Flic-Film ( re-loadable cassettes ) Too Big ?

[John Salim]

Has anybody had any problems with these cassettes ?
These are the two part plastic ones ( which requires a jig to separate and open them ).

Reason being, I have a customer who's experiencing big problems loading and un-loading her Canon EOS A2E camera. They are literally very tight, difficult to fit and remove.
I've asked if the camera's been repaired at all ( ie ... not properly re-assembled ), but no, it was bought new, and there's nothing inside the cassette chamber.

I have a selection of cameras I've check with ... Nikon F3, Nikon FE, Olympus OM-1, Pentax K1000 and a Cosina CT1G.
None had problems - though the cassette was quite snug in one of the Nikons.

I've just measured three cassettes ... Flic, Kodak and Ilford.

Overall length ( spool ) Flic=46.6mm Ilford=47.1mm Kodak=47.1mm
Cassette body length Flic=42.7mm Ilford=42.5mm Kodak=42.6mm
Body diameter Flic=25mm Ilford=24.4mm Kodak=24.2mm

The only problem I see is the Flic cassette body diameter.
I'd love to know if anybody has had issues.

Cheers,
John S

 

[Tel]

John,

I’ve tried a set of these and finally gave up and tossed them. In my Minolta 35 cameras the film would bind as I wound it up. Really frustrating and consistent, and it happened with one of my other cameras too. I figured it might be something wrong with the mouth of the cassette, but the cassettes were difficult to fit into the camera, so it could have been something with the spool too. And the opener device seemed to be badly engineered and hard to operate. My solution was to order a batch of Soviet metal ones from a seller in Ukraine and wait two months for delivery. Worth the wait!

 

[cmacd123]

I have also found the Flic (and related) cassettes seem tight in my EOS Canon Cameras, and yes, I have also experienced the film re-wind clicking on before the last frame. The current ARISTA EDU Ultra film seems to be packed by Flic. Foma has been having issues in making Metal cassettes it seems.

Once I practiced with it the new "quick Pic"device is fairly easy to use, the original Box like Flic Pic device can be a touch tricky. If you have not used the quick pic, watch the you tube video a few times. I suspect that I will stick to buying their Bulk rolls of Fomapan (Flic Ultrapan) as opposed to the ultrapan cassettes. (being in Canada, The company overall is a potential safe source.)

other than sometimes having to play with the rewind Knob near the end of the roll, I have so far had good results with the couple of rolls of Chrome 100 I have shot,- and yes it is EASTMAN 5294 Ektachrome. Those I used a Manual Canon A-1.

 

[brbo]

I also noticed another thing. At least with Lomography films that use these new two-part plastic cassettes I experienced light leaks on my cameras that have film windows. This happened on my Nikon F80 and XPan that otherwise newer had a problem with light leaks. I then checked flickr for similar light leaks, and sure enough, they only appear cameras that have film window.

Though, this is probably down to the labels Lomography uses on these cassettes. I’ve now started putting a piece of black electric tape on the cassette where the window covers the cassette and haven’t had a problem since…

 

[arturo_rs]

I had a problem with these new casettes. They broke the latches of the film door of my Nikon F70. I had to close the door pushing more then normal.
Results = Latches broken.

 

[brbo]

@arturo_rs, that reminded me that I also noticed the same on my F80. My original latches broke a while ago and I made and installed new metal ones, but I still feel a bit uncomfortable closing my F80 with the new plastic cassettes insude.

 

[mshchem]

Yeah, Flic has disappointed me. I have some of these cassettes, I've made them work. Clearly designed to be used once.

 

[arturo_rs]

@arturo_rs, that reminded me that I also noticed the same on my F80. My original latches broke a while ago and I made and installed new metal ones, but I still feel a bit uncomfortable closing my F80 with the new plastic cassettes insude.

Recently I bought a Nikon F100. I´m not gonna use that kind of canisters. Maybe the old cameras, the ones that don´t use plastic parts, only metal, can handle them without problems.

 

[guangong]

I play it safe. Except for mini film cassettes for Minox and Minolta 16, the only reloadable cassettes I use are Leitz and Zeiss. I have never found reloadable Nikon cassettes at an affordable price. With these cassettes film never touches the mouth of the cassette, all others pose the danger of scratching film. Not worth the bother.

 

[John Salim]

They also have the worst light traps. Threads of materiel falling off here and there, and have you tried using a film-picker ? .... resulting in some gluey muck on the film and picker !

John S

 

[brbo]

and have you tried using a film-picker ?

I noticed that my film picker stopped half way into the cassette and couldn’t extract the film. I guess the film picker leader can’t slide past the joint where two parts of the cassette connect.

That could be a problem if you tend to partially expose the rolls and your camera doesn’t have the option of leaving out the film leader.

 

[cmacd123]

They also have the worst light traps. Threads of materiel falling off here and there, and have you tried using a film-picker ? .... resulting in some gluey muck on the film and picker !

John S

If you want the You tube videos, they t one point show a young woman carefully placing the light trap parts on the plastic sides of the cassette. I think that is on the video from "Brooklin Film Camera"..

I think that this spot should show the process But of course you can watch the entire Video.