I like the small double strip of metal type. They are about a half inch by two inches. I have tried others that are plastic and about 4 inches long. Those are flimsy and not as easy to use.
The ones I like have a top and bottom that are captive but slide back and forth. The film is wound till it just clears the light trap then the bottom is fully inserted, the film wound back a bit and the device slid out. the tip of the leader is , almost, always there.
i use bulk load mostly for space its alot easier to keep a bulk loader with a 100 ft roll of film in the fridge than 20 factory loaded rolls idk if it realy saves me money its just the way i started doing it and decided to continue. plus there is not any where localy where i can buy preloaded b&w film just that cn stuff.
i use bulk load mostly for space its alot easier to keep a bulk loader with a 100 ft roll of film in the fridge than 20 factory loaded rolls idk if it realy saves me money its just the way i started doing it and decided to continue. plus there is not any where localy where i can buy preloaded b&w film just that cn stuff.
Another option, get a piece of photographically inert card, like maybe some left over or ruined mat board, cut a piece that will fit inside the box for the bulk film, cut a hole in the middle large enough for the spool of the loader to go through. Put this in the loader before you load the film. When you have loaded as much as you like, put the loader back in the dark, open up the film chamber, pull the film back tight in the spool, and lift the film and card and put both back in the bag, in the box, lift the card back out, and seal the bag back in the box. Label the box with the number of rolls removed, and pop that back in the freezer, one loader can be used for several films that way.
I was curious if there are many that buy film in bulk reels anymore. I just bought 100ft of Arista ISO 400 35mm for $29.95, and it comes out to about $1.49/roll of 36 exposures. I also bought this bulk film dispensor made in Spain by a company called AP. It was easy enough to load and I loaded my first roll.
Anyone else do this? Is it worth saving 50 cents/roll to anyone?
I load from bulk. It not only saves money, but I can load custom lengths such as 5 exp, 12exp, etc. When I go out for a shoot, I always have film handy.
I've had my Watson Bulk Film Loaders for years. Very simple system.