Metal 35mm film canisters

tjaded · Jan 5, 2010

Hi all--
Just curious if anyone collects the plain jane metal film canisters. I have a bunch of the cool Kodak ones in various colors, but I recently got a bag of the bare metal ones. I'm going to keep a couple of them, but I have something like 40 of them now.

pgomena · Jan 6, 2010

I don't collect them, but I do have one from a roll of Kodachrome from the 60s. Just a little bit of nostalgia to make me smile whenever I run across it in my drawer of photographic miscellany.

Peter Gomena

cdowell · Jan 6, 2010

I had forgotten about them, but screw-top metal film canisters were salt, sugar and spice carriers of choice back in the old Boy Scout days. Wonder if they were toxic and we didn't know it...

jmcd · Jan 6, 2010

I like the 120 cans, too.

eli griggs · Jan 6, 2010

I like using these, especially the ones from Leica. They don't screw off like yours but when I grab a camera and a pocket of film, the canisters are easier to ID which reloads I have in them. Plastic may be better at keeping things dry and airtight but these tins are some of the neat little things that make photography fun.

Eli

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Jan 6, 2010

PM me if you're interested in getting rid of a few of your plain-jane ones, I've been trying to track some down recently but apparently they've collected value as ironic memory card cases for digital shooters now...

puderse · Jan 8, 2010

I'm not a collector but I have a habit of keeping them when I come upon them. They remind me of my youth! My last purchase for $0.10 was a yellow topped one for 828. If I could trade some of my dupes I would consider it. (Perhaps I am a collector!)

Bob Carnie · Jan 8, 2010

When I was a kid we collected them , then went to the drug store bought salt peter and a few other materials , I wasn't the chemist in the group. We drilled a hole in the top put in a wick filled the cannister with our mixture.
We then used a very long heavy duty tube, rammed into the ground with a hole for the wick , placed the cannister at the bottom of the tube wick exposed outside the tube , filled the tube with rocks and gravel and light the wick.
We could send the rocks flying over the house onto the road and really raise havic with these little devices.. Funny how I ended up in this business.

tjaded said:
Hi all--
Just curious if anyone collects the plain jane metal film canisters. I have a bunch of the cool Kodak ones in various colors, but I recently got a bag of the bare metal ones. I'm going to keep a couple of them, but I have something like 40 of them now.

AgX · Jan 8, 2010

Bob, you could have ended up in the A-Team...

bobwysiwyg · Jan 8, 2010

Bob Carnie said:
When I was a kid we collected them , then went to the drug store bought salt peter and a few other materials , I wasn't the chemist in the group. We drilled a hole in the top put in a wick filled the cannister with our mixture.
We then used a very long heavy duty tube, rammed into the ground with a hole for the wick , placed the cannister at the bottom of the tube wick exposed outside the tube , filled the tube with rocks and gravel and light the wick.
We could send the rocks flying over the house onto the road and really raise havic with these little devices.. Funny how I ended up in this business.

Note to TSA: Please scrutinize Mr. Carnie very closely when he flies.

Jeff Kubach · Jan 8, 2010

I think I have a couple of the metal ones hanging around somewhere. Enjoy looking at them every once a while. Brings back fond memories.

Jeff

lxdude · Jan 9, 2010

As I recall, the painted ones were for color film and the plain ones were for B+W. I'm not sure about this, and wonder if it's correct.

Whiteymorange · Jan 10, 2010

lxdude said:
As I recall, the painted ones were for color film and the plain ones were for B+W. I'm not sure about this, and wonder if it's correct.

The old yellow canisters had different color tops, brown for Plus-X, green for Pan-X, etc. (or visa-versa, I don't have my box of them with me.) Color film had its own set of color tops, but most of the cans themselves were yellow. I think the change to plain came with aluminum, rather than steel, cans.

lxdude · Jan 10, 2010

I have aluminum cans that are painted, too.

elekm · Jan 12, 2010

I still have a couple from Agfa film. As well, I have a bunch of Zeiss Ikon cassettes and their containers, some metal, some plastic.

Ron G · Apr 1, 2010

I still have at least one yellow one,maybe more.I used to store tooth powder in it in my foot locker and it is one of the things that made it home with me on my discharge.I think it has a blue top.This was back in the early '60s.I used to shoot primarily tri x but did shoot color on occasion.Ron G

fotch · Apr 1, 2010

jmcd said:
I like the 120 cans, too.

I don't remember any 120 in cans. What film came in these?

Rick A · Apr 1, 2010

I used to have a ton of the plain ones from shooting B&W. Most of them are gone, but a few remain in my tackle box loaded with various sundry items.

jcorll · Apr 1, 2010

Uhhh... what?

So, B&W was in the plain containers and the color was in the painted ones?

That kinda helps my search! A couple months ago, I acquired a camera with some film with it. (not in it) It is a steel container that has "Ansco 35mm Film" stamped on top of it. However, inside the roll says (Ansco Color, Daylight Type, 20) Any idea how to develop this? ( if it is even develop-able) It is probably from the 50's or 60's.
I've heard that the best bet is Standard Dev. in Rodinal. Anything else?

The canister:

The Roll

Francis in VT · Apr 1, 2010

Metal film cans

tjaded said:
Hi all--
Just curious if anyone collects the plain jane metal film canisters. I have a bunch of the cool Kodak ones in various colors, but I recently got a bag of the bare metal ones. I'm going to keep a couple of them, but I have something like 40 of them now.

tjaded;

I don't recognize the cans you show.
Is there a name or other ID on them?

Thank you

Francis in VT · Apr 1, 2010

120 film cans

fotch said:
I don't remember any 120 in cans. What film came in these?

fotch;

I have some AGFA screw top cans for 120.

Francis in VT · Apr 1, 2010

jcorll said:
So, B&W was in the plain containers and the color was in the painted ones?

That kinda helps my search! A couple months ago, I acquired a camera with some film with it. (not in it) It is a steel container that has "Ansco 35mm Film" stamped on top of it. However, inside the roll says (Ansco Color, Daylight Type, 20) Any idea how to develop this? ( if it is even develop-able) It is probably from the 50's or 60's.
I've heard that the best bet is Standard Dev. in Rodinal. Anything else?

jcorll;

In the early Fifties while stationed in England, Anscochrome was introduced with the fantastic speed of ASA 32. To get it processed we had to send it to Switzerland. One of the photo mags said it could be developed in the same chemistry as the old Ansco Color.
The formula was printed in the British Photographic Journal Almanac and the magazine showed the dev. times also for pushing the Anscochrome to ASA 125.
We successfully processed many rolls using this information.
If the Ansco Color film were mine I think I would just
display it as the way things were.

Francis in VT · Apr 1, 2010

jcorll;

In the early Fifties while stationed in England, Anscochrome was introduced with the fantastic speed of ASA 32. To get it processed we had to send it to Switzerland. One of the photo mags said it could be developed in the same chemistry as the old Ansco Color.
The formula was printed in the British Photographic Journal Almanac and the magazine showed the dev. times also for pushing the Anscochrome to ASA 125.
We successfully processed many rolls using this information.
If the Ansco Color film were mine I think I would just
display it as the way things were.

John Koehrer · Apr 1, 2010

Fuji had plastic 35 & 120 cans that sealed very well.
Agfa 35 & 120 metal w/slip fit tops.
Leica 35 with slip fit tops that may have come with their reloadable cassettes.

Gabriello Lewis · Apr 22, 2020

Hi there! My mother is a former photographer who's been looking for 3-4 of the 35mm cannisters. Does anyone have any extras?

Metal 35mm film canisters

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