Bulk loading film!!!

[alexmacphee]

I find the Watson bulk loader to be particularly wasteful: it wastes several frames at the END of the spooled cassette, in addition to the 3-4 frames at the beginning.

This can be annoying, and not just because of the wastage, but the risk of a valuable image being shot on the dud trailer. The way I got round this was to kick-start the cassette load inside the changing bag. Of course, you could argue that you might as well dispense with the loader in that case, but the loader is still convenient enough for counting frames.

 

[fotch]

Maybe I am missing something but if you load 36x according to the loader, and snap 36x and then rewind, how do you lose a good shot?

 

[alexmacphee]

Maybe I am missing something but if you load 36x according to the loader, and snap 36x and then rewind, how do you lose a good shot?

If you're thinking about the Watson/Computrol type loader, the film comes from the supply drum through a light tight gate and in to the cassette loading chamber. In daylight, you open open the door to the cassette chamber, and there will be an inch or two of film leader there. Open your cassette and tack the inch or two of film coming out, on to the cassette spindle, close the cassette, and put the cassette back in the cassette chamber so that the crank engages where it should. Then replace the light-tight door to the cassette chamber, and crank until you've turned in the number of frames you want, plus a few extra to allow for the leader you're going to trim in the usual way. Open the cassettre chamber, cut the film, remove the cassette, and trim the leader.

There's an interlock with the cassette chamber door which means you can't open it until you've turned the cover on the supply drum in such a way that the gate inside becomes light-tight, then you can open the door to the cassette.

Because there's always an inch or two of film poking out from the supply drum to the cassette chamber, that short length will be wasted, and will form the last couple of frames when the cassette is being used in the camera. Normally, you'd add an extra couple of frames to your count, say, 38 instead of 36 (plus film leader on top of that) to allow for it, and just make sure never to go past the '36' on your camera's film counter. In my early days, I made just that mistake. I got into the habit of putting the loader into a changing back whenever I had to open the cassette chamber door, to avoid having exposed film at the end of the strip. I got used to doing that, though I can understand some wouldn't want to be bothered with that inconvenience.

 

[Q.G.]

Can't you do that in the dark, until the loader is shut light-tight?

 

[alexmacphee]

Yes, if you've a darkroom. For various reasons, my darkroom is in storage and I need to make do for the time being with makeshift arrangements. For the time being, I'm processing film to scan to print until I can get the proper darkroom and wet bench re-established.

 

[vedmak]

one disadvantage of bulk loader is you do waist film, for example if you use leica template to cut a leader, you need to measure the film against the pins on the boards, but that way, you save about 2" on every roll, so for 100, you could probably have another roll at the end.