cassettes

jim appleyard · Apr 18, 2005

Does anyone know a source for GOOD reloadable cassettes? I bought some generic ones recently and the tops have a habit of popping off; not good!

Dave Parker · Apr 18, 2005

I have been using Kalt brand for years with no problems, I know they are available through porters camera which if I remember right is www.porters.com

Dave

jim appleyard · Apr 18, 2005

Thanks Dave. I had forgotten about the Kalt brand. They do make a good one.

Claire Senft · Apr 18, 2005

I will second the vote on Kalt cassettes althought their spool is really flimsy.

jim appleyard · Apr 18, 2005

I suppose I could rob the spool out the cheapies and put them in the Kalts.

joeyk49 · Apr 18, 2005

Claire Senft said:
I will second the vote on Kalt cassettes althought their spool is really flimsy.

I'll third(?) on the KALTs. Never a problem. They snap right on and pop off easily when you want them off.

Konical · Apr 18, 2005

Good Evening, Jim,

I agree that the Kalt's are fine. I've never had a problem with the spools, but it's easy enough, if necessary, to salvage those from factory-loaded Kodak or Ilford cartridges.

Konical

Nick Zentena · Apr 19, 2005

I like the plastic ones with the screw in tops. The Kalts are fine but the screw tops are easier.

jim appleyard · Apr 19, 2005

How about the generic ones with the screw tops; anyone try/like those?

eric · Apr 19, 2005

jim appleyard said:
How about the generic ones with the screw tops; anyone try/like those?

I just went through 10 of the plastic screw tops. I"ve had some fogging with them. YMMV. So try some.
I saw, on BH, some VERY EXPENSIVE ones. Not sure if I will get them. But next time, I'll get the "snap top" ones.

Best ones I've used, but not sold anymore, are the Kodak ones (metal)

Some guy, on the RFF list, said he goes to the lab, they give him a handfull of old ones. They leave a piece sticking out and just tapes film to it, and then rolls it. Brilliant idea!

jim appleyard · Apr 19, 2005

I could go to my lab too and I can try all of the above. I used to have some old Ilford ones, but they finally quit.

Thanks all!

BarrieB · Apr 19, 2005

I have tried the 'Plastic' screw end types and I put a spot on them each reload, I only get about 7 or 8 uses before getting some scratches on my films.
* With my Bulk loader the film is not wound thro` the felt trap , however everytime a film is used it goes out once, rewind twice so my 8 times is really 16 times.
Cheers BarrieB.

Seele · Apr 19, 2005

There is a good reason to hunt down those self-opening cassettes if your cameras take them, if your cameras are old enough of course!

I use an alternative, however: the Shirley Wellard cassette, which is like any self-opening cassette, but works with any camera with a pull-up rewind knob. When it is loaded into the camera, the rewind know does not push all the way in but sticks out by about a millimetre or so. Push down the rewind knob and give it an anti-clockwise twist, it opens the cassette for easy egress and ingress of the film, and after rewind, push it down and give it another twist clockwise to close the cassette. Machined out of solid brass, Shirley Wellards are heavy... and heavy-duty, and last indefinitely too. They can still be found occasionally at camera collectors shows.

Tach · Apr 21, 2005

eric said:
Some guy, on the RFF list, said he goes to the lab, they give him a handfull of old ones. They leave a piece sticking out and just tapes film to it, and then rolls it. Brilliant idea!

That was me, but the idea is not mine; that´s just how everyone I know who uses bulk film reload cassettes down here... If I were to appear with store bought reloadable cassettes they'd smack me for having more money than sense.

Daniel Lawton · Apr 21, 2005

I haven't had much luck with the plastic screw-top cassettes from B+H. Besides an occasional fogged edge, I have noticed tiny flecks of plastic inside the cassettes. Consequesntly I have been experiencing problems with scratches on some of my rolls. Once I finish them up I'll only use the metal Kalt cassettes. I haven't had any issues with those.

Dr.Kollig · Apr 24, 2005

Tach said:
That was me, but the idea is not mine; that´s just how everyone I know who uses bulk film reload cassettes down here... If I were to appear with store bought reloadable cassettes they'd smack me for having more money than sense.

I found Kodak, Ilford and Fuji work well, but not Agfa and Tura. Some cassettes can still be opened like Efke, Foma, Lucky.

So these days I days I use some cheap Ilford bulk in Lucky cassettes to look more professionell!

Plastic ones are not among my favourites, even if they still say Orwo NP 20, I used some tape to secure the top.

Wolfram

djklmnop · Apr 24, 2005

I purchase the generic plastic screw-on ones from BH Photo. They can be tightened as much as you'd like without them breaking.. They are very unlikely to pop off as well. Pick up a semi-rough brush. I stick my thumb in the canister then flex my thumb to separate the leaders so I can brush the dust off after each use. They say the life of these canisters are about 10 rolls refills.. I've used mines for over 5 years without running into a single scratch. Just be sure to brush to keep them dust-free.

gbroadbridge · Apr 26, 2005

jim appleyard said:
Does anyone know a source for GOOD reloadable cassettes? I bought some generic ones recently and the tops have a habit of popping off; not good!

I just use good quality plastic screw top cassettes from a local supplier (Vanbar).

I bought 5 a couple of years ago, which must have had 100 loads of film each through them by now and I've never seen a neg scratch (but I admit to only loading film in protected places like in the car - I'd never open the camera in a sandstorm .

I just blow them out using compressed air before each load. I've had ONE incident of the top unscrewing itself and that was just carelessness on my part.

Graham.

Ole · Apr 26, 2005

When I last used a bulkloader - which I admit is quite a few years ago - I would get used AGFA, Fuji and Ilford cassettes. By holding them in one hand and slamming the projecting part of the spindle HARD down on a firm surface, the lid would pop off. Agfa cassettes were the best for some reason, but only used with a Fuji lid! The original lids tended to pop off at awkward times. I would use a cassette three or four times, then discard it (and keep the lid if it was still good).

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