Who makes the most user-friendly reels?

postalman · Jun 6, 2011

Monito said:
Loading reels is like playing a musical instrument. If violinists can hit and control 1/16 notes in pitch and key without frets while bowing with it all in the air, then millions of photographers can load film using Paterson reels in changing bags. Oh, wait ... millions of photographers load film with Paterson reels in changing bags. But really, it is much easier than playing the violin.

Practice.

I was thinking this exact same thing as I was doing it. Then I realised that I'm not playing a violin. I may be a new user, but I still think the fact that it requires skill or practice should make you stop and think. Taking the picture should require skill and practice, loading a reel should be loading a reel.

Defend paterson if you want, but from an engineering point of view, the fact it takes practice says it's a bad design. (Gee... Can you tell I'm getting frustrated?)

Diapositivo · Jun 6, 2011

Postalman, when I failed my second attempt to load my reel I felt really frustrated and I considered buying some Hewes reels. Now that I know where my mistake was, I load reels with the greatest ease. I'm sure there is some mistake in your "tecnique". It is very likely, although not impossible, that another make of reels will not cure your problem.

As many persons find these reels easy to use, it must be easy. You just have to find where is your mistake, or mistakes, with the help of this forum.

If you can, I suggest you have somebody take a film of you while completing the operation in daylight, and linking the video here. That might reveal where the mistake is.

My personal mistake was a wrong way to cut and chamfer the leader. Doing it properly made a world of difference to me, and gave me a lesson, that if it is easy for everybody else, it must be easy for me as well. I've got two hands and ten fingers just like everybody else in fact.

Now that I do it without problem I don't plan any more to buy Hewes reels as I cannot see how can they ever be simpler to load than my Jobo ones.

MattKing · Jun 6, 2011

postalman said:
I still think the fact that it requires skill or practice should make you stop and think. Taking the picture should require skill and practice, loading a reel should be loading a reel.

Defend paterson if you want, but from an engineering point of view, the fact it takes practice says it's a bad design. (Gee... Can you tell I'm getting frustrated?)

Sounds a bit like riding a bicycle, doesn't it?:munch:

I understand where you are coming from, but I think part of the problem is that loading reels is one of those things that are really hard to learn from materials on the internet or in writing. What really helps is to have someone observe how you practice, and give suggestions.

frobozz · Jun 10, 2011

Gary Rowlands said:
Great enthusiasm here for Hewes reels, but can I ask what tanks you use with them ? From what I read, Hewes don't make cylindrical, daylight loading tanks.

Does anybody suggest that processing is better with SS reels, or is it just a film loading issue/ preference ?

Hewes reels work just fine in everyone else's stainless tanks, I guess there was no reason for Hewes to make their own. There's one caveat though: the 35mm reels are a tiny bit taller than the standard ones, due to the thicker diameter wire used. They fit just fine in a single reel tank, but if you use multi-reel tanks you could run in to problems, depending on the exact tank. Nikor tanks, for instance, seem to be pretty much all made on the fly, not to an exact spec. You might get a Nikor 2- or 4-reel tank into which you can fit 2 or 4 Hewes reels, but more likely you won't quite be able to get the lid on with that last reel in there. It also depends on which lid style it is, because one hangs down more inside than the other. You just have to try it with your specific tank, or with a tank you're considering purchasing.

Duncan

Monito · Jun 10, 2011

It is like riding a bicycle. I just developed four rolls of 35 mm film last night on Paterson reels. It was the first time developing in over 20 years. Went very smoothly. Just pulled the film into the first guides on the reels and then click-click-click rotating the reel half back and forth and it was loaded. It did come off the first spiral on one reel and I could have easily just loaded from the beginning again, but I warped it onto the grooves as if it was a stainless steel reel and then click-click to load the rest of it. No voids or unfixed dead zones, no creases, no sweat even in humid Nova Scotia.

To the OP: Just practice with a length of film in the light. Very quickly it will become second nature and you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

Paul VanAudenhove · Jun 11, 2011

Monito - what part of NS are you in? I'm in Northern NS.

