Do you bulk load your own film?

Do you bulk load your own film?

  • Yes I do

    Votes: 277 68.4%

  • No I can't be bothered

    Votes: 128 31.6%
  • Total voters
    405
I have bulk loaded my film since 1970. I still do. I teach my students to bulk load, though most choose not to bulk load due to laziness (that is what they told me). In addition to saving lots of money over the years, bulk loading also allows me to load a 30 exposure roll of film. I have been using 30 exposures for as long as I can remember. Why? It is so easy to fit a 30 exposure roll of film onto an 8 x 10 sheet of paper for a contact. Also, I get 22 rolls of film from 100 feet of film. One caveat though. If you are going to bulk load, do not think that the cassettes will last a lifetime. You must replace the cassettes periodically or the felt will get stiff and can scratch your film. I have two rolls of Ilford XP-2 in the freezer. Since Ilford no longer offers XP-2 in bulk I don't know what will happen when my stash is gone.
 
From high school to ~1998, roll after roll after roll of Tri-X, Plus-X, and especially HP-5. Now I shoot fewer frames, have less time for bulk loading (and less tolerance for spotting), and have a bit more cash. Moreover, 2TMY is not available in spools, and Neopan isn't very expensive anyway. So, no.
 
Starting as soon as my 300' of PanF and my casettes arrive. Traded a few items locally for two Watson 100 loaders and other items. Film is just too expensive to buy locally here in Anchorage, cost of living is much higher here. Let me put it this way, we don't have $5 footlong subs here; they are $7...
 
I started bulk loading when the Double X/Eastman 5222 thread got me interested in that film. Now I only buy bulk film, loading by hand in the dark. Though I did buy Rob’s (laptoprob) film loaders I’ve never used them.
 
I've rolled my own film for years. I started when I could snag on ends (motion picture) at the film lab I worked at. Then the Agfa and Kodak reps would give me B&W since it was what I prefered. I think I still have 5-6 rolls of 35mm Double-X from Kodak to shoot.
I think I've only scratched 2-3 rolls in all this time too. I must just be lucky?

Lastly I like to load up 20-24 frames max. I have leaving partually shot rolls in the camera and it sucks when you want to change film speeds by finishing up a roll.
 
How else is there to get film in the brass cassettes?

You will not believe the quality difference and lack of dirt until you try it yourself. I know 99% of you will say I am crazy, but don`t bother.

I stopped buying M cameras afer the early M6 models because they don`t support the Leica cassettes.

I uses filtered air and water for everything and all the ningling problems went away.

I am now working on cassettes for my F2 Nikon. Know how hard it is to find hens teeth?
 
I bulk load, just the amount I want to shoot which is often a short roll of 15. This way I can shoot the whole roll in one outing or one lighting condition and process accordingly and promptly. I have used several loaders, but the easiest for me now is the Bobinquick Jr., available at Freestyle. Rather than doing a whole 100 ft. roll at once, I have the Bobinquick Jr. loaded with my film of choice and I just roll one or several at a time. One nice thing about this loader is that the frames are good for shooting all the way to the end of the roll.
 
I used to. Now that I have gotten back into film I don't think I will, its really quite a pain and another step which can be messed up. The only reason I might is if I start stockpiling film, then a 100ft takes a lot less freezer space before its put on cartridges.
 
Ordered a few 100ft cans of Neopan from digitaltruth.co.uk (special offer!). So I guess I'll roll my own cartridges for a considerable time from now on.
 
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?
 
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.
 
LegacyPro bulk rolls have flanges on both sides of the roll. That's a good idea but unfortunately flanges make the bulk roll just a bit too wide for my daylight loader (Dayroll) and it won't close up correctly. I've been loading film by hand in the changing bag. I would prefer a loader though.

What daylight loader are you using with LegacyPro bulk rolls?
 
Mablo said:
LegacyPro bulk rolls have flanges on both sides of the roll. That's a good idea but unfortunately flanges make the bulk roll just a bit too wide for my daylight loader (Dayroll) and it won't close up correctly. I've been loading film by hand in the changing bag. I would prefer a loader though.

What daylight loader are you using with LegacyPro bulk rolls?
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Hmmm ... I just encountered that same situation with Legacy Pro myself. Loaded a roll into my Computrol and it jammed the spool when I closed it.

It was ok in the Watson though!
 
I do it now and then because I can use cheap expired bulk rolls I have picked up over the years. I found two NIB Lloyds loaders when I was dumping my garbage and recently bought 2 80's vintage Trix 100ft rolls for $5 each. That makes it worth it.

A lot of people are afraid of way-expired film, but most seems ok to me. My test roll of the 80's trix looked acceptable to me....
 
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