 18 pre-loaded rolls.

[raid]

I have been using bulk color film since over 20 years now. You get consistency in film exposure and color this way. It can also save lots of money. A possible downside: Film developers screw up bulk loaded film if you do not develop your own film.

[navilluspm]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Hi Ben, I thought that 100 foot rolls of Tri-X were discontinued - is it old news that they're not?

100 foot rolls of Tri-X are NOT discontinued. It was a rumor started by a film supplier who had no clue what she was talking about.

[Peter S]

Solares,

I use several filmloaders, but all identical to the AP Bobinquick
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AP-Bobinquic.../dp/B000RO4FZ0

I have seen them from Kaiser/Jessops etc etc. I also had an old Alden and even a Watson filmloader, but these are the best. handy/compact all the right counters etc etc. Use metal canisters, you just pop off the caps. After 4-5 time use I do not trust them anymore and throw them away. Also had plastic canisters with screw tops; they were a nightmare. Very flimsy and dust magnets. The one lab close to home in Amsterdam refused to give me used cartridges, because of privacy reasons.

Once you get the hang of it, it is very easy this bulkloading.

Good luck

[ibcrewin]

I got 2.5 rolls of tmax last week and I just started using the bulk loader. They were free and I've been shooting like a mad man! It's actually pretty liberating!

[SolaresLarrave]

Whoa... thanks! I may start doing this some time. Right now, it's simply impossible (work, work, work).

[Trius]

Originally Posted by navilluspm

100 foot rolls of Tri-X are NOT discontinued. It was a rumor started by a film supplier who had no clue what she was talking about.

Actually, the rumour was started by a retailer in Toronto, the question was posed here, I called EK and a customer service rep "confirmed" it as she looked for the SKU and couldn't find it, and erroneously concluded it was discontinued. She made a simple mistake, and I made the mistake of posting her "confirmation" here. I then went back to EK through another channel and was told it was not discontinued. I then posted the correction here.

Lots of places have bulk rolls, including Freestyle, though sometimes it goes out of stock.

[Benjamin Marks]

In answer to the various questions:

I have two Watsons and an Alden (I think) -- the Alden is made of bakelite and is beefier than the plastic Watson, although they have the same basic design. For cassettes, when I owned an M7 I bought a box of 100 the pre-DX coded (400) cassettes from Freestyle. I still use 'em along with miscellaneous cassettes picked up over the years.

I use 3/4 inch masking tape to load generally, but in a pinch have used cellophane (Scotch) tape.

I think Sitemistic's advice is sound regarding re-use of the cassettes. The felt light traps get schmutz in them (dust, grit) and can scratch film (which after all passes through the trap three times (loading, shooting, rewinding) per use). With careful cleaning (blower, followed by scotch tape) you can get more use out of them than five . . . but why risk it? Snap-cap cassettes are less robust than factory loaded and I have had them open when dropped the wrong way. I store loaded cassettes in the plastic containers from rolls of factory loaded film, so that if they are dropped, the plastic cannister takes the impact. When it matters (paying jobs, once-in-a-lifetime trips etc.) I tend to go with factory loaded film. But for casual use I must have used thousands of feet of bulk film since I started taking pictures twenty-five years ago -- mostly without incident.

As mentioned above, 100 foot rolls of Tri-X are easy to find, they just aren't exactly cheap any more. They can be frozen for a long, long time without degradation. I wouldn't bother freezing or refrigerating film though unless I was not going to use it before the expiration date or unless I lived in a hot, humid environment.

Loading the bulk loader with a fresh 100-foot roll must be done in the dark, obviously. If you load cassettes from start to finish in the light, the last two and half inches of film in the cassette (where you attached it with tape) will be fogged. If you can get good at the whole procedure in the dark, you'll be able to preserve these frames. Otherwise, my advice would be to "over load" by a couple of frames, trust your film counter, and stop at the 36th exposure.

One advantage that hasn't been touted above: you get to decide how many images will be on a roll of film. No more half-rolls of lens tests, followed by poorly composed snapshots of the cat. Or fewer, anyway. And if you load between 18-20 rolls of 36 exposure film , you're still looking at around US$2.50 per roll plus the cost of a re-usable cassette, which is not so bad after all.

For reasons that I won't get into, I recently started developing some film which is about a year and a half old -- and during the intervening time, I've really mostly shot digital. When the film was dry, spotted and scanned, I made some inkjet prints, and I've got to say that I love the look that a 400 speed film gives you right out of the camera. Just amazing.

Ben

[TheHub]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Hi Ben, I thought that 100 foot rolls of Tri-X were discontinued - is it old news that they're not?

I just bought a roll a few weeks ago. I read somewhere that Tri-X being discontinued was debunked as just a rumor.