Bulk film loaders

Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've never
done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
wanted and thanks in advance.

Tina

"Tina" wrote in message
news:Nm7Yc.39090$4o.3733@fed1read01...
Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've
never
done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
wanted and thanks in advance.

I presume you are speaking of 35mm. Yes, it is cost effective if you use
enough film. One particular complication is finding good cassettes so that
they can be reused a few times. There are cheap ones that aren't worth
using. Take care and enjoy. You can probably find some bulk-loaders on ebay.
In my humble experience, the 'obsolete' Watson 66b is the best.

You can save a lot of money by buying bulk film and loading it yourself. You
have to be carefull though. For example while I was at the local Calumet last
summer putting in an order for a 100' roll of Kodak's Ektachrome 100vs. I
noticed that they had a 20 roll "pro" pack for twenty dollars more. For that
little bit of money I'll buy the film pre-rolled. However with Tmax100 the film
is about half the price.

Aside from the money you can save by bulk loading you can also control the
amount of film you load in the roll. That was nice back when I used 35mm B&W
film with the zone system. I would load ~8 frames on a roll and shoot the entire
roll at the same contrast.

The loader that I had the best luck with is the one for sale at Adorama under
their name. you can also get the same loader for a bit more money at Freestyle
photographic supplies. (www.freestylephoto.biz)

One thing I did learn the hard way is that you don't want to reuse the
cartridges to often. A bit of dust in the light seal can ruin the entire roll.
Also keep in mind a lot labs won't process film that comes in bulk loaded rolls.
Ask first or be prepared to process your bulk loaded film yourself.

Tina wrote:
: Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've never
: done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
: loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
: wanted and thanks in advance.

: Tina



--




Keep working millions on welfare depend on you
-------------------

john wrote:
: "Tina" wrote in message
: news:Nm7Yc.39090$4o.3733@fed1read01...
: Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've
: never
: done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
: loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
: wanted and thanks in advance.

: I presume you are speaking of 35mm. Yes, it is cost effective if you use
: enough film. One particular complication is finding good cassettes so that
: they can be reused a few times. There are cheap ones that aren't worth
: using. Take care and enjoy. You can probably find some bulk-loaders on ebay.
: In my humble experience, the 'obsolete' Watson 66b is the best.

That reminds me of a lesson I learned the hard way. Don't get a bulk loader that
uses felt as a light trap. I had an entire 100' roll scratched by some dirt that
got into the felt!! :-(

--




Keep working millions on welfare depend on you
-------------------

Tina wrote:
Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've never
done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
wanted and thanks in advance.


Depends but usually yes. Figure about 18 rolls of 36 exposure per 100 feet
of film. So just do a little math to compare. I like the Alden 74 loader
best but last time I looked it seemed to be discontinued. The current Watson
is okay but IMHO I'd rather a used Alden. Avoid the Lloyds even if it's
free. I know some one will scream out it's the best.

I'm assuming B&W that you intend to self process. The economics are
similar for colour but some [many?] labs won't process bulk loaded film so
you'll have to process that yourself to.

Nick

Frank Pittel wrote in
:

You can save a lot of money by buying bulk film and loading it
yourself. You have to be carefull though. For example while I was at
the local Calumet last summer putting in an order for a 100' roll of
Kodak's Ektachrome 100vs. I noticed that they had a 20 roll "pro" pack
for twenty dollars more. For that little bit of money I'll buy the
film pre-rolled. However with Tmax100 the film is about half the
price.

I've been bulk loading b/w for about 25 years and there is a definite
savings there. However, I'm not sure that there is much of a savings in
dealing with color material.


Aside from the money you can save by bulk loading you can also control
the amount of film you load in the roll. That was nice back when I
used 35mm B&W film with the zone system. I would load ~8 frames on a
roll and shoot the entire roll at the same contrast.

I use standard polyethelene sleeves to store film - 7 strips of 5
exposures that proof neatly on 8x10 paper. So I load 35 exposure rolls.