2F/2F · Jun 11, 2011

I like high quality reels like those by Hewes and Nikkor. The center clip doesn't matter to me. I can do without it. But I like the thickness of the wire used, and the smoothness of rolling that I get with them. Hewes reels are thicker and smoother than Nikkor ones, but they are often sold for more money, even on the used market.

frobozz · Jun 11, 2011

The trick to getting Hewes reels cheap on eBay is to find ones that aren't sold as Hewes, but are in fact Hewes. Maybe a couple of Hewes in a group of reels. Maybe a Hewes sold as just a generic reel with a mangy tank. Maybe a Hewes reel in a Jobo box. You have to look carefully and learn to spot them visually rather than depending on the seller to list them properly (and then everyone in the world bids on them!)

(I'm only letting everyone know this secret because I ended up with as many Hewes reels as I'll ever need this way, for a fraction of their normal cost!)

Duncan

Sirius Glass · Jun 11, 2011

frobozz said:
The trick to getting Hewes reels cheap on eBay is to find ones that aren't sold as Hewes, but are in fact Hewes. Maybe a couple of Hewes in a group of reels. Maybe a Hewes sold as just a generic reel with a mangy tank. Maybe a Hewes reel in a Jobo box. You have to look carefully and learn to spot them visually rather than depending on the seller to list them properly (and then everyone in the world bids on them!)

(I'm only letting everyone know this secret because I ended up with as many Hewes reels as I'll ever need this way, for a fraction of their normal cost!)

Duncan

For the relatively small cost when amortized over the number of films developed I would rather buy new than get something from eBay which may have been dropped or for some other reason be out of alignment. If the two coils are not perfectly parallel one will have great difficulty loading film => this is not worth the small savings one might make. Of course almost everything is over priced on eBay because everything is "rare" and "hard to find". And yes, there are times I buy some things on eBay. I picked up a 20mm to 35mm chrome metal Nikon AF lens and Hasselblad extension tubes but those was perfect for a song, but even for me that is extremely unusual or dare if say "rare"?

Steve

Monito · Jun 11, 2011

Paul VanAudenhove said:
Monito - what part of NS are you in? I'm in Northern NS.

Halifax-Dartmouth.

[Sorry, had to respond to public post. Paul, PM me if you'd like more chat.]

Photo Engineer · Jun 12, 2011

In the ~60 years that I have been developing film, I have used just about every type of film reel ever made for 35mm and 120. This includes the old Kodak reels, the Kodak spiral wound separators, Ansco reels, Nikon reels, Jobo reels .... I could go on. I've also used reels for sheet film and rack and tank. The bottom line is this. If I am careless or inexperienced with a given reel type, I have problems and need to practice. If I have practiced enough, I don't have problems. It is as simple as that.

I get a new reel and a roll of old film and sit in the light using it over and over until I get it absolutely perfect. Then I shut my eyes and repeat it. Then I turn out the lights and try again. I've worn out dummy rolls and worked for an hour with a new reel.

The bottom line to me is that all reels are good, as long as you know what you are doing. You know what you are doing by practice.

PE

losheng · Jun 20, 2011

I too have had countless problem with the ball bearings in the Paterson reels jamming the film. Might have to do with the hot and humid weather in Singapore, coupled with working within a warm changing bag. Finally I found the trick to recover the situation is to lay the reel on its side and give it a few knocks on the table to dislodge the ball bearings. Keep doing it until the film starts to go in smoothly, or when either the table or film reel falls apart.

Having a spare reel in the dark bag helps too. Or if need be, just carefully twist the dark bag and pull your hand out, do some anger management routines first before trying it again. Don't force the film when it gets stuck, for sure it will leave creases that I don't know any other ways of salvaging the frames other than disguising them as having Holga like qualities.

After experiencing other reels without the ball bearings, I would say that I much prefer those over the Paterson ones.

Who makes the most user-friendly reels?

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