Simonh82
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Ive just processed my first roll of bulk loaded film. I was expecting to get 36 exposures out of it but ended up with only 31. I was reloading Tmax cassettes by sticking the bulk film to a short length of film that I left protruding from the cassette. I am sure dedicated reloadable cassettes would be my best bet but as these are my first steps into bulk loading I wanted to try reusing existing cassettes and I know many others do this successfully.
My process was as follows: 1) Load bulk film into Watson type loader leaving short length protruding into the loading area. 2) Join bulk film to the film sticking out of the cassette using tape. 3) close the loading area and crank the handle listening for 36 clicks. 4) Opened the loading area and pulled through another couple of inches of film before cutting the cassette from the bulk roll. 5) trimmed a short leader section onto the beginning of the roll. This didnt involve me pulling any extra out of the cassette, I cut it from the excess pulled from the bulk roll.
The film was shot in a Canon EOS 3 which has automatic film transport. This camera always leaves a gap at the start of the film but always fits 36 exposures on to a factory produced roll. The automatic rewind must have kicked in when it sensed tension at the end of the roll but the problem appears to be at the leader end as there wasnt an excessively long exposed tail and the last frame of the film didnt overlap into the exposed tail.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I be counting more than 36 clicks for a 36 exposure roll? Should I be pulling out more bulk film to give myself a longer leader than on a normal film? Is this just an issue with auto-wind cameras? Part of the reason I want to bulk roll is for economy and the best way to achieve this is to get a full 36 exposures out of a film, otherwise Im just wasting film in leaders and tails.
I know I need to give myself more film inside the cassette but I want to know if someone can identify what I should be doing differently next time. Ive loaded up 6 cassettes like this, so Ill work my way through them and have another go soon but any advice is very welcome.
Thanks, Simon
My process was as follows: 1) Load bulk film into Watson type loader leaving short length protruding into the loading area. 2) Join bulk film to the film sticking out of the cassette using tape. 3) close the loading area and crank the handle listening for 36 clicks. 4) Opened the loading area and pulled through another couple of inches of film before cutting the cassette from the bulk roll. 5) trimmed a short leader section onto the beginning of the roll. This didnt involve me pulling any extra out of the cassette, I cut it from the excess pulled from the bulk roll.
The film was shot in a Canon EOS 3 which has automatic film transport. This camera always leaves a gap at the start of the film but always fits 36 exposures on to a factory produced roll. The automatic rewind must have kicked in when it sensed tension at the end of the roll but the problem appears to be at the leader end as there wasnt an excessively long exposed tail and the last frame of the film didnt overlap into the exposed tail.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I be counting more than 36 clicks for a 36 exposure roll? Should I be pulling out more bulk film to give myself a longer leader than on a normal film? Is this just an issue with auto-wind cameras? Part of the reason I want to bulk roll is for economy and the best way to achieve this is to get a full 36 exposures out of a film, otherwise Im just wasting film in leaders and tails.
I know I need to give myself more film inside the cassette but I want to know if someone can identify what I should be doing differently next time. Ive loaded up 6 cassettes like this, so Ill work my way through them and have another go soon but any advice is very welcome.
Thanks, Simon
