Plastic or metal cassettes?

Brad Bireley · Mar 18, 2009

Is there a difference in plastic or metal cassettes for bulk loading 35mm film?

What do you prefer?

trexx · Mar 18, 2009

Plastic have thicker walls and make loading to 36 tight. They have twist off caps so easier to assemble then snap cap. But the cap also comes off unexpectedly.

I only use metal.

bsdunek · Mar 18, 2009

When I use the plastic ones, I make sure my lable covers the edge of the end cap so it doesn't twist off. I've had that happen and the film fall right out - talk about overexposure! trexx is right that it's hard to load 36 exposures - I also prefer metal.

naeroscatu · Mar 18, 2009

Last time when I asked a lab they gave me few hundreds used metal cassettes, this works for me well. I had few screw-ups with plastic cassettes (scratches on film, caps coming off in the bag) so I don't trust them anymore.

fschifano · Mar 18, 2009

I use both. I have no trouble loading 36 exposures into the plastic cassettes. They give no trouble in my N90s and F100, both of which are cameras with build in motor drives. To prevent the cap from twisting off, I do the same as Bruce does. Scratches can happen with either metal or plastic if you don't keep them clean. A quick swipe with a piece of low tack masking tape (painter's tape) takes care of any grit that can accumulate on the felt lips.

jmcd · Mar 18, 2009

I've used both, and I prefer the metal cartridges.

Ektagraphic · Mar 18, 2009

I don't bulk load, but I would go with metal because I would be nervous that the plastic would crack. What if you stepped on it? I think if it was metal you still may be able to get something out of it.......

AgX · Mar 18, 2009

With my plastic cassettes I had no problems so far to load enough film for far more than 36 exposures.

As hinted at in another thread we are likely comparing different brands.

joko · Mar 18, 2009

I use the plastic ones. I haven't tried the metal ones. Maybe I use them one or two times many years ago; I don't remember. The plastic ones work okay, and they were immediately available at a low cost. I haven't seen anything that would make me think about it much. If it works, it works. J.

srs5694 · Mar 18, 2009

AgX's comment about brands is important. I've used at least three brands of reusable cartridges, plus re-used pre-loaded cartridges (from minilabs or pre-rolled film I've developed myself). I usually end up preferring whichever type I didn't use for my last bulk-loading run, since I get annoyed with the idiosyncracies of each one. Some specific notes:

I've had the felt peel away from some generic plastic cartridges (bought from B&H or Freestyle, IIRC) while trying to get the film into the cartridge.
Among plastic cartridges, I prefer the ones in which Svema film has come pre-loaded to the above-mentioned generics, in part because of the felt-peeling issue. OTOH, I found at least one Svema cartridge was slightly warped, which resulted in some fogging of the first few frames of the roll.
Some Kalt-branded metal cartridges are available with DX coding, but only in ISO 100 and ISO 400, the last I checked.
Re-using factory-loaded metal cartridges is possible (see here; scroll about halfway down to see photos). This has the advantage of giving you DX coding of whatever speeds you can get your hands on, which is good if you've got any cameras that require DX codes. I've never been able to get this started in the dark, though, so the last frame or two will be fogged. (With re-usable cartridges, I start it in total darkness so there's no fogging at the end of the roll.)

Mike Wilde · Mar 19, 2009

I am happy with both. If metal, I will vouch for Kalt. I am not crazy about thier central spindles, which I replace with commercial un-reloadable film cassette left overs. I think all of the OEM Kalt spindles, which had a flat section with a clip for some sort of punched commercial film type to hook onto are gone now.

pnance · Mar 19, 2009

Plastic or metal?

What I miss, except when I'm using my F or F2 is the ability (like some older Leica users) of using the metal cassettes with swing open light trap, no scratching can occur.

