Bulk roll frame numbers and edge marking

[fdonadio]

Keep going until you hit the end... then figure that last shot is no good.

Exactly!

 

[ericdan]

Exactly!

Sounds like a bad idea. I’ve had many rolls with keepers on the last frame.

 

[MattKing]

Then you need something like a Retina IIIc, which requires you to manually set the frame counter at time of loading, and then counts down to zero.
If you use bulk film regularly you most likely will become attuned to when the end of the roll is approaching.
And you can start the cassette load in the dark.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

My now-ancient EFKE KB100 bulk roll has half-frame edge markings. I can't remember if it resets at 72 or 80.
I don't have a bulk loader, I did it by hand in darkness, so no issue there. I couldn't get exactly 36-frame rolls, but I would get it roughly right by measuring a scrap roll against my outstretched arms before I got to work.
The last time I did this, I didn't have access to an actual darkroom, so I did it in my changing bag. It worked OK except I could no longer simply stretch out my arms and know how much film to cut off the roll, so I got it wrong and loaded a couple of cassettes with 45-frame film. No problems until I was loading it into my development tank and realized it wouldn't fit on my Paterson reel, so I had to cut off a piece of each roll to stick on another reel, and hope I didn't lose a good shot.

This has got to be one of my favorite posts on this site.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

Keep going until you hit the end... then figure that last shot is no good.

I think that Bill is pulling our leg on this one. I, however, save my worst shot for the last frame. I must have shot a ton of very short rolls.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

That’s correct; No frame numbers with Foma.

I can’t remember what you get with Orwo or Efke rolls but I seem to remember them not having frame numbers either. Don’t quote me on that, though; my memory is pretty volatile.

memory is the second thing that goes; can't remember what the first was.

 

[AgX]

If you use bulk film regularly you most likely will become attuned to when the end of the roll is approaching.
And you can start the cassette load in the dark.

Even better, bulk-load without bulk-loader.

 

[ericdan]

reading all of this makes me think it's not that simple after all to bulk load.
at 79.90 for a bulk roll of TX it's $4 a roll vs $5.79 factory-loaded. 30% off.

 

[AgX]

Back in the 70s I bulk loaded from my 4th film onwards, without any loader, without any darkroom and without any instructions at all. Worked fine.

Today we tend to overcomplicate things.

 

[Anon Ymous]

reading all of this makes me think it's not that simple after all to bulk load.
at 79.90 for a bulk roll of TX it's $4 a roll vs $5.79 factory-loaded. 30% off.

It's definitely easy to bulk load, people make it far more complicated than it really is. It's certainly easy to load with a loader in the dark and avoid ruining the last shot. Go for it.

 

[AgX]

A bulk loader is good for
-) daylight loading
-) loading a specific length of film
-) storing with several loaders several types of film ready to load
-) controlling stock (as some models show resting length of film)

Its disadvantages are
-) scratching film (one model per design has a door that may scratch)
-) exposing end of film. This likely is cared for in its frame counting (check) but still the "surplus" length of film might trickle one to expose on too

 

[miha]

Back in the 70s I bulk loaded from my 4th film onwards, without any loader, without any darkroom and without any instructions at all. Worked fine.

Today we tend to overcomplicate things.

Do you still bulk load today?

 

[Agulliver]

Bulk loading is easy and for everything other than Kodak it's much cheaper. I save roughly 50% on Ilford and Foma films by bulk loading. Also you sometimes come across outdated 100' loads on the auction site or bulk loaders with film still in them which can be used. You can also often get the Rollei 25 and 400 films on 100 foot loads, and other films sometimes turn up.

So I currently have three bulk loaders with films in them.....HP5+, Fomapan 100 and Fomapan 200. This means that I can have several 135 cartridges of each available at any one time (I have about 25 reusable carts). When I get low, I pick an afternoon or evening when I'm not doing much, get out my loaders, scissors and tape...put on a record and spend a little time rolling film. I have two further empty bulk loaders which I will bring into play if I find a cheap expired 50 or 100' spool or if I spy a really good deal on FP4+ or Rollei 25.

I've not noticed that any of my bulk loaders, all purchased used, scratches the film. I have lost a handful of shots so what I tend to do is wind one frame more than I intend (usually I do 37 or 25) and that's usually fine. If a shot seems to be important, I will rewind the film after 35 or 23. I'm still saving lots of money and I find it convenient and fun too.

It does take a film cassettes to really get to know the foibles of your bulk loader. Eg the Watson 100 does tend to lose two fames at the end, The Watson 66 (and copies) needs it's lid holding down during loading, the Lloyds/Daylight type crank count isn't the same for all types of film....but I soon got the hang of it all. As I mentioned, if a shot is really important and you're nearing the end of the film (within three frames)....just rewind and load a new cassette.

 

[AgX]

Do you still bulk load today?

Yes. Whenever the bulk roll is cheaper.

 

[miha]

Yes. Whenever the bulk roll is cheaper.

Any recommendation for the cartridges?

 

[AgX]

I use plastic cassettes. But in all past discussion we did not know what cassettes we were talking about as they are typically not clearly marked.
I guess what is currently available is from AP.

 

[fdonadio]

Sounds like a bad idea. I’ve had many rolls with keepers on the last frame.

I was joking (and should have been clearer about that). Sorry.

But what usually happens to me is this. I get overly excited, clicking and clicking like there was no tomorrow... just to find out I ran out of film. And, like you said, sometimes it’s a great shot that gets ruined.

Talking seriously now: I rewind my film for 27 exposures. I set my loader counter at the “triangle”, which is five frames before zero. This gives me enough margin in both ends of the roll.

 

[miha]

I use plastic cassettes. But in all past discussion we did not know what cassettes we were talking about as they are typically not clearly marked.
I guess what is currently available is from AP.

Thanks!

 

[MattKing]

I have been bulk loading, off and on, since the mid 1970s.
There are lots of different reasons to do so, besides economy.
I currently have two 100 foot rolls in the freezer, where they consume much less space than individual rolls. And when the film runs out in my current loader (s) I've got lots of time to buy another 100 foot roll to replace the one that gets transferred from the freezer to the loader.
I have a favourite roll length - 25 - that I can load myself, but cannot buy from the store. And sometimes I need really short rolls, or 35 exposure rolls, and I can load them whenever I need to.
Well I currently have two loaders on the go, I have in the past had three different ones loaded with three different types of film.
The "wasted" frames at either end are easy to deal with. Actually easier to deal with than the classic photographer's dilemma - do I wait until I finish the roll, or do I waste a few frames and develop the film right away.
I've got lots and lots of older metal cassettes that still work well - plus a few plastic ones that also work.
Bulk loading adds flexibility. And you can save a little too.

 

[abruzzi]

One of the (admittedly minor) things I love about medium format is I get 10 (6x7) or 15 (6x4.5) shots on a roll, meaning I pretty much always finish the roll on the same day I start it. On 35mm, even 24 exposure rolls are getting less common, and finishing 36 exposures on the same day is pretty hard (for me.) So, instead I will frequently use the bulk loader to load up about 15-18 exposure rolls, so I can shoot the whole roll in a day. Or if you want to do some kind of test, you can load a 6 exposure roll. That flexibility is useful.