PSA for MF shooters

MCB18 · Nov 18, 2023

MF film comes in a wrapper for a reason. It’s not just to look pretty. If you store your 120, and ESPECIALLY 220, in daylight for more than a couple hours, you WILL get light leaks. This was a roll of Foto 100 that I meant to load into my camera right after making, but unfortunately life happened and it got left on the desk, unwrapped, for 3-4 days.

If you shoot MF film, and especially old aerial films (Rollei films, Aerocolor, my films), keep that wrapper on until you are READY TO LOAD.

I made this mistake (twice now, actually) so you don’t have to.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 18, 2023

I always bring a few large enough square pieces of house hold aluminium foil to wrap the exposed rolls in just after I unloaded these. So to protect them not only against eventual light leaks, which hardly occurs when the roll is well winded up once finished (check your camera's film transport system), but mainly against unwanted environmental influences such like moister (winterly days), dirt (dropping them) and (sudden-) temperature variations. Perhaps a ziplock bag would do with the 3 latter too but not protecting agains the light...

DWThomas · Nov 18, 2023

I've accumulated a few of these. The single container used to come with some films (from Maco?) and could be purchased from Freestyle, but I fear they've dried up. The five-roll pack is a "Japan Camera Hunter" brand.

To my amazement, I just now looked at B&H and there is a Kodak branded single container!
These thingies fit a roll in the foil wrapper, so one can put new rolls in to start and swap exposed stuff in (with maybe a sticky flag to keep track).

(Excuse the frivolous and vain ID labels. I figure if my name and contact info is all over them, airport people might be less suspicious.)

abruzzi · Nov 18, 2023

I have a bunch of those single roll containers--they come on Foma 320 Retropan and 400 Ortho. The 5 roll holders and identical 10 roll holders (2 rows of 5) are available form numerous locations. I bought mine on ebay from chinese sellers, but you can get them lots of places.

DREW WILEY · Nov 18, 2023

Some Eastern Euro films tend to be lot more susceptible to light piping than Kodak and Ilford films. I liked to use Efke R25 in the mountains due to the very long exposure scale it provided. But I had to be very careful to load and unload it in the shade. I was experimenting with 6X9 roll-film backs on my 4x5 camera at the time. A climber friend was along who brought a 6X6 SLR and expensive Zeiss lenses, and decided to try R25 as well. It was a strenuous two-week backpack trip over eight high passes, much of it off trail,
to a stunning remote location seldom visited. We finally got back to where the cars were parked after dark; and he wanted to sort out his film rolls and place them end-on into an insulated storage container before returning to the hotter low elevation drive back. Doing that, he was wearing a halogen headlamp. He shot over 20 rolls of film - and nearly all the images were fogged by that headlamp. When I spotted him doing that it was too late. Sometimes we learn lessons the hard way.

rcphoto · Nov 18, 2023

Maybe I've just been lucky but I wonder if something else is at play here. I have not run into this issue unless it is loose on the take-up spool.

Rick A · Nov 18, 2023

DWThomas said:
I've accumulated a few of these. The single container used to come with some films (from Maco?) and could be purchased from Freestyle, but I fear they've dried up. The five-roll pack is a "Japan Camera Hunter" brand.

To my amazement, I just now looked at B&H and there is a Kodak branded single container!
These thingies fit a roll in the foil wrapper, so one can put new rolls in to start and swap exposed stuff in (with maybe a sticky flag to keep track).
View attachment 353896

(Excuse the frivolous and vain ID labels. I figure if my name and contact info is all over them, airport people might be less suspicious.)

I have a handful of those , used them all the time for exposed film.

Sirius Glass · Nov 18, 2023

DWThomas said:
I've accumulated a few of these. The single container used to come with some films (from Maco?) and could be purchased from Freestyle, but I fear they've dried up. The five-roll pack is a "Japan Camera Hunter" brand.

To my amazement, I just now looked at B&H and there is a Kodak branded single container!
These thingies fit a roll in the foil wrapper, so one can put new rolls in to start and swap exposed stuff in (with maybe a sticky flag to keep track).
View attachment 353896

(Excuse the frivolous and vain ID labels. I figure if my name and contact info is all over them, airport people might be less suspicious.)

I too use the five roll carriers and I quickly found that the light leaks from the exposed rolls not being tightly rolled or the tape loosened up completely stopped. Now also put a strip of blue painters take on each carrier so that if the rolls sealing tape does not hold, I tear off a piece of the painters tape to keep to roll tightly rolled. Do not use rubber bands to hold rolls closed, because it the rubber bands are too tight, their pressure will cause marks on the negatives.

MCB18 · Nov 18, 2023

rcphoto said:
Maybe I've just been lucky but I wonder if something else is at play here. I have not run into this issue unless it is loose on the take-up spool.

