Film loader for Brass Contax Cassettes?

[mothertrucker]

I was offered a roll of Dupont Superior 3 film that expired in 1956 a couple of weeks ago.

Well, naturally I need to find out if it's still good, and I have been looking for a good excuse to buy a Contax IIa, so I got one which had a couple of reloadable cassettes included with it on eBay. They haven't arrived yet so I can't give any more details about part # etc.

Any idea what kind of film loader I need to load these brass contax cassettes?

 

[Cascadilla]

I own a couple of reloadable Contax film cassettes, although I haven't used them yet. From looking at them, I'm not sure that a conventional bulk loader would work. I think that you would have to close the cassette in total darkness after loading the film into the cassette, so the bulk loader might be of limited usefulness. The Contax Way by H. Freytag describes doing this in a darkroom with marks on a table, for what that's worth.

 

[mothertrucker]

Ok, am I right in thinking that i just need to attach the film to the spool, then load a certain length of film onto the spool and close it back up in the canister? No loader needed?

All done in darkness of course.

 

[Dez]

That's about it. A 36 exposure roll takes 165 cm of film, allowing for a normal leader.

Cheers
Dez

 

[mothertrucker]

Awesome, thanks everyone.

 

[Bill Jones]

I was offered a roll of Dupont Superior 3 film that expired in 1956 a couple of weeks ago.

Well, naturally I need to find out if it's still good, and I have been looking for a good excuse to buy a Contax IIa, so I got one which had a couple of reloadable cassettes included with it on eBay. They haven't arrived yet so I can't give any more details about part # etc.

Any idea what kind of film loader I need to load these brass contax cassettes?

Mothertrucker,

Watson bulk loaders esp the model 100 work just fine with Contax cassettes.
Then Butkus site has the instructions.

Bill

 

[nickdando]

As does the Konica type (they've had lots of manufacturers over the years but this is what it looks like - https://sep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-2405092478071/bobinquick-junior-loader-2.gif), possibly.
I think that I had to do a bit of trimming to get a Leitz cassette to work twenty-five or more years ago, and the same would probably apply to the Zeiss versions. Assemble the cassette, open it and make sure that the slot is correctly positioned, attach the film leader (may need trimming to shape first), then close the lid, set the counter and wind. Once the film is on, put the loader into a changing bag with some scissors and cut the film., and then close the cassette again.

The Watson type is, in some ways, easier to use as it has the mechanism to open and close the cassettes in daylight without having to resort to a changing bag.

Nick

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

The problem with these old reloadable cassettes is that, in the 30's and 40's, reloadable film came in bulk rolls or in precut lengths.

But the pre-cut ones came as just the film and then it had to be put on a spool, or else with a spool in the centre of the film. So the spools got changed and lost and so on.

And - of course - Zeiss ones were different from Leitz ones... So it all confuses the issue.

Regards, David

 

[Pioneer]

My Watson Model 100 loads the Contax cassettes with no problem and will close the cassette back up by twisting the left hand knob away from you when you have finished loading the reel. If it is quiet and you listen you can hear/feel the cassette lock. The Watson is very reliable and I don't even worry that the cassette is not closed any more.

I also use the Alden 74 loader but it does not close the cassette as reliably as my Watson loader does. As a result I close the bathroom door and turn off the lights before I open the top of the loader. Sometimes the cassette is closed, sometimes it isn't.

The Watson 100 has a notch in the bottom of the cassette chamber that holds the tab on the Zeiss reloadable cassette. This prevents the cassette itself from rotating when you twist the knob to close the cassette.

Like everything else it pays to practice a bit before actually tying to load film.

EDIT - Someone, I think it was Leica, produced a crank that could be screwed to a block of wood and was a great help if you wanted to pay out 6 foot or so of film and wind it onto the spool in the dark. I use it when I load up my Eastman Kodak 5222 Double X film that comes on the big reel. But, of course, I can't seem to locate mine right now.

 

[David Hughes]

This thread shows one:-

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137007

Regards, David

PS with a saw and an old pencil you can make a good version of an AGRIF; the originals were blackened brass.

 

[mothertrucker]

I should have the cassettes in the mail when I arrive home today, will take a closer look at the mechanics to understand how all the parts fit together. Sounds like a Watson loader may be in my future.