Do you bulk load your own film?

[JohnTF]

If you take care to choose your cartridges carefully and keep your hands off the button opposite the crank, it is OK, and it is economical in terms of storage for 100' rolls in the freezer, plus there are films that are hard to find otherwise. Some cartridges are easy to get to turn in the loader leaving a loop of film touching the loader door and scratching the base of the film. Never cared for plastic cartridges.

I keep my cartridges in ziploks, and with all the care, there is the chance of scratches, but anything commercially processed runs a higher risk of scratches.

So, yes I bulkload, and yes I appreciate factory loads when I can get em.

Would love to be as proficient as Tom A. in his demo video. ;-)

Regards, John

 

[JohnTF]

I have bulk-loaded APX100 for well over a year, because when I was looking, bulk rolls were the only form I could find it in. When the current roll runs out, I'll probably get either some Tri-X or some Fomapan 100.

The 200 may be a better choice if you can get it, the speed is really a bit less, and the tonal range is at least one tone more. The Foma 100 is a much older technology film, but you may be looking for that. There is something special about the 200, one of my favorite films for 35mm.

Regards, John

 

[funkpilz]

I do, and I love it, but it does have its drawbacks. For example, on my last roll of Foma 400, I must have accidentally lifted up the lid of the 100ft tin, because on the first 5-10 rolls I processed, I got this nasty fog covering up half the film strip.

 

[flip]

I do, and I love it, but it does have its drawbacks. For example, on my last roll of Foma 400, I must have accidentally lifted up the lid of the 100ft tin, because on the first 5-10 rolls I processed, I got this nasty fog covering up half the film strip.

I feel your pain. I am now convinced that i lost some vacation shots because my bulk rolled film went bad in the Xray machine. I suspect that if I used metal instead of plastic cassettes, I might have had more protection. Also had an issue with a shirley wellard cassette where the door was open when I thought it closed. oops.

 

[JohnTF]

I feel your pain. I am now convinced that i lost some vacation shots because my bulk rolled film went bad in the Xray machine. I suspect that if I used metal instead of plastic cassettes, I might have had more protection. Also had an issue with a shirley wellard cassette where the door was open when I thought it closed. oops.

Not likely, so it was not your fault, I just do not like any of the plastic cartridges I have seen because of mechanical problems.

Once I did have a friend drop a roll to pop off the end of the cartridge, so there are concerns with loading your own, but there are films around in bulk that are hard to find factory loaded.

If you really get curious about film problems, I suspect you can scan some, as enough of us have screwed up in various ways to recognize the usual suspects, and the folks that made the film should be able to give it a look see.

Kodak once looked at some E4 slides I had a problem with, they told me the precise bottle cap that was bad in the storage of the solutions. I did not have enough bottles and recycled some with one being contaminated.

Konica once sent a negative back to Japan to be examined, though they never found the problem.

Regards, John

 

[imokruok]

No, I don't bulk load, but I would if I was going to use a film that was not available on cassettes (e.g. Kodak movie film.)

 

[Frankd]

I bulk load TriX with an Alden loader. The only problem I have is a fogged last frame occasionally.

I like bulk loading because I try to get 30 exposures per roll. That way I can fit 6 rows of 5 frames per Print File sheet. That way I can fit my 30 frame roll on a single 8x10 sheet of paper in my proof frame. I hate the fact that with 36 exposures I have to proof an additional half sheet for another row of negatives.

 

[Doug]

...I like bulk loading because I try to get 30 exposures per roll. That way I can fit 6 rows of 5 frames per Print File sheet. That way I can fit my 30 frame roll on a single 8x10 sheet of paper in my proof frame. I hate the fact that with 36 exposures I have to proof an additional half sheet for another row of negatives.

Frank, that's exactly my reasoning too, when I bulk load.

 

[ChrisN]

I stop at 35 exposures, since I can fit 6 strips of 5 exposures on an 8x10 sheet, if I take the negs out of the sleeve first. I used to store them in strips of 6 negs, but since I got my darkroom up and running I'm doing contacts rather than just scanning.

 

[winoto]

definitely roll my own. have got 4 different bulk film loaders with HP5, Tri X, FP4, and Tmax 100. like chris from canberra, i too stop at 35mm to fit the 7x5 strips on contact sheets. i wish i had more ixmoos. they are more reliable than the easily dislodged/opened generic film cassettes...maybe i'm just accident prone.

 

[tj01]

I also do contacts on 8x10 using 6 rows of 5 each. Bulk roll on some Leica cassettes in the dark. Since I've got short arms width, they are usually below 30 frames. Any more and i get those long horizontal scratches. Doing it in the dark is best as I really dislike the last frame fogging up. Room doesn't have to be totally dark, just dark enough that you can't see what you are doing.

 

[Vics]

I am in the process of switching from Arista Premium 400 to Ilford FP4+. There's not much savings with the AP400, but FP4+ has gotten so expensive- $6.09 at Freestyle and $7+ at my local shop- I can save half that by going back to rolling my own. Gives me something mindless to do with my hands while I'm listening to music evenings. I use a Lloyd's loader.
Vic

 

[Brian Legge]

I just started recently. I currently have a roll of Neopan 400 loaded but am looking forward to wrapping it up and loading some Tri-X.

There aren't any bulk rolls of 1600 or 3200 around, are there? 🙁 Neopan 1600 would probably be one of my go-to films if I could get it more cheaply.

 

[semilog]

I've been kicking around the idea of using a bulk-loader for a while, but I mostly shoot Arista 400 B&W, so it seems barely worth it. What other films are the rest of you guys bulk loading?

TMAX400 version 2. Bulk loading cuts the cost almost in half.

Neopan 100 and Neopan 400 ACROS are so economical from Freestyle that there's no point to bulk loading.

 

[karthiks]

Definitely roll my own but running into a huge issue of scratched film 🙁

Guess time to look for a new loader or buy cheap cassettes. But, in Europe, is anything cheap? :bang:

 

[ChrisN]

Definitely roll my own but running into a huge issue of scratched film 🙁

Guess time to look for a new loader or buy cheap cassettes. But, in Europe, is anything cheap? :bang:

I had this problem: solved it by 1. using IXMOO cassettes and 2. loading by hand in the dark.

 

[Mablo]

Chris, how many frames can you load by hand? I've loaded my Canon V metallic cassettes by hand in the changing bag and cannot squeeze in more that 25 frames or so.

 

[ChrisN]

Easily 36 frames, sometimes more. I just roll the film on until the spool is nearly full, fairly tight on the spool, and that gives me about the right number.

 

[jwc57]

I still bulk load. It is economical for me, because if I have something specific in mind to shoot (or reshoot) I can load enough frames to get the job completed and not feel like I'm wasting film just to use up the remaining frames.

 

[rog]

I never have rolled my own, but have often considered trying. The thing is, when you can get Arista Premium 400/Tri-X for about $2.19 for a 36 exp. roll, is it worth it to roll your own? Can anyone tellme how many 36 exp. rolls you will get out of a 100ft. bulk roll?

Then there's color, which I often get for anything from $.50 to $2.50 a roll. To me, it just doesn't seem to be worth the time and effort to make sure you're not scratching the stuff.

I get about 18-20 rolls of 36 out of a 100ft role.
You can buy it fairly cheap at:
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/8044364-Kodak-Tri-X-400-iso-35mm-x-100-ft.-TX?cat_id=402