Bulk loader

[Boris Mirkov]

I`m interested in buying a bulk film loader but I`m not sure what is it that I`m supposed to look out for. What is it that can be a downside of a bulk loader? I saw some on e-bay, Alden - 74 35mm caught my eye, looks pretty good. Any ideas?

 

[mablo]

Alden is very good. If you insist on a new one generalphoto.biz in Germany sells a brand new Lloyd's for 28€.

 

[Casey Kidwell]

Get the Alden. Pretty full-proof. Just keep everything clean. Make sure your 35mm cassettes are light-tight and clean. And make sure the film is securely taped to the spool before loading.

 

[clogz]

Why not live your life dangerously...buy the Alden....and shoot lots of film at a reduced price.

 

[Anscojohn]

I bulk load. I do not own a bulk loader.

 

[Mike Wilde]

tip - I reuse cassettes , and have reused some for over 25 years. I write an index number on each bulk reload cassettes.

Most of the longest lived have been loaded and unloaded from cameras while inside low dust buildings.

After I bulk load, on the film base side I write on the film leader, past the tapered part I clip when loading onto rolls, I white the cassette number onto the film.

If there turns out to be scratches on the film I know which cassette to toss. Same thing for light leaks; some of the felt is getting pretty thin, or at least lays low after many re-uses.

 

[BetterSense]

I bulk load. I sold all my bulk loaders. Waste of space.

 

[fschifano]

The Alden 74 is a pretty good loader that as some definite advantages over the less mechanically complex Lloyd's loader. The light trap is a gate arrangement that must be closed before you can open the access door and must be open before you can wind on the film. Nothing touches the film while it is being wound on. The frame counter actually works. Each time you hear it click, that's exactly one frame loaded. The Lloyd's loader, which I also happen to like, uses a felt light trap and the film runs up against this thing while being wound on. Some claim tat this scratches the film, and perhaps the potential is there; but I've never had that problem with my Lloyd's loaders because I'm careful about keeping the felt free of grit and dust. With the Lloyd's loader, the number of turns of the crank handle determines the number of frames loaded and there is no counter. Thirty one turns equals 36 frames, and you must keep careful count to not over load the cassette. I don't find that a real problem, but it is a bit of a PITA.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Well, Anscojohn and BetterSense, could you please explain how you bulk load without a bulk loader?

 

[Casey Kidwell]

I bulk load. I sold all my bulk loaders. Waste of space.

Wow, I'll bet you were able to take in a renter with all the space you saved!

 

[BetterSense]

My darkroom is a walk-in closet. In terms of raw percentage of volume, 3 bulk loaders represented a significant space savings. More than space savings, though, is time savings. Bulk loaders are just a waste of time and extra film handling.

Can -> Bulk loader -> Cassette

versus

Can-> Cassette

 

[MattKing]

Bulk loaders are really convenient if, like me, you want to be able to adjust the lengths of film you load. Sometimes I like to load short rolls, while at other times I like to shoot 36 exposures.

Personally, I wouldn't try loading bulk film without a loader unless and until I was very familiar with handling longish strips of film in complete darkness.

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hello !
There are two (similar) modern designs worth considering. The first one is the Spanish made AP which often comes with a bunch of re-loadable cassettes (plastic), the other one is a very similar Japanese made (LPL I think).
IMHO both are very good and foolproof because you have to close the lid to insert the winding crank which open the light trap. The film length and the frames counters are very accurate too.

 

[Anscojohn]

Easier to do than explain. You need a darkroom. Keep everything clean and dust free.
Assembly parts of cassette in known order on work surface. Piece of tape on lip of work surface. Outen light. Open film can. Take off amount of film needed: I have three push pins in the door frame for twenty and 36 exposures. Scissors in back pocket. Hold length of film by putting one end lightly in mouth. Don't Bogart the film. Replace film in can. Pick up spool. Orient spool so nubbin is to the left. Take film from mouth. Emulsion side will stick to lips. Place film, emulsion side down, against film spool. Find tape by running hand along lip of work surface. Firmly tape film to spindle. Place spindle into cassette. Snap on the end. Spin the end cap to make sure it is on tightly and correctly.Turn the assembled cassette over (I am right handed) and gently wind the spindle towards youself to wind film into cartridge. Keep film straight out against light trap with index finger. When you feel the end of the film with your index finger, you are done.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

The best cassettes for bulk loading are the ones made by and for Nikon F/F2, Leica LTM & M1-M4, and Zeiss Contaflex & Contarex. The cassettes are feltless with a light-trap that is opened by a cam when the camera back is locked.

The Alden loader incorporates a mechanism for opening and closing these cassettes. I don't know about the Watson. The Lloyd's requires the spool be inserted manually in the cassette housing.

 

[Moopheus]

I have one Watson and one Alden 74. Operationally, they are nearly identical, but the Alden is clearly more robust construction. Sure, you don't really NEED one, but it is a convenience--when you want some film, just drop in a cassette and spool it out. If you have more than one, you can have a couple of different types of film loaded. Clean used loaders and plentiful and cheap, so if you want one, there's no reason not to have one. And you will save money if you use a lot of 35mm.

 

[BetterSense]

I don't measure out lengths of film. I wind it from the bulk roll directly into the 35mm canister, and tear it off. I usually don't even take the bulk film out of the plastic bag. I have a crank I made out of dowel rod; it takes about 30 rotations for a 36-exposure roll.

 

[David William White]

Very similar here. I slip a couple of loops off a roll (mine are 400/1000ft), run my fingers up the edges to the end to unwind it, then tape the end to the spool. Roll it up by hand till the spool is full, then snip. I used to measure off and snip, but this anchors the film better, I think. My rolls have somewhere between 28 and 34 exposures, most of the time.