Since my loading technique for stainless reels involves a little bit of gentle 'push & pull'.....the 'push' tends to push the film off of the Hewes reel 'prongs'....
(which makes me ululate my plight in an unseemly, churlish manner after the third time).
So no...not a fan.
But I do appreciate the build quality.
Agree.
Especially for 120 in my experience.
I find good steel 120 reels (like Hewes, Nikor and Kinderman) much easier to load than plastic reels especially if you avoid the clip.
I never clip it to the inner core, just hold it with my thumb for the first rotation, and "place" the film in the rails, as J N says.
I find starting with the taped end of 120 towards the core makes things smoother for me when employing above method.
I saw some ilford hp5 reels that were on ebay recently, they looked like hewes(the center stamped metal thing) they were apparently for 72exp rolls from the late seventies and were probably too big to fit in a "standard" tank any one ever used those?
Yes hewes reels are worth it
Philippe, I see that LPL products are still available new, but more than 30 yrs ago when i bought my assortment of tanks (Kinderman & Nikor) they weren't readily on the shelves in Canada. & I've never had to replace any. The best thing i did was to give away the first Paterson tank i had.
My Pen F's 72 exposure rolls fit just fine on a regular 35mm reel.
Those of you who have shot 72 exposure rolls will know the feeling that they are like 4x not 2x as long as 36 exposures. Will this roll never end?!?
But wait.
What size reel do you need for a Nikon MF-2?
Nikor made one for 100 feet in both 35mm and 70mm. You definitely wanted the winder to load that bad boy.
I have a few Hewes reels but my favorites are old Nikkor reels for 120 and Kindermanns (with their loader) for 35mm.
...
I think overall though you get a better flow of chemistry through stainless reels versus plastic reels.
I've used pretty much every type of reel at this point. I think Hewes are the highest quality/most durable. Kindermann reels are good too but it depends which ones. The one with the resin center can go out of round because the spiral part is inserted into that, but they can also be adjusted for the same reason. For loading Hewes reels I've found that after I insert the film if I kink it on the end then the sprockets don't disengage when I do the slip test to make sure the film is loading correctly. That makes a big difference. After I started doing that, Hewes are probably my favorite. I suppose if you combined Hewes with the Kindermann clip I'd be happy. Kindermann also has the loader which I guess is a plus. I have the loader but I don't think I've ever used it.
I also have JOBO reels. Those are easiest to load (as long as they are clean) by just pushing the film on them. If you do get a snag it is almost always at the indent part of the reel so just pinching it there takes care of it. Loading 120 on JOBOs is a piece of cake once you get the film started. Just hold the film and spin the reel. Super quick. JOBOs also hold two 120 rolls per reel (1500 series) so they are great if you have a lot of film to develop. Not so great though are the bubbles that almost always get stuck along the reel edge with 120. They were the main reason why I switched to stainless. If you are using JOBO with rotary agitation though the bubbles shouldn't be a problem.
I think overall though you get a better flow of chemistry through stainless reels versus plastic reels.
I've got a stack of Kindermann reels in 120 & 35mm. I've never had one go out of round.
For the less expensive reels, one drop from the hands or table to the floor is all that it takes to make reels out of round or no longer parallel from one side to the other.
For the less expensive reels, one drop from the hands or table to the floor is all that it takes to make reels out of round or no longer parallel from one side to the other.
Anything you drop from a height is subject to the laws of gravity & impact forces. Has anyone ever cracked a Paterson tank or reel or dropped a lens??
I also, in an older post, described the simplewood form I used to re-extend reels that have a crushed down winding fixture
I'm 99% sure you know what you are talking about and this is just the way you phrased it, but "pushing" film into the plastic reels is not how it works. Twisting the halves of the reel back and forth "ratchets" the film in. It works extremely well in a darkroom and is pretty close to foolproof. In a changing bag, claustrophobic but doable. I do 100% of my film in a changing bag these days as I no longer do anything that involves a darkroom. (My chemical printing, when I do it, is salt prints or other alternative processes.)Agreed, the taped end clamped in the center core of the reel is the best way to go, particularly with the LPL reels.
And yes, plastic aren't that 'nice' to use for 120 film, not Paterson's nor JOBO's.
Pushing the 120 film into plastic reels, even when the reels are really clean and dry (which is a must), can be 'enervating'
I don't think I've ever in my life even seen a 70mm still system (and I have cameras from Tessina to 8x10), but here's a guy who has ....Nikor made one for 100 feet in both 35mm and 70mm. You definitely wanted the winder to load that bad boy.
I'm 99% sure you know what you are talking about and this is just the way you phrased it, but "pushing" film into the plastic reels is not how it works. Twisting the halves of the reel back and forth "ratchets" the film in. It works extremely well in a darkroom and is pretty close to foolproof. In a changing bag, claustrophobic but doable. I do 100% of my film in a changing bag these days as I no longer do anything that involves a darkroom. (My chemical printing, when I do it, is salt prints or other alternative processes.)
But I've always preferred metal reels as they are compact and simple and easy to clean, and I enjoy the precise, tactile process of loading.
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