Bulk Film Loader VS Bulk Buy

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Ash

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Hi guys, just a quick question/discussion starter.

(Links to older threads may help, as I couldnt find anything specific to my question after 10 minutes searching)

Being quite out of pocket, I thought I'd ask your opinion here;

I've grown quite fond of Ilford b&w films. I trust them, but its very costly. On the high street, anything black and white means an automatic high price tag. So much like my splurge into buying all the materials to process films at home I was wondering...


What are the pro's of buying a bulk film loader, and bulk film? Does the price work out cheaper and generally easier in the long run to buying film pre-loaded in their own cassettes?

Laziness dictates that buying the film all nice and ready to shoot is easier, but is this a myth?


Has anyone got any info on what is better, and in what situation? Are there any (UK) sites offering a bulk purchase of black and white film that works out cheaper than a bulk loader and bulk film?


I guess I really am willing to try it, so if anyone had the equipment up in the classifieds (loader, out of date bulk rolls, cassettes).

I read one classified that mentioned leaky cassettes, which has put me off.


what are your opinions?


Thanks a lot.

Ash
 
I only buy film on the high-street if I have no other option. Otherwise I stock up on film from www.7dayshop.com.

For example, 36exp 35mm HP5 is £1.75, 5x36exp Supera 400 is £4.99. P&P is £3.99, but order a few things in one go any you've more than made that back.

They're based in Jersey so there is no customs risk either.

The only downside is it takes about a week for the order to come through.

I can also recommend www.dlab7.com, good prices and I've always had good C-41 negatives from them (I just get the processing and the negs go straight in the the scanner). Their E-6 processing is also good and only £1 for a push or pull of as many stops as you want (e.g. Provia 400 pushed 3 stops).

There are other places like www.mx2.com.
 
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I use Ilford HP5 in rolls of 100'. It comes out considerably cheaper. I'd say, get a loader, get some cassettes and roll your own. Plus, it's fun.
 
Ash,

Silverprint list HP5 or FP4 at £2.20ish a roll for purchases of ten or more. 30m bulk rolls are around £30. That gets you about 18 36 shot rolls. Bulk loaders are available used from Evilbay or "proper" camera shops for around a fiver. I have two, one is a Watson which cost £5 from Ffordes. The other is a Restem which cost £3 from a stall in Broadway Market. Cassettes cost pennies. That was my ad BTW, reloadable cassettes have two problems, one can be a slight light leak at the lip of the light seal, the other is dirt in the light trap that scratches your film as you load.

Have a search around, look out for camera fairs as well. They're usually a good cheap source of bulk loaders and out of date film.

Mark
 
Pros - cheaper. Load rolls of whatever length you need (testing a lens? no need to blow 24 exposures). Environmentally friendly (a stretch). Space efficient. 100 feet of film = approx 21 or 22 rolls of 36 exposure, but is much easier to store in the freezer.
Cons. Reusing cassettes can lead to grit in the felt light trap, which means scratches running the length of your film. Re-loadable cassettes are less robust than their factory-sealed cousins. Occaisionally, you will drop or otherwise accidentally open a film cassette with exposed film in it. Oops. There goes grandma's birthday party. If you use cameras with DX coding, you have to get cassettes with preprinted DX codes, or figure out another way around the problem. If you use more than one emulsion, you have to have multiple loaders and ways to distinquish cassettes of one type from cassettes of the other. Labs are often leary of developing self-loaded cassettes - cross processing of film can screw with their chemistry.

This ought to get you started. Despite the long list of cons, I have bulk loaded b&w film for twenty years and have always found that the short list of pros outweighs the long list of cons (or potential cons). In fact, I just got 5 100-foot rolls of Fuji Neopan from B&H and I can't wait to dive in.

However, for important events, or when I am getting paid, or when someone else is paying for the film, I ALWAYS shoot with preloaded cassettes. Why? The more headaches you can eliminate from your workflow when it really matters, the better. All of this is IMHO, of course.

Ben
 
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Kully,

have you had any E-6 back from Dlab7 recently? My last two batches of slides have come back really dusty - takes ages to blow it all off before scanning. I'm prepared to persevere with them if I've just been unlucky twice in a row, because they're essentially very very good at processing and ridiculously cheap, but if this dust problem is ongoing then I may find somewhere else.

A word of warning about 7dayshop - never buy anything too expensive there! I use them for film, and with simple stuff like that they're great. But their customer service is abominable (almost a year to get money back on a duff lens) so don't get anything you could have to return!

Cheers
Jamie
 
No one needs reloadable cartridges or a loader.

Take the roll of bulk film into your changing room (or bag), and bring some used film cassettes along, with the remaining end of the film hanging out of the lip. Also, scissors and some tape. You can bring a camera along to make things a little easier.

