What’s your system?

[cliveh]

When I have exposed a 35mm film and rewound it, I tear off the leader, so there is no confusion with that and an unexposed film. Do others have a system to differentiate between exposed and unexposed 35mm film?

 

[Rick A]

My 135 films go into canisters marked "exposed". My 120 films do so as well. For 4x5 I have a plastic zip lock baggie marked "exposed". When I get them home they all get processed immediatly.

 

[Bill Burk]

I'm shooting for the most absurd and insane answer to your question...

I open the camera back and draw a pencil line at the film gate opening. Then I pull out the cartridge and stretch until the rest of the film is out and cut at the tape. I attach a piece of electrical tape to the end, push the rewind button on the camera, pull out the film from the camera, tack the electrical tape to the end of the sensitometer and stretch the film across making sure not to go past the pencil line. Then I fire off a test strip, and dangle the film around while I look for a metal reel to spiral it onto. Winding is a bear because the curl is the wrong way when I put the tail end in the center of the spiral. I want the sensitometry strip in the center so it doesn't get uneven development (it ends up getting uneven (more) development at the end anyway - big "bump" in the curve).

Sorry, couldn't resist -- I did this twice Saturday.

Normally, I just rewind it all the way.

In the darkroom I usually pop the cap off and hold the spool in the palm of my hand and snip the leader. I reel film onto the metal spiral as the spool unrolls in my hand. Always seems to go right on this way.

 

[brucemuir]

I snip the leader a special way if Im in studio or home and have scissors.
When in the field I flip the leder back the oposite way in the canisters.
I have all my AF canon's set to leave the leader out a bit.
For my contax RF I can hear/feel when the leader pops off the rewind spool and leave some leader showing.

I have a bunch of nikon reloadable cassetes for my F/F2 and for those I just rewind inside the cassette because you can open them easily in the DR.

For 120 its obvious when a roll is exposed but I keep them in these black cans you can get from Freestyle

 

[flatulent1]

All my unexposed 35mm films are in their little plastic cans (in a ziploc baggie) with their little tongues hanging out.
At the end of the roll I let the film rewind all the way into the cassette, then drop the thing into the camera bag. I don't even look for the plastic can. I never, ever leave the leader out; if it's color I let the lab screw with it. If it's something I'm going to process myself I don't want to be drawing it back through the fuzzy light trap yet again, you never know when a little bit of grit is going to lodge itself in there and scratch my film.

120 is always preloaded onto an insert before I leave the house, which is placed in its plastic case or spare film back (the insert, not the house). When the roll is done I either a) remove the roll and put it in a black plastic 120 film keeper, or 2) slip the insert back into its plastic case and get it mixed up with the others.

 

[benjiboy]

I make sure I wind the leader completely in the cassette so it's impossible to reload it then stick a red adhesive label on the cassette on which I write "Exposed" with a Sharpie then I put it back in the plastic case it came in.

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

Yup me too. Wound all the way in, sharpie to jot down whatever I exposed it at, be it push or pull. Sometimes with cameras that dont have a film reminder window or card slot, I stick a piece of gaffer tape on the back or side, and jot with a silver sharpie the load date, and type of film and iso, and I cross it out when I rewind/reload.

With 120, I wrap it tight, lick and stick. I also jot info on it really lightly on the band. I had tried a user tip to pre-roll 120 paper leader onto another spool and rubber band it, to speed up loading time, but I'm never in that much of a rush so I stopped doing that after the 1st time. could be useful for others tough.

 

[markbarendt]

I'm shooting for the most absurd and insane answer to your question...

I open the camera back and draw a pencil line at the film gate opening. Then I pull out the cartridge and stretch until the rest of the film is out and cut at the tape. I attach a piece of electrical tape to the end, push the rewind button on the camera, pull out the film from the camera, tack the electrical tape to the end of the sensitometer and stretch the film across making sure not to go past the pencil line. Then I fire off a test strip, and dangle the film around while I look for a metal reel to spiral it onto. Winding is a bear because the curl is the wrong way when I put the tail end in the center of the spiral. I want the sensitometry strip in the center so it doesn't get uneven development (it ends up getting uneven (more) development at the end anyway - big "bump" in the curve).

Sorry, couldn't resist -- I did this twice Saturday.

Normally, I just rewind it all the way.

In the darkroom I usually pop the cap off and hold the spool in the palm of my hand and snip the leader. I reel film onto the metal spiral as the spool unrolls in my hand. Always seems to go right on this way.

Pho wonder you ask Stephan Benskin so many questions.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I just wind the film all the way in. If I'm taking notes, or if the sequence is important, I'll number the rolls.

Why risk scratching the film by pulling it back through the light trap to process it? Otherwise, I don't see any reason to leave the leader out.

 

[Terry Christian]

Most of my 35mm comes in plastic canisters, of course, so when I'm done shooting a roll I put it back in my bag without a canister. That tells me the roll is exposed. If I've taken a roll from a box of several so that there's no canister, I leave the unexposed film in the box and then put the exposed film loose in my bag as usual. The same goes for 120. If I have special notes (push, etc.) for developing, I write them with a Sharpie on the roll.

 

[dreamingartemis]

Once I left the leader out so I could later easily load it onto the reel instead of cracking open the can later but I accidentally lost track of it and had a hard time determining it from unexposed film. Managed to determine which was which after looking closely at the sprockets (exposed ones looked like they had been drag or dented). From then one, after every roll, I would wind it all the way into the can so I would know it had been exposed.