Paul

pentaxuser · Mar 19, 2009

srs5694 said:
.
[*]Re-using factory-loaded metal cartridges is possible (see here; scroll about halfway down to see photos).
[/list]

Thanks for that. A few pictures are worth a lot of written explanation. Looking at the pics it seems that there has to be a slight gap between the films so there might be a danger of not getting the two to line up exactly. OK the misalignment should only be small fractions of an inch. Is this OK or does alignment have to be absolutely 100% accurate?

The alternative which I would have used until I saw this link is to place the bulk film over the old film for say 3 to 4 sprocket holes. That way the films are aligned and maybe the join is stronger but there is then a very short section of double thickness to fit into the felt light trap.

Would this give a problem?

Thanks

pentaxuser

AgX · Mar 19, 2009

Concerning any effect of misalignment: The film runs between two rails and the pressure plate. The spool of the cassette has some axial play within the cassette.

nworth · Mar 19, 2009

I suspect that metal cassettes will be much longer lived. I have some that are 50 years old and are still going strong. The elasticity of steel has a lot to do with that. They don't break or chip regardless of rough handling.

wogster · Mar 19, 2009

pentaxuser said:
Thanks for that. A few pictures are worth a lot of written explanation. Looking at the pics it seems that there has to be a slight gap between the films so there might be a danger of not getting the two to line up exactly. OK the misalignment should only be small fractions of an inch. Is this OK or does alignment have to be absolutely 100% accurate?

The alternative which I would have used until I saw this link is to place the bulk film over the old film for say 3 to 4 sprocket holes. That way the films are aligned and maybe the join is stronger but there is then a very short section of double thickness to fit into the felt light trap.

Would this give a problem?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Just thinking about this, take a small block of wood, put 4 nails through at the right points, file the ends off so that there is only about 2mm sticking out the other side, and there are no sharp edges. Make it longer one way then the other so you can tell which way to hold it in the dark. In a darkroom or changing bag you take and hook the end from the cassette over one set of teeth and the end of the film over the other, put the tape across, take the film off, and tape the other side, roll it back into your bulk loader and close the light trap. Remove from the changing bag, and wind on your film. Perfect registration every time.

cmacd123 · Mar 19, 2009

I used to prefer the plastic, (original ADOX Style) but find that they tend to wear and leak light at the place where the felt meets the cap after about 10 uses. the plastic ones that EFKE used to use were not as strong as the ones based on the original ADOX design.
Most of the metal ones available as empties these days are based on the old AGFA metal design, but without the sharp bend that AGFA used to use from the 1970's till the mid 1990's. I just bought a Canon with the window to see the film type and so I suspect taht I will not be able to keep using my old AGFA/ILFORD metal ones with the sharp bend.

Thnaks to the DX coding issue, very few cassettes are provided as reusable, and even some brands that do sometimes provide reusable ones are likly to change to the crimp style for some batches.

srs5694 · Mar 19, 2009

pentaxuser said:
Thanks for that. A few pictures are worth a lot of written explanation. Looking at the pics it seems that there has to be a slight gap between the films so there might be a danger of not getting the two to line up exactly. OK the misalignment should only be small fractions of an inch. Is this OK or does alignment have to be absolutely 100% accurate?

When I re-use pre-spooled cassettes, I generally overlap slightly. This hasn't caused me problems. Alignment is sometimes off by a small amount, and I've never had problems with this. It is important to get a good tape seal, though. When I overlap, I always do so by less than the width of the tape, so that the tape sticks to both the original and the new film on both sides, and I press down on all four surfaces with my fingernail.

johnnywalker · Mar 20, 2009

I use plastic, never had a problem getting 36 exposures on a roll. I think I bought mine from Freestyle. Never had a top come off either.

Jim Jones · Mar 20, 2009

My Kalt cassettes have been nearly trouble free for many reloads and many years.

pentaxuser · Mar 20, 2009

Thanks Wogster and srs5694. I'll try an overlap and if there are problems then wogster's solution is worth considering.

pentaxuser

Plastic or metal cassettes?

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