Bulk loading film

briandaly

briandaly

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Got my canister ready, what next? :)
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Seriously though.... How do you do it? I've considered buying bulk to reduce film costs and maybe getting more exposures per film.
 
pevelg said:
Seriously though.... How do you do it? I've considered buying bulk to reduce film costs and maybe getting more exposures per film.
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It's quite easy, really. All you need is a bulk loader, reloadable cassettes, tape, scissors, and film. A changing bag or darkroom is also strongly encouraged.:rolleyes:
 
pevelg said:
Seriously though.... How do you do it? I've considered buying bulk to reduce film costs and maybe getting more exposures per film.
Click to expand...

Pevleg,

I'm in the same boat as yourself - weighing up the pros and cons. So far this is what I've gathered:

Pros:
1. Cost - although the savings might not be huge, depending on how much you shoot.

2. Flexibility - you can make up canisters containing any number of exposures you want, up to ~36.

3. Storage - more compact to store a single 30m roll than multiple canisters.

Cons:
1. If you use discarded lab canisters, you risk scratching your film if there is any grit lodged in the opening.

2. Cost of loader (and canisters, if you buy new ones)

Maybe others can chime in with some recommendations?
 
If get a bulk loader, make sure you read the instruction CAREFULLY before loading any film. I had the instructions but didn't read them carefully and loader two rolls of film with the light trap gate closed. I had a perfect gouge running the length of the film. Open the gate before winding the film into the canister.

I picked up a bag of empty canisters from the folks who process my 120 film. How do I get them open without ruining them for reuse?
 
How many exposures to a 100ft roll, taking in consideration of lost exposures due to film loading in camera.
 
venchka said:
I picked up a bag of empty canisters from the folks who process my 120 film. How do I get them open without ruining them for reuse?
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You don't. You tape the new film onto the leaders of the old film which should be sticking out of the cans.
 
briandaly said:
1. If you use discarded lab canisters, you risk scratching your film if there is any grit lodged in the opening.
Click to expand...

I've had the best luck with cassettes out of single-use cameras. They've lived most of their life sealed in light-tight little boxes and are unloaded by the photo processor, so that seems to keep them a little nicer than the rest. I've not had any problem with the toothed end of the spool in my OM or M2.

Be wary of the lightweight metal cartridges. They are usually bent when fishing the leader out, and aren't reliably light-tight. I just throw those out.
 
After searching the web, I've found that none of the color print/slide film I use is sold in bulk!!! Well, whenever I get tired of color and go to black and white, maybe I'll do bulk loading then... Or does someone know where I can get bulk film of Velvia, or Kodachrom, or Reala, or Kodak Ultracolor, or.... I've tried B&H and Adorama so far.
 
Sadly, Fujifilm stopped selling bulk rolls of all their films last year. Kodak hasn't don't bulk rolls of Kodachrome in years, either, but most of their other professional stock is available in bulk rolls. Note the "professional" moniker- that's important- they only sell bulk rolls of what they deem as their "pro" line of film stock.
 
I know it's done successfully, but I don't like taping the new film to the old stub from the cassette. When Kodak went to staking the end caps on their cassettes years ago, I quit using them. I find buying new empty cassetts in bulk is pretty cheap and if taken care of will last for many reloads. I have some really nice plastic ones with a bayonet on end cap that work really well.
Freestyle has the metal ones at 25 for $15.75, B&H has them at 100 for $104 or just over a penny apiece.
Plastic ones are 0.59 each. Seeing as they can be used a dozen or so times, that's not too bad.
I don't use the DX coded ones as none of my cameras has DX coding.
The other thing I do, which is why I like opening cassettes, is to vacuum them before reloading just to eliminate dust and film chips, etc.
 
Don't worry about scratches too much when using the recycled cassettes from the store. Just make sure you blow them out a little with canned air.

Bulk loading is awesome. I highly recommend it. I don't think I'll ever go back to buying 1 roll at a time! Well maybe for the occasional e6
 
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