Problems with the new foma metal cassettes?

[filip0502]

I tried loading a fresh roll of Foma 100 into a Canon EOS 300 and it didn't wind all the way, the shutter wouldn't fire, and the camera refused to rewind the film. I tried 3 different cameras (the same model) and all had the same issue. Also while it was winding, there was a strange clicking sound. I also heard it when I tried to fire the shutter.

I then tried to load a bulk loaded roll and I didn't have any issues.

My theory is that it has something to do with the tabs on the spool inside the cassette.

The tabs on the Foma cassette (the one on the right) are shorter, thinner and lower. I think that the orange part of the winder can't grip onto it properly and that it's skipping.

Has anyone had similar problems?

 

[thinkbrown]

I'd suspect those tabs were the issue if you were having trouble rewinding after shooting a roll, but they're not relevant to loading the camera and shooting.

 

[Nitroplait]

If the problem was isolated only to the tabs in the spool, it would only affect rewinding.
If your pull the film out of the cassette (in a dark bag for example), do you feel unusual resistance?

 

[Don_ih]

This camera winds all the film off the spool then feeds it back in as it takes picture.

If the spool is not engaging the red thing, the camera might not recognize that film is even loaded (since the red thing won't turn as the film is all unspooled. Also, it can't wind the film back in as the pictures are taken.

Try super-gluing something in the spool to bridge the gap and see if it works. If it does, that's obviously the problem.

 

[NoPixels]

Using Foma 100 as my main film. Canon EOS 33 is the main camera, but also using Nikon and Zenit cameras.
I did not have a problem with rewind in Canon, but in Zenit, where everything is manual, the rewind was so complicated that it opened the film door. Yesterday, I had a problem to load the film to development tank.
I assume, it could be due a thickness of the film, or maybe it is not perfectly cutted…
Honestly, I had loading problems with ilford too.
This kind of issues happens for less than 10% of my films and I think it is not big problem.

 

[pentaxuser]

My first thought is that it is difficult to imagine that Foma has made a cassette that has only a problem with one type of camera which is OK with other types

Sounds as if the issue is likely to lie elsewhere

pentaxuser

 

[Nitroplait]

it is difficult to imagine that Foma has made a cassette that has only a problem with one type of camera which is OK with other types

I think the opposite. Foma (or whoever made the cassettes) can't possibly have tried it on all cameras.

 

[NigelR1000]

Personally I would think that the friction of the film being pulled out and wound to the end is too much for the camera so it stalls. This may be somthing to do with the felt light traps. I have seen this before.... but also make sure your batteries are top notch.

 

[filip0502]

So the thing is, we had a photo walk as part of a photography course that we (students) organize. We used a Canon Elan IIe, which is mine, and I've never had a problem with it. The film loaded fine, but the camera could not rewind it.

We also used 2 Zenith cameras; no problems loading, but we couldn't rewind both. We had to open the backs in the darkroom and pull the film out, and wind it back inside manually. And as I said, we also had 2 Canon EOS 300 cameras, both loaded with different rolls (but all the same Foma 100), and we had problems.

I took a closer look at the cassette, and I only saw these types of cassettes on Aliexpress.
They have this clear leader that's sticking out. The film is taped to that leader instead of being attached to the spool as usual.

 

[David Lyga]

Maybe, just maybe the rather strange workaround of TAPING the film to leader is the problem.

I envision a nasty problem of that taped area getting clogged in the felt exit point, either due to a thickness problem or encompassing a situation whereby a bit of the tape becomes unstuck and GETS stuck to the actual felt.

If so, this is a stellar case of Foma not wishing to waste precious and costly film by, instead, using a cheap non-film plastic instead of genuine film (as has been traditionally been used) as leader.

Methinks Foma is almost as frugal as is David Lyga. - David Lyga

 

[koraks]

@David Lyga you may well be right. The taped bit will be fairly thick and can get stuck in the felt light trap. The issue could be avoided at least in modern cameras like the EOS series by ensuring there's sufficient length of film after the 36th frame, so the taped bit never exits the light trap. For manual cameras and also some cameras that undpool the film all the way after loading the film, this may not solve the problem as the film can still end up being unwound all the way until the very end.

Either way, the taped section being the cause of the problem is a really likely scenario IMO.

 

[Anaxagore]

Could that be the same metal cassettes used by OptikOldschool for their Opticolour 200 (Orwo Nc200)?
I exposed such a roll in my Rollei 3003 without trouble, but the rewinding failed. First time such a problem happened to me. The film was ruined by my thinking that rewinding eventually worked (it was first very hard to turn, then easy, so I thought it was done and I opened the magazine… but it had not been rewound). I found out later that somehow there were two layers of film *around* the cassette (how it got that way I cannot imagine), that I had to slice through and pull out to be able to remove the cassette from the magazine.. I emailed OptikOldschool a week ago to ask them if they had already tested their cassette in my type of camera, but have not received any answer yet - a shame as they are located in Düsseldorf where Paepke repairs Rollei cameras, so they could have done that test without too much trouble.
As much as I can understand that companies want to play on the « vintage » look of metal cassettes, I prefer cassettes that work…

 

[brbo]

Yes, there is a bit of a Wild West (East?) situation with the cassettes and film fitting at the moment.

The new plastic (two part, snap together type) cassettes give me light leaks on cameras with the film window on the back and some metal ones won't fit my M2 (although they work with my M6)...