Help Needed. Apparently I am getting 400ft of film.

[dehk]

Friend called me the other day said he bought a 400 foot roll of Kodak Vision 500T and it's heading my way in FedEx. Apparently he's paying for it but I'll have to do all the dirty work.

I never loaded my own, I know the basics, I do have a loading tank and some re-loadable cassettes. But I do have a question for the "minor details".

My guess would be, that reel would not fit in my 35mm loading tank so I'd have to find one that fits, or split them into 4 x 100 ft roll reels, which I don't have either, do you? Or how would you suggest doing this?

Thanks,
Derek

 

[vedmak]

First do you have a darkroom, that is for the luck of a better word really dark? If that is the case, then all you have to do is to measure the length of 36 exposures on the table, get the spool and cut that length, then put it back in a light tight bag and in the freezer. I would avoid rolling the film back and forth, since you can damage it in the process of cutting in 100 feet chunks. Just my 2 cents...

 

[wildbill]

you can buy 100ft daylight spools of movie film, it's used for eyemo crash cameras.

 

[dehk]

First do you have a darkroom, that is for the luck of a better word really dark? If that is the case, then all you have to do is to measure the length of 36 exposures on the table, get the spool and cut that length, then put it back in a light tight bag and in the freezer. I would avoid rolling the film back and forth, since you can damage it in the process of cutting in 100 feet chunks. Just my 2 cents...

I do understand the concern about rolling the film back and forth. But seems like that's a lot of work and even more chance for me to mess it up or get dust.. If I get about 18 , 36 exposure rolls of film from 100ft, I'd have do do that 72 times.

 

[fotch]

I wonder if you could make something like the Nikon winder.

 

[dehk]

I wonder if you could make something like the Nikon winder.

View attachment 46328

Good idea, I'll have to look into that.

 

[jp498]

I'd probably spool off roughly 100' without measuring it. Put it on a turntable or other spindle and wind enough onto a bulk loader spindle to have a useful amount in their normal 100' bulk loading machine you have. Wear gloves. Rebag/pack the 300' for another time and use up what you've got put into your loader.

 

[dehk]

Any of you got some 100ft spool that you dont need?

 

[thegman]

Vision 500T is a movie film, so won't it have a remjet backing? Which causes problems for C41 development?

 

[Worker 11811]

If the film is wound tightly on its spool/reel you won't have to worry about getting cinch mark scratches in the emulsion. It is only when the film is wound loosely, allowing the layers of film to slip against each other that you get cinch marks.

Make a pair of rewinding spindles and use them to wind the film from the stock reel onto four smaller spools for use in the bulk loader or get a hand operated bench winder for movie film from eBay.

I'd use empty spools like the kind Fuji ships film on. That way, as long as you keep the right tension on the film, you won't get any proud edges or scratches.

Put those spools into empty film cans like they originally came in, tape the lids on, label them for future reference and store until you are ready to use.

 

[dehk]

Vision 500T is a movie film, so won't it have a remjet backing? Which causes problems for C41 development?

Gonna send them off and develop them in ECN3

 

[ic-racer]

The last time I spooled out 600ft to 200ft rolls to fit a bulk loader I did it on a table. Just start winding up a little coil of film, you don't need a plastic core. Keep it from unwinding. The bigger your coil, the faster it goes. Only had to do it 3 times so it was not too bad. When done, tape the end of it or just put it in the bulk loader.

 

[dehk]

If the film is wound tightly on its spool/reel you won't have to worry about getting cinch mark scratches in the emulsion. It is only when the film is wound loosely, allowing the layers of film to slip against each other that you get cinch marks.

Make a pair of rewinding spindles and use them to wind the film from the stock reel onto four smaller spools for use in the bulk loader or get a hand operated bench winder for movie film from eBay.

I'd use empty spools like the kind Fuji ships film on. That way, as long as you keep the right tension on the film, you won't get any proud edges or scratches.

Put those spools into empty film cans like they originally came in, tape the lids on, label them for future reference and store until you are ready to use.

Sounded like the winner here.

 

[dehk]

The last time I spooled out 600ft to 200ft rolls to fit a bulk loader I did it on a table. Just start winding up a little coil of film, you don't need a plastic core. Keep it from unwinding. The bigger your coil, the faster it goes. Only had to do it 3 times so it was not too bad. When done, tape the end of it or just put it in the bulk loader.

