Retrieving 35mm leader

I have a can of HP5+ which I need to get the leader back out of. Since this is only about the 2nd time in the last 30 or so years this has happened, I don't think it is worth spending more than the cost of the roll of film to get the leader back out... so I was hoping maybe someone has a good suggestion.

I guess I could have folks take it on travel & go thru bunches of x-ray machines to see if it gets fogged. Or I could freeze it & see how well it works as an ice cube in an alcohol-laden refreshment. Ooh - I could do some drop tests on the "pointy" end to see how far you can drop it before it pops open.

I suppose I could just drop it in the trash.

Leader retievers are available at most camera shops fro under $10. I use mine all the time. I'm able to shoot a partial roll change to something else and then shoot the remainder of the original roll another time (just make sure you note the last frame you shot and go past one frame to be safe when reloading).
There is a technique for using the retriever which is simple but does take practice.
Good luck,
Mark

You could mail it to me and I could yank the tail for you- probably .78¢ postage each way. This takes about 45 seconds to do.

You don't need a gadget to retrieve your film.

Try this:

1. Cut a narrow (1" x 4") strip of clean, regular stationery card stock (a 3x5 or 4x6 card is fine).

2. Place a piece of DOUBLE-STICK cellophane tape, about 1-1/2" long, on the UNDER side of the strip. Assuming you are right-handed and that you are holding the film cassette in your left hand, the sticky tape will go on the LEFT side, bottom edge, of the underside of your card strip. So it's aligned with the far left edge and the bottom horizontal edge of underside of the card strip when you hold the strip horizontally.

3. Gently insert the sticky end, sticky side down, into the felt lips of the cassette. You need to be patient and slowly wiggle it into the cassette, at least an inch.

4. Now, slowly turn the "rewind" knob on the bottom of the cassette, as though you are tightening up the wound film. Unless you have really over wound the film's leader/tongue, the sticky tape should catch that film tongue and it will start to pull the card stock strip into the cassette.

5. When the card strip is about 1-/2" - 3/4" inch inside the cassette, very gently start pulling the card stip out, trying to put some fingertip pressure on the part of the card stock that is right up against the felt lips. The film leader should come out.

6. If this fails, try again--always with a fresh piece of card stock, and fresh double-stick tape. Also, be sure that the card stock strip is not so narrow that it bends too easily as you insert it into the felt lips. Another possible cause of trouble is that the film is wound too tightly inside the cassette. In that case, try turning the protruding knob in the opposite direction; banging the cassette on your palm or a padded surface also helps loosen up the film before you try again.

This should work! My Olympus Stylus Epic always winds the film leader inside, and I have fished out countless film leaders over many years using this method. The little purpose-made gadgets work about half the time for me (and I've tried them all), but this method works when they fail.

Good luck.

Pat

You can make one out of a piece of film! Instructions here:

http://flickr.com/photos/bong/149600906/

The one time I had such a need, my local camera shop (where I get occasional rolls of color processed) did it for me (in a matter of seconds) gratis.

DaveT

This shows how long it has been since I used any Ilford factory loads.

You used to be able to pop the end off the cassette in the dark, retrieve the leader, slide the leader between the felt lips of the light trap, and clip the end of the cassette back on.

My apologies to Simon and all at Ilford .

Matt

Wow, the double sided tape trick took all of about 30 seconds! Kudos to Pat!!

thanks
rexp