Leaving it out was just not worth the hassle for me.....

 

[brucemuir]

Otherwise, I don't see any reason to leave the leader out.

I do it because I'm a cheap bastid and reuse the cassettes for bulk loading and don't want to pop the can.
I do number how many uses they've seen and also am meticulous regarding dust. I will sometimes clean the felt trap with tape.
Scratches can and do occur on occasion.

 

[Dshambli]

I do it because I'm a cheap bastid and reuse the cassettes for bulk loading and don't want to pop the can.
I do number how many uses they've seen and also am meticulous regarding dust. I will sometimes clean the felt trap with tape.
Scratches can and do occur on occasion.

How do you then load the film without popping the can? I started bulk loading, and I'm liking it. I just got my first bulk roll developed, an expired (way expired) roll of Ektachrome 200. The results were interesting, but it's got that "lomo" aesthetic that would be better suited for someone else. I've also got a frozen roll of Plus-X that expired in the '80's in the freezer. It's going to be nice when I start loading in date film.

However, to answer the original question, I keep the exposed rolls out of the canisters (leaders wound in). Unless it's 120, then I usually return it to a wrapper.

 

[brucemuir]

How do you then load the film without popping the can? I started bulk loading, and I'm liking it. I just got my first bulk roll developed, an expired (way expired) roll of Ektachrome 200. The results were interesting, but it's got that "lomo" aesthetic that would be better suited for someone else. I've also got a frozen roll of Plus-X that expired in the '80's in the freezer. It's going to be nice when I start loading in date film.

However, to answer the original question, I keep the exposed rolls out of the canisters (leaders wound in). Unless it's 120, then I usually return it to a wrapper.

After I load the film on the reel I snip the film so there is enough to tape the bulk film. 1-1 1/2inches will do the trick. (sorta like a leader at the end of the roll off the spool itself)
I usually shoot 35 frames to better fit into a printfile for 8x10 contact sheet so there is plenty of film at the end of a store bought load.

 

[cscurrier]

I usually rewind but leave the leader sticking out. Then I just bend the leader so there's a significant crease so I know it's spent. Sometimes, I just rewind all the way back in the canister. Sorry, not much more to add than what already's been stated.

 

[Wade D]

I don't think I've ever left the leader out unless the roll is partially shot and I plan to use it later.

 

[Steve Smith]

I leave the leader out so I can start it into the spiral in the light then finish off in the dark. I can always tell a leader which has been wound round a camera's take up spool.

Why risk scratching the film by pulling it back through the light trap to process it?

It's never happened to me. It passes through the light trap twice in the camera and possibly another time in the factory so one more pass shouldn't cause a problem.


As an aside, why do Americans refer to a bag as a baggie? There are at least two examples of this in this thread (you usually leave letters out of words rather than add in extra letters!).


Steve.

 

[tokam]

I usually rewind but leave the leader sticking out. Then I just bend the leader so there's a significant crease so I know it's spent. Sometimes, I just rewind all the way back in the canister. Sorry, not much more to add than what already's been stated.

I'm with CSCURRIER on this one. If the camera I'm using leaves the leader out then two sharp bends in the film leader mean that I cannot reload this film into a camera accidentally. It's no problem to trim the leader prior to loading onto a reel for developing. If the camera rewinds the leader completely then once again I would treat the film as exposed and there is no risk of reloading the film into a camera.

 

[Chris Lange]

I roll the film all the way into the canister, and immediately mark each roll with the EI I shot it at. More often that not this is 1600 for neopan 400/tri-x/hp5+ so if I forget to do so, I generally just process for that time anyway. With 120 I write the EI on the adhesive. I develop about 1 unexposed roll that has been rolled up by accident a year, so this system works pretty well for me. I also keep exposed film in a separate compartment in my camera bags than unused rolls to prevent confusion.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

As an aside, why do Americans refer to a bag as a baggie? There are at least two examples of this in this thread (you usually leave letters out of words rather than add in extra letters!).


Steve.

"Baggies" is an American brand of plastic food storage bags. Google "Hefty Baggies" for examples.

 

[Steve Smith]

"Baggies" is an American brand of plastic food storage bags. Google "Hefty Baggies" for examples.

Now I understand.

Is the word used for any generic, sealable bag regardless of manufacturer in the same way as Hoover is used to describe any vacuum cleaner?


Steve.

 

[Peltigera]

I always leave the leader sticking out of the cassette. I was advised to do this forty years ago to make sure there was no light leakage through the felt in the light trap. Never had a problem with grit - keeping the camera clean helps! With PET films I put the used film back in the black canister to prevent light piping.

To answer the question - I bend the leader so that I can easily see that it is not new.

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

I have separate pockets for exposed and unexposed rolls. It actually works.
Besides, if you are not paying attention to what you are doing then you are screwed no matter how "bulletproof" your routine is.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

When I have exposed a 35mm film and rewound it, I tear off the leader, so there is no confusion with that and an unexposed film. Do others have a system to differentiate between exposed and unexposed 35mm film?

Rewind the leader into the cassette.

 

[Photocrack]

I always leave out the leader of the 35mm for an easy self-development. To make the difference with an exposed 35mm film I am just folding a few times the leader of the film.