You know you LOVE film when.....

[RattyMouse]

...you feel just awful wasting some rolls practicing loading a developing tank.

This morning I practiced loading my Patterson reel for the first time. I burned up two rolls of Reala practicing in the dark (after a few times in light). At first it was really frustrating, but slowly I got the hang of it. It felt bad wiping out 2 rolls of perfectly good Reala but I had to practice.

I have to buy some tape to tape up my door. There is a tiny bit of light leak. Not enough to help me see anything but surely enough to cause trouble to film.

Then time to buy chemicals and containers! Getting closer to the time when I can develop my own film! (Fuji Acros, not Reala).

 

[Vaughn]

Could you not find some out-of-date cheap B&W?!

Good luck with the real thing!

 

[mr rusty]

I agree, you have to practice. There is only one thing more frustrating than wasting film and that's messing up a film with images on! I still find this the trickiest bit, especially with 120, but I'm getting more confident. One time I dropped the film in the darkroom, and it took me AGES to find it in the dark. It had managed to roll away much further than I expected! You can't tell anyone how to load reels - you just have to work it out for yourself - I bet we all have our own "system".

 

[Vonder]

You used Reala for practice? The world's best ever, no longer made, 35mm C-41 color print film? Irreplaceable, beloved Reala?

Are you insane? Heartless? I FEEL BAD and it wasn't even my film!

 

[rhcgn]

I have to buy some tape to tape up my door. There is a tiny bit of light leak. Not enough to help me see anything but surely enough to cause trouble to film.

According to my experience, if you still can't see your hands in front of your face after 5 minutes in the darkroom (where you handle your film) it does not really matter if there is a tiny leak somewhere else in the room (Put your back to it if you can). Otherwise you could wait until it's dark outside. Taping up your door from the inside will get pretty annoying over time. If the leak is so big that taping it every time is the only option I would rather spend the money on a changing bag instead of multiple rolls of tape over the years.

 

[aleksmiesak]

... I burned up two rolls of Reala practicing in the dark (after a few times in light).

Wait, why TWO rolls? Why couldn't you just keep practicing with that first roll instead of ruining another good roll? I have a roll of cheap film that I use every time I want to give myself a refresher or to test a strip of it in my fixer. And pity to use something that is no longer made

 

[NB23]

You used two rolls of the finest film because deeeeep inside you really hate film.

 

[RattyMouse]

You used Reala for practice? The world's best ever, no longer made, 35mm C-41 color print film? Irreplaceable, beloved Reala?

Are you insane? Heartless? I FEEL BAD and it wasn't even my film!

I used Reala 120 which is still very much available. I have several rolls that went through an X Ray scanner and would rather have used these than fresh Acros which is what I will be developing.

 

[RattyMouse]

Wait, why TWO rolls? Why couldn't you just keep practicing with that first roll instead of ruining another good roll? I have a roll of cheap film that I use every time I want to give myself a refresher or to test a strip of it in my fixer. And pity to use something that is no longer made

Reala 120 is still available. I used two rolls because I wanted to practice the entire process in the dark. The first roll I practiced in daylight. The second I did in total darkness.

 

[RattyMouse]

According to my experience, if you still can't see your hands in front of your face after 5 minutes in the darkroom (where you handle your film) it does not really matter if there is a tiny leak somewhere else in the room (Put your back to it if you can). Otherwise you could wait until it's dark outside. Taping up your door from the inside will get pretty annoying over time. If the leak is so big that taping it every time is the only option I would rather spend the money on a changing bag instead of multiple rolls of tape over the years.

We'll see. I prefer not to use a bag if possible as I think it will be easier. But maybe you are right in the long term.

 

[scheimfluger_77]

You used two rolls of the finest film because deeeeep inside you really hate film.

Aw come on, give the poor guy a break
Steve

 

[andrew.roos]

I used black draught excluder strip to get rid of leaks around my door. It's a compressible rubber-like material tht is self-adhesive on one side. You stick it to the door so it compresses against the wall or floor when the door is closed. That may work better than tape.

 

[Vonder]

Whew. You really should have said 120 from the beginning.

 

[mwdake]

If you are having difficulty getting the 120 film stared on the reel try this trick...

Here is a simple trick to getting the 120 started on the reel.
It gives the stiffness and guide to get the roll started in to the flanges...


