Jobo/Patterson reels in Jobo tank

[markbb]

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to go out and shoot LF so have traded down to 6x9 and 35mm. For a while, I've been happy to use B&W film which is easily processed in a Patterson tank. However, I want to shoot colour as well (fuji Provia) and realise I'll have to use my jobo CPA for proper temperature control. The problem is, it looks like I'll *have* to use jobo reels to hold the film, experiment show me that a patterson reel in a jobo tank does not alow the film to be evenly immersed in the chemicals (not sure if the reel slips or the central spindle).
So, do I have to use Jobo reels? If so, how do they compare to the patterson reels with thier BB to 'walk' the film onto the reel?

Life's a lot easier in the LF world, loading expert tanks is a doddle.

BTW, sometime in the past few years I've picked up a jobo reel. It appears to be ajustable between 35 & 60mm, but in the former configuration it's narrower than a strip of 35mm film? Is this correct?

 

[Ian Grant]

I use Paterson reels in my Jobo 2000 tanks with no problem, but I use inversion agitation, I have some Jobo reels with a nother older but similar tank but they aren't as easy to load. I think they need a loader.

Ian

 

[RoNinHeart]

Last week I ran a roll of 120 though my school's Jobo on a Samigon Multi-Format Autofeed Loading Reel, 3.75" with a 1" core, these also fit a Paterson System 4 tank. ( http://tinyurl.com/2w37qh ).

I did it as an experiment, to see if it would work. I have nerve damage in my dominant hand, and loading reels is a challenge, the Samigon reels really are easier to load.

The darkroom manager thought that the reel might not spin and I was worried about light leaks. But the film came out really nice, just a few dark spots on the very edge, that didn't affect the picture area. Halfway through processing it dawned on me that I should have increased the volume of chemicals to make up for the fact that the Samigon reels don't come all the way out to the edge of the Jobo tank, there's maybe an inch of space between the reel and the outside edge of the tank. So maybe that explains the dark spots.

I'll probably give it another shot with more in the tank and see how that works.

Why doesn't anyone make a easy-load reel for a Jobo?

 

[Nick Zentena]

Once you get used to the 2500 reels I find them easier then the Paterson reels. But it is a different motion. If you've spent years loading Patersons expect to spend a bit of time adjusting.

BTW Jobo reels can handle 35mm,46mm and 120/220.

 

[pentaxuser]

I actually prefer the Jobo for 35mm. Holding the film at the edges and pushing it onto the reel is quick and foolproof. However 120 is another matter. Its width makes using the same technique much more problematical. There is the "alternate thumbs" method which is what I think you are mean to use with Jobo reels. It does take a little adjusting to after the BB of the Paterson reel and seems slow. Sometimes I become convinced that the film is simply static. I simply haven't loaded enough 120 to have become adept at it

Roger Hicks on his site has a good description with photos and I think it is a free module. However seeing how it is done and doing it are two different things. There is an apprenticeship to be gone through unfortunately.

pentaxuser

 

[paul ewins]

I had a lot of trouble loading Jobo reels, but it seems that part of the trouble is that I was using the older (clear) reels. I did a batch of 120 E6 on the weekend and was surprised to find that if I used the newer (black) reels it wasn't too hard at all. I don't know what the difference is as the design looks the same. Maybe the black plastic is smoother somehow.

I do wish that the reels were available in single sizes instead of being adjustable as I worry about collapsing the reel when pushing multiple 120 reels onto the core.