Loading from BIG bulk rolls of film

[kully]

Hallo,

Saw some 400ft and 1000ft rolls of HP5+ at RK Photographic.

I'm put off by having to muck about with loading from them.

Any tips?

 

[marcust101]

As long as you have a bulk holder/ loader big enough you should have no problems. I use bulk loaders and keep them in the fridge successfully

Marcus

 

[Mr Ho]

I haven't done this sort of thing since I was a teenager and thought it would be cheaper to load my own B&W film. It was. (I also developed and printed at home, which was also cheaper - tho the results were not always superlative!) That was back in the 70s and it wasn't very difficult then. I had a device that would hold the bulk film and I would simply tape the film tongue to a spool, insert the spool into a reusable canister/shell, close it light-tight and then place it into a chamber in the "device" and wind like mad to load 40 frames or so into the canister. I'm sure they've improved on the technology since then. Or maybe they haven't. It wasn't bad then. I guess the question is: how much B&W do you shoot and what's the cost differential?

 

[oftheherd]

I haven't done this in years. However, I used to do it all the time. It gives a lot of fexibility in roll size. It isn't hard at all, just something to be learned. As mentioned, you need a bulk film holder, and some cartridges. I used to keep my Fuji film cartridges when I developed them, but I don't know if any commercial film can be used that way any more. They can be bought. You do have to keep the bulk film holder and cartridges clean. Some people report problems with scratching due to dust getting in one or the other. It can happen although I was fortunate enough never to have that problem.

Others who have done it more recently can probably give you advice on what are the best of the currently available loaders and cartridges, as well as keeping things clean. If you do get started, I think you will like it.

 

[EmilGil]

I'd say the big problem is not loading the individual cartridges but to find a bulk loader big enough to accommodate a roll that long.

One option is to take the big roll into a darkroom and make smaller rolls, say 20-30' and store the remains in the original container.

 

[kully]

Hallo, and thanks for the replies.

I've been bullk loading from 100ft rolls for a while now. However, I was wondering how on earth I'm going to manage with these hige rolls (ex-film stock?).

I havn't got a darkroom either so, I'll probably have to give them a miss.

 

[Ash]

Everyone's replies thus far don't seem to address the size issue very much.

I had a 200ft roll of Pan F+, I just "pulled" off a few inches worth from the outside, and loaded the rest into my 100ft bulk loader. The excess was then loaded by hand into the film cans. So your options can be the ol' camera in a dark bag thing.

You tape the film to the spool, stick the can in the back of a camera, and rewind.

I think when you look at the size of those rolls it's gonna be a bit....well..you're gonna want to mod your bulk loader to allow for such a huge roll

 

[Ash]

Hmm I just had the idea of blacking out a room, buying one of those 1000ft or 400ft rolls, and loading them onto all my spare spools from the Agfa and Ilford film I previously loaded...

 

[Xmas]

Kully

How much, and where on thsir site?

Noel

P.S. Ash any job is a really good job until you get a better one.

 

[Screwy]

Here you go Noel , £30 and £60 respectively . Both are out of date but that's not really problem .

Paul

 

[Ash]

Lol... I was waiting for noel to muscle in 😉

 

[MartinP]

I loaded a 200' roll of cine FP4 when I was student. As I recall, the perforations were the oval sort of shape (for the movie camera sprockets, not a problem) and the film base seemed thinner. It seemed to work ok, but it was pretty old and knackered by the time I finished it all off. A thousand foot would be around 188 36 exp cassettes !!

On the Ilford site at the moment, there appears to be no datasheet on 400asa cine-film - or is there ???

 

[Ash]

188 films might last me a year if I'm lucky.. I may buy a couple 😉

 

[Xmas]

400 foot at £30 is not as good deal as most of us got with the Apx400, ignoring the inconvenience factor, of having to respool it.

But I'm tempted.

Noel
P.S. Ash I hope you are happier in the job than you think you are going to be.

 

[Ash]

Grr, cancelled on for starting work tomorrow. Should start friday. Once I DO have some cash I'll grab some of that film.

 

[Ash]

Manny, test a few rolls on some trees in your area, I'd like to see what the HP5 is like 😀

 

[Xmas]

ManGo

Confession time - I still have not tried the APX400 & thanks for the information, If you only get 250 I probably will have to meter at 125...

The APX400 I got was dated '05, so it was not that old for B&W.

I use concentrics that should be ok, I hope.

So I'll drop by RK next time I'm on the M25.

Noel

 

[Ash]

metering at 125 will explode the highlights. Mine is fine metered at 400, but that's just me.

Metered at 250 and developed at 400 works good for most people.

 

[Xmas]

Ash

Ok I'll experiment and report what happens.

Noel

 

[EmilGil]

That is one BIG bulk roll!

One foot in diameter, yeeks! 🙂