Question about unloading a 120/220 roll.

[jfretless]

Hello all...

I just finished shooting my first roll of medium format and had a question about unloading the film.

The camera is a Fuji GA645zi I recently purchased used off of eBay.

The roll that's in the camera is a 220 of AGFA 160 portrait. After the last shot, I heard the camera rewind the film.

At this point, do I just open the camera and pull the roll out? I mean, it's not like 35mm where the film is in the metal can... What's protecting the film from getting more exppsure? The paper? I guess I envisioning the being loose and allowing light to get in between the paper and film. Also, after I remove the roll, do I store it in a black bag or something?

Sorry for the noob questions, I'm not a noob to photography, but a noob to medium format.

Thanks.
John

 

[jfretless]

Wow. Thanks for the quick response.

Thank you.

...so I take it that you just use the empty spool as the next take up spool and continue on. When I get the film processed, is it customary for the lab to return the spools?

Thanks again.
John

 

[Doug]

John, welcome to roll film fun! 🙂 As said, the film will be wound onto the takeup spool, covered by the trailing paper. 220 does not have paper backing the full length like 120 does, just a paper leader and paper trailer. As you remove the roll, tug the paper end to snug it tight (careful not to lose your grip and drop the roll!), fold the tapered end tab under, and secure the tape seal. Fuji film has a self-adhesive tape seal; on other brands you'll need to lick the tape like a stamp then seal it.

No need to keep the roll in the dark, but OTOH best not to subject it to bright light either. (Change film in the shade or subdued light too) The lab will return the spools if you ask for them, and it doesn't hurt to carry a spare or two with you in case you drop and lose the one while moving it from the feed side to the takeup side upon changing film. Without a takeup spool, the camera is unworkable.

BTW, I have and like the GA645Wi, somewhat similar to yours but with a fixed 45mm wide angle lens. Best wishes and enjoy!

 

[Fotohuis]

Exactly, the film is going from one spool to the other.
Keep the backing paper tight when glueing otherwise you will have some false light from the edges. Especially polyester roll film is sensitive to this item. Tr-acetate is less curling in this matter.

Load and unload roll film in subdue light, well in fact you have to do the same for the 35mm cartidges.

The rest is very simple.

Enjoy your new M.F. camera.

best regards,

Robert

 

[jfretless]

Doug and sitemistic,
Thanks for your help.

It was exactly as you described it, Doug. Roll two has been removed from the freezer and will be loaded later on today. It's just past midnight on the west coast.

Awesome. Love it already.

John

 

[payasam]

Simple to roll up the exposed roll in scrap paper. Keeps the dust out too, which is important to those of us who live in dusty areas.

 

[Fotohuis]

.... or use this nice type of roll container:
http://shop.fotohuisrovo.nl/product_info.php?cPath=21_25_27&products_id=48

 

[rumbliegeos]

Here is a source for nice plastic 120 film cans in the US:

http://porters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=150254&Category_Code=F1G&Product_Count=8

gerry

 

[mdelevie]

a quick comment about the take-up spools themselves. You might want to be sure that you're using the same type of take-up spool as the film type you're using.

I shoot three different brands of film, Fuji for chromes, Kodak for color negs, and Ilford for B&W negs. It seems like there are minor differences in the width dimension between them -- I don't know if it's in the width of the spools themselves, or in the leader & follower papers, or the film, or what. Anyway, when changing brands I've occasionally found the paper all mussed up on the end of the roll, with the result of light leakage.

So now I keep a spare take-up spool of each type, and it's not a problem.

Mark

 

[David Goldfarb]

It's handy to have a few spare spools on hand, but if you process your own film, you will soon find them piling up in drifts like tumbleweed.

Then you'll want bigger tanks to process all the film. My largest holds 6 medium format reels (or 12x35mm), which is very handy if I come back from a trip where I've been shooting medium format for a few weeks.

A nice thing about Fuji spools--the film has a hole in the leader that fits on a tab in the center of the spool for quick and positive loading.