Bulk loaders and Contax reloadable cassettes

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Cascadilla

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Does anyone have experience using a Watson bulk film loader and the Zeiss reloadable film cassettes? With B&W film prices increasing and finding that I am shooting more film than I used to, I have been considering bulk film again after a 30+ year hiatus. I have a couple of the Zeiss cassettes which appeal to me given the lack of the felt light trap and the ability to skip rewinding back into the cartridge, but am wondering about compatibility with bulk loaders. I would welcome anyone's experience with this.
Thanks
 
I used to load Nikon cassettes with a Watson loader and I think the Contax cassette is similar. If you shop for a Watson loader, look for a thin gray plastic shim which fits inside around the wind shaft. This thin shim is often missing and it is needed for some of these labyrinth type cassettes. The Watson loaders can be found on e bay. Many prefer to load in a dark room without using a loader. I think that's how Tom A. did it. Joe
 
Thanks to you both for your responses--I'll be looking for a loader and a few more Zeiss cassettes when my current stock runs down.
 
If you are using cassettes with the plastic Contax spools with the slash type of film attaching and use 2 cassettes, 1 for take-up and 1 for feed, you do not need to trim the film ends. You can use a straight cut instead. Also with 2 spools you do not need to rewind the film. Instead it just feeds from one cassette to another.
 
I've recently been attempting to load these cassettes with a Watson 100 bulk loader, and having some trouble. I've read online that there should not be a problem, and the Watson instructions do not suggest there should be a difficulty.

The fundamental problem is that the centre of the part that the Watson instructions call the "Cassette Closing Activator and Bearing" (I'll call it the CCA&B to save space!) is designed for ordinary cassettes (see 1st pic), and does not engage satisfactorily with the extended end of the ZI spool - it just goes a tiny distance into the countersink on the end of the cassette spool. You can wind the film into the cassette, holding the CCA&B firmly in contact with the spool, but then you come to the problem of closing the cassette: since the engagement of the CCA&B is so shallow, the three lugs on the CCA&B are not long enough to engage with the pins on the cassette that you need to turn anti-clockwise (2nd pic).

cassette-loader.jpg

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Experimentally, before loading film, with the loader flap open, it is possible to lock the cassette by tilting the knob of the CCA&B at an angle as you turn it, but doing this blind it is near to impossible. I have never heard the satisfying 'click' as the cassette locks closed. Out of three films I loaded using this method, I was lucky with two (I managed to turn the inner cassette far enough to prevent fogging), but the third was scrap.

Eventually I made a simple attachment of spring wire that clips on to the centre of the CCA&B and extends beyond the lugs of the Watson loader so that it engages with the cassette pins. This has worked OK so far.

All my cassettes are of the later type, in a black plastic case. Is it possible earlier ones might have a slightly different end to their spools and work better with the loader?
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Just a point; there's a lot of cassettes that look like Contax ones. It might be worth double checking but how you'll do this is beyond me.


Regards, David
 
I have a couple of Watsons with the red plastic handle etc. I've used it successfully with both Leitz IXMOO and ZI Contax metal cassettes, suitable for the Contax I.

This YouTube video I found gives some tips on loading an IXMOO into a Watson (again with the red plastic controls). I hope this helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfhk7KSFZh0
 
Grytpype said:
The fundamental problem is that the centre of the part that the Watson instructions call the "Cassette Closing Activator and Bearing" (I'll call it the CCA&B to save space!) is designed for ordinary cassettes (see 1st pic), and does not engage satisfactorily with the extended end of the ZI spool - it just goes a tiny distance into the countersink on the end of the cassette spool. You can wind the film into the cassette, holding the CCA&B firmly in contact with the spool, but then you come to the problem of closing the cassette: since the engagement of the CCA&B is so shallow, the three lugs on the CCA&B are not long enough to engage with the pins on the cassette that you need to turn anti-clockwise (2nd pic).


All my cassettes are of the later type, in a black plastic case. Is it possible earlier ones might have a slightly different end to their spools and work better with the loader?
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Click to expand...

When placing the cassette into the loader open it just enough so that the opening of the two shells is fully open but that the inner shell is still held axially in place by the rib and groove. Then when closing the cassette all you need to do is rotate the inner shell around by pushing it with any lug of the CCA&B. The lug in the foreground of your picture seems long enough to do this.

My loader is the same model as yours and it works well with all 3 types of the Contax cassettes.

Could you show a picture of the top end of your cassette and the top end of your spool? Black plastic case were used for the early cassettes as well as the latest ones.

Bill
 
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Thanks for that, Bill. I've attached a picture of the top of a cassette. I can't show the top-flange of a spool because I don't have one empty at present, but they are the correct Contax-labelled spools. I have always loaded the cassettes into the Watson opened as you describe. I have also attached a picture of the spring-wire attachment I made to fit the centre of the "CCA&B" as an extension to the lugs.

Contax-cassette.jpg
Wire-for-Watson.jpg

​

There is absolutely no way the Watson CCA&B part can go far enough into the end of the Contax spool for the lugs on the Watson to engage the pins on the cassette.

Steve.
 
Grytpype said:
Thanks for that, Bill. I've attached a picture of the top of a cassette. I can't show the top-flange of a spool because I don't have one empty at present, but they are the correct Contax-labelled spools. I have always loaded the cassettes into the Watson opened as you describe. I have also attached a picture of the spring-wire attachment I made to fit the centre of the "CCA&B" as an extension to the lugs.

There is absolutely no way the Watson CCA&B part can go far enough into the end of the Contax spool for the lugs on the Watson to engage the pins on the cassette.

Steve.
Click to expand...

Steve,

Your spring wire adapter is quite ingenious. As an alternative you could cut back the end of the CCA&B shaft that is causing the problem by about 1/16" (2mm) as the cassette's spool end would still be located on its outside and you would get more engagement on the pins.

The cassette you have is the latest version and will not fit Contax I's. The spool shown in your 1st pic is for an earlier version cassette. This will have no effect on the performance of the cassette. The spool is the one you do not need to trim the film for, if you feed from cassette to cassette.

Bill
 
I agree it should be possible to modify the centre of the 'CCA&B' so that it would work reliably with the Contax cassette, and without impairing its use with standard cassettes. To do it neatly, though, you would need to remove it from the loader, and it is not obvious how you can do this without risking damage, so I think it's safer to leave things as they are and rely on the wire!

Steve.
 
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