Canon Proprietary Film Cartridges

[Mablo]

I have a couple of metallic reloadable Canon Film cartridges that I'd like to use. They have a marking "Canon V" on top but they also seem to work in my IV-Sb (but not in my P).

EDIT: They do work in P as well. Not sure about 7 though.

My problem is that cartridges do not fit in to my "Dayroll" film loader. Even if they did I still can't see how I could close the film door safely after loading in the film. So I assume a daylight loader is not the right way to go.

I quess the only way to load film into these cartridges is to do it manually in the dark. Does someone have any experience how to do that?

[Mablo]

Ok, I found a videoclip where Tom A. shows how to do the trick with Leica IXMOO cartridges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn-G6g3Om3s

[Tom A]

Before you do it - carefully clean the cassettes and check that they open and close smoothly. It is easy to load in the dark - keep a small box (8x10 print box) in front of you for scissors etc - they do fall off the table!
Get a piece of "dummy" film - even cut of 3-4 feet from your supply and train in daylight - first with your eyes open and then with them closed - just to get the feel.
Some reloadables have complicated slots in the center spools for attaching the film - usually it is easier to use tape. Put a piece of cloth tape on the center spool with a small fold at the beginning and then just pull it up in the dark and slide the film under it and press down.

[John Shriver]

The Magazine V is for V, VI, P, 7, 7s, etc. It should work in any Canon RF with an opening door with a turn key on the bottom.

The Magazine V should not work in a bottom-loader. Look at the keying on the cam on the bottom plate, the "peg" on the magazine should be towards the end of the camera. On the Magazine V, when properly oriented, it is towards the front of the camera. So the gate won't open with a Magazine V in a bottom-loader. Of course, the film will still go through -- but badly scratched.

The correct magazines for the bottom loaders are easier to find, and have a double-peg to open them (one pushes, one takes the turning torque. They just say Canon on the end.

As for tucking the film into the spool, cut both sides at a 45 degree angle, forming a 90 degree peak that goes into the locking slot in the middle. Don't expect to get it out except by cutting the film loose, and pulling the point through.

[Mablo]

Thanks Tom! I will practice in daylight to get the feel in my fingertips just as you said. I watched all your other video clips as well and learned a lot.

I also found a page at Roger & Frances site where they explain how these cartridges work and how to load them. Very very helpful for a newbie like me.

[Mablo]

Wow! new information coming in. I love this site. Thanks John for clarifying things. I'll use these small wonders only with my Canon P then.

Thank You everyone!!!

[John Shriver]

I do highly recommend these magazines for all sorts of bulk-loaded film. Due to painful experiences in my teen years, I'm very hesitant about bulk-loaded film in reused felt-lipped cartridges. (Can you say scratched film? I knew you could!)

[Livesteamer]

All thru college I took lots of photos for yearbook and such. I was blessed to have four Nikon cassettes, similar to your Canon ones and they are a great way to go. I've been collecting ixmoo's and a few more Nikon cassettes for the day local color processing disappears and I go back to black and white darkroom work. My Watson loader worked with the Nikon cassettes, it might work for Canon as well. Good Luck. Joe

[Tom A]

I use IXMOOS all the time as well as Nikon reloadables. The IXMOO's are better made and less prone to springs tiring etc.
The Nikon ones are bit complex, but easier to load with the open-ended inside/outside "sleeve".
I am just in the middle of loading 800 ft of XX in my IXMOO's and 200 ft of Neopan Presto 400 in Nikon cassettes. I do this every two-three months. It is rather miserable and I usually space it out over 2-3 nights. Oh well, it keeps the cost down and the scratches away and the cuts from the scissors heal pretty fast anyway!
I had some Canon ones - as well as Contax ones, but after a minor disaster with a Contax cassette in a Nikon SP by mistake - it went in allright, but jammed the lock and I had to use brute force to remove the back - I decided to give them away to prevent further mix-ups.

[David R Munson]

Where does one even find these? I had not heard of them until today.

[ZeissFan]

The Nikon cassettes appear to be based on the Zeiss Ikon cassettes. One of the great things about the Zeiss Ikon cassettes is that they were essentially unchanged from the time they were introduced in the 1930s until the demise of the company in the 1970s -- roughly 40 years.

That means any cassette from within that period should fit any Zeiss Ikon camera that has a key-lock removable back: Contax I, II/III and IIa/IIIa, Contaflex TLR, Contaflex SLR, Super Nettel, Nettax, Tenax II and the Contarex. Did I miss any?

They don't use any felt, so there is no felt to break down or collect debris that scratches the film.

[Al Kaplan]

Tom, do you really have enough IXMOO cassettes to load 800 feet of film? That's amazing. That would be about 136 cassettes!

Does anybody remember "daylight refills"? I think Ilford was the last company to market them. It was a spool of 35mm film taped to a short length of 35mm wide black paper so you could reload the cassette in daylight simply by changing the spools of film.