The roll was loaded and unloaded correctly. I think that sitting in room light for that long really messed it up. Especially with it being 220 and having an ultra-clear base, both risk factors for light piping.

rcphoto · Nov 18, 2023

MCB18 said:
The roll was loaded and unloaded correctly. I think that sitting in room light for that long really messed it up. Especially with it being 220 and having an ultra-clear base, both risk factors for light piping.

Interesting, must be a 220 thing. I typically process in batches and my shot rolls will sometimes sit out for weeks before processing.

MCB18 · Nov 18, 2023

rcphoto said:
Interesting, must be a 220 thing. I typically process in batches and my shot rolls will sometimes sit out for weeks before processing.

Yes, 220 is especially susceptible, but this can also happen to 120 given enough time.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 19, 2023

rcphoto said:
Maybe I've just been lucky but I wonder if something else is at play here. I have not run into this issue unless it is loose on the take-up spool.

When 120 roll film suffers from fogging via the borders, it is most of the time due to not winding the film/paper stiff enough, and the film/paper is passing over the spool's rim.
In most of these cases, the cause is a somewhat not so stiff/tight camera's film transport.

Long time ago I had that issue with my Rolleiflex, and learned to pull the film's paper end taut before removing it from the camera, by holding both the rims of the plastic spool. It wasn't that easy to do but it helped preventing the film to fog. I don't use that camera anymore.

Even more long time ago, I had a same kind of problem with a Hasselblad A24 film back (taking 220 film). I had that back repaired and the technician explained me that he had to adjust the leaf springs holding the film against the spool's core, the one from the unwinding side as well as the one from the taking up side. But he advised me to always firmly pull the film's paper end, before taking it out of the holder, so it gets winded tight on the spool. I don't shoot 220 roll film anymore.

Back in the '80s, this Hasselblad Belgium Agency technician told me the trick with the aluminium foil, which I since then rigorously applied whenever I was shooting on location (mainly in the industry), at the time, over here, there were no plastic containers to protect the roll film...

Ivo Stunga · Nov 19, 2023

Doesn't this boil down to the base material used?

Because reading on film bases and hunting down clear-base 135 stock a couple of years ago, I learned that PET/Mylar is susceptible to light piping - package even points out specifically to load these films in subdued light or complete darkness. These are various Aviphot incarnations, namely Adox HR-50/Scala 50, Rollei Retro line, Superpan 200, IR 400...

Triacetate bases doesn't suffer from this, perhaps therefore the variety of experiences shooting medium size.

Philippe-Georges · Nov 19, 2023

Ivo Stunga said:
Doesn't this boil down to the base material used?

Because reading on film bases and hunting down clear-base 135 stock a couple of years ago, I learned that PET/Mylar is susceptible to light piping - package even points out specifically to load these films in subdued light or complete darkness. These are various Aviphot incarnations, namely Adox HR-50/Scala 50, Rollei Retro line, Superpan 200, IR 400...

Triacetate bases doesn't suffer from this, perhaps therefore the variety of experiences shooting medium size.

Perhaps yes, and correct me if I am wrong, but if the film-and-paper is tightly winded and doesn't pass the spool's rim, then no light can reach the filmbase and cause fogging, regardless the base material used?

Ivo Stunga · Nov 19, 2023

Philippe-Georges said:
Perhaps yes, and correct me if I am wrong, but if the film-and-paper is tightly winded and doesn't pass the spool's rim, then no light can reach the filmbase and cause fogging, regardless the base material used?

Perhaps - I don't shoot medium, but knowing the base I'd go the extra mile with dedicated can/foil approach.

In 135 for example, if you leave PET leader out/expose it to light (especially outside), it'll fog first 3-5 frames. Meanwhile you can leave Triacetate in plain daylight. For days... Weeks/years?

MCB18 · Nov 19, 2023

Philippe-Georges said:
Perhaps yes, and correct me if I am wrong, but if the film-and-paper is tightly winded and doesn't pass the spool's rim, then no light can reach the filmbase and cause fogging, regardless the base material used?

This is not correct. Unfortunately, we cannot make a 100% light tight seal on the edge of a roll of 120 or 220. There needs to be a slight tolerance so that the paper can move past the edge of the spool. And, as mentioned in the post above, clear PET is extremely susceptible to light piping. Any small light leak between the paper and spool, given enough time, will cause issues. This is specifically why this film comes wrapped, and why it should not be taken out of the wrapper prematurely.

relistan · Nov 19, 2023

rcphoto said:
Interesting, must be a 220 thing. I typically process in batches and my shot rolls will sometimes sit out for weeks before processing.

Same, never had this unless the spool was loose. Some rolls have sat for years in partial light.

DREW WILEY · Nov 20, 2023

Better safe than sorry. Roll the dice too many times, and you'll inevitably regret it. Not all roll films are made the same.

PSA for MF shooters

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