Removing film from canister

B

Bobonli

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After reading all the encouraging posts here, I'm about to take a crack at developing my own HP5. Just waiting for the chemicals. I've been practicing loading the reel but need advice on dealing with the film canister.

Some instructions and videos out there on the internets, suggest taking the film entirely out of the canister using a can opener and other suggest leaving it in, so you can manage getting the film onto the reel better.

Is there a demonstrable advantage to either method that I should be aware of?

So far, I've been leaving it in the canister and clipping the last 1/4 inch at the point it stops at the lip of the canister. Is this ok, or will I be clipping an image?

Thanks for all your help
Bob
 
I've used the can opener method in the past, but found ( and find ) it much easier to simply cut the lead off of the film while it's still in the canister, start it on the reel in the light, then cut it off from the canister as close as possible. You won't have a lot of undeveloped negative after your last image, but it should be enough to hang a clip from it while drying. I use this method all the time.
 
For 35mm i use one of those little film leader retriever gizmos, pull out the leader, trim the leader off and nick the film corners, load the end of the film just into the reel, then go in the bathroom with a scissors and tank, turn out the light, finish loading the film on the reel, clip, and into the tank it goes. If only loading 120 film was that easy!
 
Scratching....I didn't consider that! There could be dust on the canister lips. Good point.

If I use the bottle opener method, do you take the entire roll of film out of the canister...and don't you worry about getting finger prints on it?

The Ilford instructions are a little cryptic on this. They say pop the end cap off, slip the leader through the lips/light-trap opening and then put the spool back in the canister. Not sure how that work for putting it onto the reel. Guess I'll have to try that method.
 
JayGannon said:
I use the can opener method.
I find the pulling out of the canister can scratch the film sometimes.
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Not much more to say, so I'll just echo this- use a bottle opener to pop the can open and remove the film. Pulling it out through the felt trap again is a great way to scratch it. It might seem trickier to learn than leaving the film in the can, but it's the best way.
A good analogy is that it's like learning to drive with a manual transmission rather than an automatic. Sure, the automatic is easier to drive, but you if you can drive a stick you can drive anything. Learn to do this the right way.
 
I have no idea how a can opener could be successfully applied to a (Kodak/Fuji style non-reloadable, flanged) film cartridge. Regular beer bottle openers however are officially supposed to work - in the past, branded ones were quite common giveaways at lab suppliers and film manufacturers trade show booths.
 
I think the possibility of scratching the film if you pull it out through the light trap is a non issue. The exposed film has already made two passes through the trap. If the trap is going to cause a scratch then it has most likely already happened before you are ready to develop.
 
Personally I would disagree, depends of hopw careful you are with your canister after its shot. Mine generally go into a bag that will get filled with dust and dirt after a days shooting. The first 2 travels through the gate are in a relativly clean dust proof environment inside the camera, its after that the dust can get into the felt in my experience.
 
rockman525 said:
I think the possibility of scratching the film if you pull it out through the light trap is a non issue. The exposed film has already made two passes through the trap. If the trap is going to cause a scratch then it has most likely already happened before you are ready to develop.
Click to expand...

Actually, it has made one clean outward and one dirty inward pass - the third pass is the first dirty outward, and there the risk from grit embedded in the velvet seems to be highest.
 
Bottle opener and you'll be fine. It's probably a low enough chance to scratch the film by feeding it out through the felt trap again, but one more thing to go wrong, so probably avoid it.

Crack open a sacrificial unexposed roll, and practice in daylight. Then once you're happy loading in daylight, try loading the same roll in your changing bag/ darkroom until you're happy. Like most of us, you'll settle on the required positioning of your fingers and hands, as well as even getting comfortable cutting the film leader with a scissors.

Lots of practice will ensure you are able to load the reels relatively quickly and consistently each time. Quick is good, especially with vinyl changing bags, as your hands can sweat if in there for too long.

Lastly, don't be put off by finicky rolls. I had my share of these at first, but found in my case it had mainly been a result of plastic reels that were not entirely dry. Paterson reels don't help with their tiny guards, so do consider the APS reels which I find due to their much larger guards are more ergonomic (as well as cheaper), should you be looking at additional reels in the future.

Hope this helps, and good luck! :)
 
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Thanks everyone. I'll try the bottle opener method tonight. Although the risk of scratching might be minimal, I'd prefer to eliminate it entirely. There's plenty of other things for me to screw up!
 
If you have trouble, and can find the leader from another film just lick it, push it into the cassette's slot and then tug it back out again, the film will come with it ... probably
 
I just put my thumb nails in the slot and bend open the canister sort of peeling it off. I guy that worked as a processor 20 odd years ago showed me this technique always done it like that even when I still used film at work, never had any problems.
 
One annoying thing to watch out for when you take film out of the canister is its potential to go "Sprong!",i.e., for the coil to unwind itself, leaving you with a bit of a mess. Practice keeping the coil in its original shape. Unwound film is more susceptible to scratching because so much more of it is exposed.
 
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