Tape one end of the bulk roll to the bit of film hanging out of the cassette. Put the cassette into your camera and rewind until you can't pull in any more film. Release the rewind lever and just don't let the sudden decrease in tension catch you off guard. Cut the film, leaving some at the end for a film leader. Repeat.

When you want to be hardcore, why not go all the way.

Clarence
 
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Short of buying new cassettes every two refills, are there any ways around the dirt in the light trap, and light leaking?

EDIT: Clarence, your idea is soooo tempting, other than I have always ripped out the last bit of film from a cassette, rather than let it hang it 🙄
 
Ebay it? I got 100' of Delta 400 (dated Feb 2006) that way recently, and with shipping costs factored in, it comes at about $1 per 36 exposures.
 
Ash said:
Short of buying new cassettes every two refills, are there any ways around the dirt in the light trap, and light leaking?

EDIT: Clarence, your idea is soooo tempting, other than I have always ripped out the last bit of film from a cassette, rather than let it hang it 🙄
Click to expand...

Do try it out. You'll realise that it's cheaper and safer for the film. No light leaks either.

Bulk loaders catch grit in their felt lips, and so do reloadable cassettes.

With this method you can use film cassettes just once or twice. And get new old ones from 1 hour photo labs.

Clarence
 
Jamie,

I use them for C-41 every month or so and the negatives are fine, but I havn't used them for E-6 since before Christmas. But I've got two rolls of Provia sitting here waiting for me to find the processing vouchers - I'll let you know how they come back.

I've never had any problems Customer Service wise, but I completely agree with the price thing - I wouldn't buy anything that cost more than a few pounds.
 
I havent had any luck finding expired film on evilbay (any-one on here got a roll or two for sale?), but my only fear with your method Clarence is that there is still risk of dirt getting on the huge roll of film, and it seems a little more fiddly (albeit tempting).

I think I forgot to say, thanks for the help everyone, its much appreciated.

Now I'm pretty much after a bulk roll of film going cheap, and I still need a changing bag!
 
clarence said:
Just to hijack this thread for a moment: does anyone have a changing bag they don't need?

Clarence
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Sorry, Clarence. I've just had to but a new one myself as my last one was eaten by its own zips.

Low tack tape can be used for picking grit out of light traps, post-it notes for instances or just remove most of the tack from sellotape by winding it round your hand.

Oh,, and the joy of Watson loaders is that they have no felt light-traps. The con is that you lose 2-3 frames at the end of each roll.

Mark
 
markinlondon said:
Sorry, Clarence. I've just had to but a new one myself as my last one was eaten by its own zips.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. The one at school has been unravelling in the same manner. They got it from Jessops but I'll bet it's the same one that's sold everywhere.

Clarence
 
For de-gritting felt light traps on reloadable cassettes: Take some cellophane tape and press + release several times. I know there are those who insist on using cassettes just once or twice . . . I have used them many, many more times than that. Some canned air or a bulb blower can help too. Storing them in zip-loc baggies away from household dust helps. BTW, you can avoid loosing the end-frames in a Watson if you load 20 cassettes at once, in the dark. Cello-tape, scissors and a dark room with a table and chair are all you really need. Another method was alluded to above. Measure out the length of your preferred roll of film on a wall or door-jamb of a room that can be made totally dark. Forget the loader, and tape the front end of a length of film to the top of your measured distance. Unroll the film to the bottom mark. Clip w/scissors and roll by hand onto the spool of a cassette. Snap on caps and Bob's your uncle. An added advantage of this method is that it saves a trip through the cassette's light trap. With a bulk loader, each strip of film makes three trips through the felt light trap (load, shoot, rewind).

Ben
 
clarence said:
I know what you mean. The one at school has been unravelling in the same manner. They got it from Jessops but I'll bet it's the same one that's sold everywhere.

Clarence
Click to expand...

I don't have trouble with zips although I have the same issues - mine is now pretty much held toghether with black tape after too many over-excited snips with the scissors at the end of the roll ( really must get a smaller pair) 🙂.
 
Exactly. Watson bulk loaders have no felt lips. I've got two, one for Neopan, the other for TriX.

Bulk loading is easy and you save a great deal of money, I'd say 60-70 percent, maybe more, depending on what you paid for the 100 ft roll. From Freestyle TriX is $46.99, but you can get other brands much cheaper: Agfapan APX Pro 400 - $29.99. HP5 - $40.99. FP4 - $39.99. Arista.EDU ULTRA ISO 400 - $19.99 (a real bargain). Then there's ebay.

As for dust scratches on the felt lips of reloadable cassettes, the cassettes themselves are so cheap that I toss them after three uses. I keep them in a covered container. The bulk loader I also keep in a covered container. Both are kept in a closed cabinet. I have yet to encounter a scratched film strip.

Ted
 
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