Thanks, that make sense too

 

[Steve Roberts]

I've never understood the obsession with bulk film loaders. I'm making my way through a 400' roll of outdated 35mm FP4 and all I ever do is open it in the dark, reel off a length about equal to the span of my outstretched hands and load it into a cassette. More scientific measurements can be applied if required but that gives me somewhere between 30 and 36 exposures, depending on how stretchy I am that day. I tend to err on the short side and aim for the low 30s so that I don't end up with the usual problem of not being able to get the last couple of frames loaded into the developing reel. I normally load a few cassettes in a session.
Steve

 

[Worker 11811]

I don't have a problem with winding film. I have personally handled enough 35mm cine film to wrap around the world several times.
But for differences in film base composition and the shape of the sprocket holes, 35mm cine film is virtually identical to 35mm photo film. More than 90% of the time cine film will work in place of photo film without any problem.

Consequently, handling film is second nature to me. Winding on reels or spools, measuring or cutting, handling by the edges and keeping the emulsion side of the film in the right orientation are just natural things. The difference lies in the fact that raw stock film must be handled in the dark lest it be spoiled.

I often do spool-off and manipulate lengths of film in the dark to be rolled into cartridges for use or for other purposes. Handling film in the dark is integral to the developing process. How else do you get film onto the reels for developing? The thing is, working in the dark just isn't convenient. That's the reason why I use a bulk loader.

It's a lot easier, faster and more convenient to handle film in the dark just one time before it is loaded into cartridges. I don't have to turn off the lights before unpacking the film, wind the film in the dark then repack the film (and double check my packing) before turning the lights back on. It's quicker, easier and less troublesome to use a loader. If I decide I need a roll of film at the last minute before I leave the house, it's a small matter to use the loader to wind one off.

So, I don't have a problem just measuring off a length of film in the dark when I need to or want to. I just think it's more convenient to use a loader.

 

[frobozz]

So, I don't have a problem just measuring off a length of film in the dark when I need to or want to. I just think it's more convenient to use a loader.

Same here. Which is also why I cut down my long rolls into 100 ft chunks from the very start. That way when I need to fill a bulk loader I can do it in my lap in a changing bag rather than needing a dark room.

I have a nice pair of rewinds mounted on a board with rubber feet; a good set of split reels in various sizes (up to 2000 feet); a big supply of 2" plastic cores; and a big supply of metal cans with bags - both the 100ft ones from bulk still film, plus a pile of 200/400/1000/2000 ft ones from cine film. While all the other methods will work (especially the one where you lay the big roll of film flat on a surface with an axle to spin on), this set of supplies makes winding off film into bulk loader lengths quick and easy. And a bulk loader, as you say, makes generating a 35mm cartridge full of film a quick and easy thing to do under any lighting conditions.

Duncan

 

[Helinophoto]

Maybe you'll get some tips in this old thread?
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[dehk]

Thanks everyone for the help once again!

 

[MattKing]

I've never understood the obsession with bulk film loaders. I'm making my way through a 400' roll of outdated 35mm FP4 and all I ever do is open it in the dark, reel off a length about equal to the span of my outstretched hands and load it into a cassette. More scientific measurements can be applied if required but that gives me somewhere between 30 and 36 exposures, depending on how stretchy I am that day. I tend to err on the short side and aim for the low 30s so that I don't end up with the usual problem of not being able to get the last couple of frames loaded into the developing reel. I normally load a few cassettes in a session.
Steve

It occurs to me that Steve's method would work well with my Canon EOS cameras that pre-wind the film to the end before one takes the first shot - especially if you are like me and prefer something like 24 exposure rolls.

 

[dehk]

Matt, But don't they stop at the end of the roll simply because they can't wind it anymore, so you'll have to tug on it?

 

[MattKing]

Matt, But don't they stop at the end of the roll simply because they can't wind it anymore, so you'll have to tug on it?

They stop at the end of the roll, at which point the counter will confirm for you (on some cameras) exactly how many shots you have available.

 

[Athiril]

I've wound film straight off a 1000ft core in a small change bag onto rolls, the windy handle off a bulk loader fits straight into the canister windy bit (which it's designed to but inside a bulk loader generally).