Cut a piece of the film box to be the same width as 120 film and about 2 or 3 inches long.

Before you go in the darkroom slide this piece of card along the reel tracks into the beginning of the reel but not past the little ball bearings. Now when in the darkroom take your film and slide it along the card until it is past the ball bearings and pull in a bit more then remove the card and load in the normal way. You see the card acts like a guide and makes those springy films easier to get started.

I most often reverse curl the first 1/2 inch or so of my film before loading to help with the springiness.
I still have the same bit of card I cut out of a Fuji box a couple of years ago, I only replace it if it gets lost or too banged up.

 

[rolleiman]

I second the suggestion of using a changing bag. I've used one for years, you soon get used to it, and it's really the only guarantee of total darkness outside of a custom made darkroom.

 

[ambaker]

I have to admit I cheat...

I bought one of those Modern Warfare 2 Infrared Goggles of the great auction in the sky. Not much more than a toy, but they do work. (As long as you are not playing with IR sensitive film.). Works well enough for loading film in the dark, without having to learn to do it by feel.)

Verified with family members that there is no light leakage around the eye pads of the goggles.

 

[David Goldstein]

Could you not find some out-of-date cheap B&W?!

Good luck with the real thing!

I see this about 120 film, deleting my comment about Kodak gold

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

Reala in 120 is actually very nice. Another tip is to bend the beginning edge backwards. It's easier to get started that way.

 

[MattKing]

I second the suggestion of using a changing bag. I've used one for years, you soon get used to it, and it's really the only guarantee of total darkness outside of a custom made darkroom.

To each their own, but I find changing bags very difficult to use.

In particular, I miss being able to hear the sounds that the film and the reel make when the film is being loaded.

Not too mention the increased heat and humidity.

I have light leaks around the doors in my bathroom/darkroom. I block most of them with towels or bathmats, load the film at night and develop the film later, when it is convenient.

Folding over the tape at the end of the film helps stiffen the edge, which makes it easier to load.

 

[one90guy]

Since finally getting darkroom in operation I did my first roll of 120. It took me close to 45 minutes before I got it on the reel. And 35mm is so much easier no having to use the changing bag.

 

[albada]

To each their own, but I find changing bags very difficult to use.
In particular, I miss being able to hear the sounds that the film and the reel make when the film is being loaded.
Not too mention the increased heat and humidity.

You could try a Photoflex "film changing room", pictured here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/41880-REG/Photoflex_AC_CROO1_Film_Changing_Room_25.html

It's spacious inside, so build-up of heat and humidity isn't a problem for me. The material is thin enough that I can clearly hear the sounds the film makes during the load. BTW, I enjoy hearing the smooth sound of film being loaded on to a good Hewes reel.

Mark Overton

 

[michaelbsc]

If you can find one the old Fuji FDB12 is the best thing in dark boxes since sundown IMO.

Here's a few pics.

http://f.dchome.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=990239

They used to turn up on eBay kind of regularly when the great fallout of mini labs closing was occurring. They seem pretty scarce now.

It folds up like a brief case, and travels well. Then sets up into a roomy dark box in seconds.

The base is heavy, so it doesn't move around.

 

[Smudger]

For most users,the average-sized "Changing Bag" is a clammy horror.
Those of average intellect,will soon decide to rig up an internal shape,from a small carton to the sine qua non of a light ,demountable frame of plastic tubing.
Apologies if I have posted this before..
Ian (try it with an Arriflex 16mm magazine on a windy location) B.
The single,best thing about a Dark Bag,is that APUGER's without darkrooms,can get into B&W process without the trauma of stuffing towels into lightleaky corners.

 

[BardParker]

I struggled with Paterson reels for 120 and then I got this:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/55043-Arista-Premium-Plastic-Developing-Reel?cat_id=1603

The plastic guide makes loading 120 film really easy, even in a changing bag.

Kent

 

[MattKing]

I struggled with Paterson reels for 120 and then I got this:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/55043-Arista-Premium-Plastic-Developing-Reel?cat_id=1603

The plastic guide makes loading 120 film really easy, even in a changing bag.

Kent

I agree, and just in case it isn't clear, these fit Paterson tanks as well.

They are available under a number of brand names - most commonly I have seen them in stores as "AP".