I also have adopted the practice of buying two 100' rolls of film at a
time, and insisting on the same emulsion number. That way I can one one
quick film speed test and know that nothing will change as long as I am
working on those two bulk rolls. I could buy preloaded film in bricks,
but the get the same bang for the testing buck I would have to buy a lot
of film.


One thing I did learn the hard way is that you don't want to reuse the
cartridges to often. A bit of dust in the light seal can ruin the
entire roll. Also keep in mind a lot labs won't process film that
comes in bulk loaded rolls. Ask first or be prepared to process your
bulk loaded film yourself.

I've been using the same cartridges for years. But I carefully clean them
between use. I rub a knife along the felt to dislodge any grit that migh
gather there. Never had a roll scratched.

Just heard a recommendation last week to NOT vacuum cartridges - the
explanation was that vacuuming results in a static charge that attracts
dust.

Tina wrote:
: Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your
: own...I've never done it before so I would have to by the film loader
: (any no brainer easy loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy
: the film holders. Opinions wanted and thanks in advance.

: Tina

Tina wrote:

Is it more cost effective to buy film in bulk and roll your own...I've never
done it before so I would have to by the film loader (any no brainer easy
loader to recommend?) and buy the film and buy the film holders. Opinions
wanted and thanks in advance.

Ah, my previous reply I should have mentioned that my loader (actually
$10 at a local thrift store, not $5 as previously reported -- I just
found the sticker still on it) is a Western Model 100 (same as a
corresponding Watson) with a labyrinth light trap -- no felt in the
loader. If I don't drop and break it, it will probably still be usable
when there's no more film to put in it. Cassettes will be the limiting
factor; there'll be 35 mm movie film long after cassettes are no longer
available.

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

In article , john wrote:

I presume you are speaking of 35mm. Yes, it is cost effective if you use
enough film. One particular complication is finding good cassettes so that
they can be reused a few times. There are cheap ones that aren't worth
using.

Using enough film is the problem. I found that I could get better enconomy
by by scrounging the out of date film bins. Although the film is out of date,
a few months or even years does not affect black and white film that much,
at least for casual photograpy. And each cassette is brand new without
any problems from dust, bent lips, etc.

Does anyone still sell film in reloadable (uncrimped) casettes? Iheard
about a Chinese film that was well rated that I thought came in
reloadable cassettes, but it has yet to make it here.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, C.T.O. GW&T Ltd., Jerusalem Israel

IL Voice: 972-544-608-069 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838

Thank you all for all the info...I was referring to B&W film...that's 99.9
% of what I shoot...
Tina
"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote in message
...
In article , john wrote:

I presume you are speaking of 35mm. Yes, it is cost effective if you use
enough film. One particular complication is finding good cassettes so
that
they can be reused a few times. There are cheap ones that aren't worth
using.

Using enough film is the problem. I found that I could get better enconomy
by by scrounging the out of date film bins. Although the film is out of
date,
a few months or even years does not affect black and white film that much,
at least for casual photograpy. And each cassette is brand new without
any problems from dust, bent lips, etc.

Does anyone still sell film in reloadable (uncrimped) casettes? Iheard
about a Chinese film that was well rated that I thought came in
reloadable cassettes, but it has yet to make it here.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, C.T.O. GW&T Ltd., Jerusalem Israel

IL Voice: 972-544-608-069 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice:
1-215-821-1838

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
In article , john wrote:

I presume you are speaking of 35mm. Yes, it is cost effective if you use
enough film. One particular complication is finding good cassettes so that
they can be reused a few times. There are cheap ones that aren't worth
using.

Using enough film is the problem. I found that I could get better enconomy
by by scrounging the out of date film bins. Although the film is out of date,


But nothing stops you from getting out of date 100' rolls either. Most of
the out of date film I see is still pretty expensive and IMHO not worth the
slight saving over buying fresh.

Nick