Non perforated bulk film-- how to perforate?

[kzphoto]

I see on ebay a few deals for non-perforated bulk film. My understanding is that the sprocket holes are MIA. The film is wicked cheap and I'd like to pick up a few rolls to supplement my egregious purchasing habits.

How hard would it be to acquire a film perforator to put holes in the film? Is it worth the hassle?

 

[Rob-F]

Sounds not worth it!

 

[kzphoto]

I'm not sure, really. Initial investment is about $20 dollars per 100 ft. roll. That works out to 30/40 rolls of film. If I get my hands on a film perforator, it should be about 50-60 cents per roll. I think that works out fine for me!

 

[drewbarb]

Are you sure this is otherwise 35mm film? I'd be dubious of the viability of perforating it, even if it is the right size...

 

[Phantomas]

I'm not sure how that works either, but I know Macodirect in germany actually sells 35mm rolls of non-perforated film. Maybe for some cameras that don't care about spoket holes?.... Here: http://macodirect.de/surv-perforated-13536-p-1932.html

 

[aeolist]

that's not really cheap either. get some unbranded fuji on freestyle? more or less same money

 

[batterytypehah!]

Just how you're planning to perforate that film at home in total darkness is beyond me. And it's, what, expired Konica? I think I've seen those auctions. There's a reason the prices stay low.

If you want to shoot unperforated stock, it's easier to buy a camera to match the film. Kodak's 828 and 126 (Instamatic) formats used 35 mm wide film with one hole per frame and paper backing. (126 enclosed the whole shebang in one cartridge but is essentially roll film, as well.)

I understand many of those cameras will work fine without that hole. With 828s you can use the red window to advance to the next frame. With Instamatics, you'll be counting turns on the advance.

I've been tempted to do all this with a Kodak Bantam. Those go for very little money but have nice lenses and are pocket-sized. Negatives are 28x40mm. Downside is that Kodak never gave them faster than f/4.5 lenses, and the shutter is pretty basic, too (B 25 50 100 200, I think). Might still do it as I have a thing for forgotten formats and the 3:4 aspect ratio, which this practically is.

 

[ChrisN]

100 foot gives 18 x 36 exp. rolls, not "30 to 40 rolls".

Shop for short ends (or whole rolls) of motion picture stock instead. Comes with perforations. Cheap and no hassle.

 

[f16sunshine]

Pick up a Contax Aria Konica Hexar/RF or any of hundreds of cameras that don't use sprockets and shoot it without perforations.

 

[retro]

Or, re-spool it as 828 and get a Bantam Special to shoot it. 🙂

 

[Particular]

You could file the sprockets down of your leica...but I wouldn't bother.
How about making panoramic images in a medium format camera by winding it onto a 120/220 spool.

 

[Pablito]

An x-acto knife and a lot of patience. And a lot of band-aids.😀

 

[Rico]

Pick up a Contax Aria Konica Hexar/RF or any of hundreds of cameras that don't use sprockets and shoot it without perforations.

Aria maintains frame spacing via an infrared sensor that counts the sprocket holes. And, yes, that fogs IR film.

 

[Doug]

An x-acto knife and a lot of patience. And a lot of band-aids.😀

The imagination boggles! 😀

 

[funkpilz]

Macodirekt, man. Legacy Pro and Neopan 400 is the same thing, and they send it in 100ft bulk rolls for, like, €30 or less even.

 

[Doug]

...How about making panoramic images in a medium format camera by winding it onto a 120/220 spool.

This actually is done... The Mamiya 7II has such an accessory available. And I have a Chinese pano accessory for my Pentax 67, with spacers for the film cartridges, an insert for the film gate, and a mask to go atop the focusing screen. Images are 24x66mm. The camera's rollers track how much to wind, as with 120/220, so bulk-loaded non-perf 35 film would be no problem.

 

[Peter S]

Kzphoto. Only 18 rolls you get out of 100ft as others have said before. I used to do it myself, but now I just buy either rebranded APX100 from macodirect or rebranded Tri-x from freestyle. Bulkloading is easy to do, but you always keep the fear of scratches/cassettes used once too often and no longer light tight etc etc. I found that the real saving is doing your own developing/scanning/printing. There are good rebranded deals out there that are almost comparable costwise to bulkloading and you save yourself the hassle. My 2 cents.

 

[rovnguy]

Many late model SLR cameras no longer use sprockets to engage the film for transport. For example, my Canon EOS Elan 7 and EOS 1V do not have sprockets. I've often wondered if I could use film without the holes... now you can find out.

 

[kzphoto]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was hoping to score some discounted / expired 400 NC or 400 VC as it has been my favorite film to use. Oh well!

 

[ohoyer]

Kzphoto. Only 18 rolls you get out of 100ft as others have said before. I used to do it myself, but now I just buy either rebranded APX100 from macodirect or rebranded Tri-x from freestyle. Bulkloading is easy to do, but you always keep the fear of scratches/cassettes used once too often and no longer light tight etc etc. I found that the real saving is doing your own developing/scanning/printing. There are good rebranded deals out there that are almost comparable costwise to bulkloading and you save yourself the hassle. My 2 cents.

These reels are mostly used in surveillance camera systems, therefore sometimes also the nonstandard wood spool or so...

I for myself also calculated some time ago the hassle of selfloading bulk film vs. selecting some good quality, perhaps rebranded film, and found out that the potential savings weren't worth the risk of scratches etc.

Like said above, nowadays there are still the last charges of genuine Agfa APX 100 around (also rebranded as Rollei Retro 100), there are Efke/Adox films for low price around, and as stated above, some Kodak/Fuji rebranded. (Ok, in India Ilford themself started their own rebranding/localization for that different market)

Question: which Freestyle has Tri-X rebranded?