Want to start bulk loading film - some questions

[youngcoby]

Hello all,
thanks to you I really started into film photography.

I now have some questions regarding bulk loading.

- What are the good ones / recommended ones? I am looking at a Watson 66B right now? Do or don't?
- Does the film need to be perforated for bulk loading? I think my camera (Contax G1) does not need the film to be perforated, so I can have an opportunity here.
- Unfortunately, Freestyle's shipping to Europe is incredibly expensive. Do some of you know a similar (webbased) shop in Europe who can also deliver bulk films (and darkroom supplies).
- Is Arista premium available in Europe?

Thanks for looking into this post. Looking forward to your answers.
Filip

 

[xwhatsit]

If perforations turn out to be necessary (they do on my bulk loader for the frame counter, I forget the name but it looks very similar to a Google search of the Watson you mention), then you can always just hand-wind rolls in a changing bag. A little slower and you're never sure how many frames you'll get but it's easy and you needn't worry about potential scratches from the loader, or from winding the film through the light trap twice. Also, you don't fog the trailer of the film when taping it onto the spool, which means you get a frame or two more.

I load in a changing bag despite having a bulk loader. This also helps with storage; I have several different film stocks in 30 metre lengths and often wind up a roll when I feel like it of a different stock.

As for getting the right number of frames, winding until the film is level with the flanges of the spool gives an average of about 26 frames or so with traditional base films like Tri-X or Ilford films; with thin polyester (?) base films like Efke KB25 you get 30 or more depending on how tight you keep it sprung.

As for ordering bulk rolls, I'm in New Zealand, but Freestyle is still incredibly expensive for me. I don't know what it is with Americans and shipping; their rates on almost anything of any size are consistently the highest I encounter.

Oddly enough it's far cheaper for me to ship from Europe instead. I've used Macodirect (http://macodirect.de) once before and was very pleased with the price of materials and low shipping cost. I just put another order in yesterday; the shipping cost was quite a bit higher but that might've been because I ordered some heavy liquid C41 kit and liquid print developer. They delivered very quickly -- within a week -- and I was charmed when they threw a free four-lens action sampler camera (Lomography style plastic thing) in the box.

No Arista Premium though. They only have Tri-X (the original Arista Premium), and their prices on that are not particularly good. Excellent pricing on Efke, Foma, and not too bad for Ilford or Fuji either.

 

[Mablo]

Unfortunately Arista Premium is not available in EU and Kodak bulk rolls are in general more expensive than cartridges. It's a shame really. But if you like Efke or Foma or Rollei films you can find some good options there.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Yes, it does need to be perforated for almost all cameras. The ones that don't rely on the sprockets for transport mostly use them for counting, and as far as I'm aware, all bulk loaders rely on sprockets. Of course, you don't have to rely on daylight bulk loaders: see http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps how load bulk.html

Cheers,

R.

 

[David Hughes]

Bulk loaders can be easy if you only use one film in bulk, or have a selection of loaders. But a lot of us, without the luxury of a proper designated darkroom often would wait until dark, block the light from the window and then open the tin of film and pull out a length the same length as the bath! That's 5'.6" in the UK and 36 exposures is officially 5' and a few inches. Then you sit on the side of the bath and wind up the spool by hand.

The old Contax cassette spools and their USSR made copies were/are the easiest to load for Leica, Contax etc.

Leica made a nice tool, an AGRIF for hand winding and there was a luxury little winder available too; plus copies made by all the usual makers of add ons.

Regards, David

PS About postage from the USA. Have a look on usps.com and you'll see that they make a flat rate box which goes anywhere for a flat rate and weighing up to four pounds. So I guess dealers use that and don't have to bother about weighing things individually. I have wasted a lot of time trying to explain that I'd be happy if they sold film to take advantage of what they could fit into the box. They just could not understand that I don't always want a priority delivery at 6 in the morning, especially of one little item rattling around in an oversized box...

 

[capito]

You might want to check Macodirect. I've ordered from from them a few times and they have pretty competitive prices.

 

[peter_n]

I use Alden 74 bulk loaders and have never had a problem, I'm on my fourth. It uses a simple light trap so there's no fuzzy stuff to scratch film. I think they're now discontinued so you may only be able to buy them used. Alden 74 instructions to give you an idea of how they work.

 

[youngcoby]

Thank you all for your input.

I ended up buying a bulk loader, and will probably buy some film from Ultrafine, just to see if I like it or not.

I also checked macodirect - thanks for mentioning them - they also provide some relative cheap film.

However, unfortunately, the TriX is still relative expensive.

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

I recently obtained bulk loader too. I am waiting for my rollei 25 iso to start! If you are in Europe, why dont you try Efke in Croatia? I am not sure if they sell to individuals though (maybe they sell in bulk quantities to shops?) but they may direct you to the shops. fotokemika@studioboris.com