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Old 13th May 2015, 02:57 PM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: North Wales
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I have used bulk film and rolled my own since the sixties. I first used a small loader that only took 5m bulk film. Later I made my own wooden jig (I still have it), used the winding handle from the original loader and counted the turns (Printed on the old bulk loader) for the length of the loaded film from 30m bulk film.

I re-used cassettes and still occasionally use ones that date from when they were not crimped closed. I haven't had major problems from scratched films or dust - not sufficient to put me off. The one problem I have had is light leak through the trap at on the first exposures. Presumably this was due to wearing of the felt exacerbated by films getting thinner since the sixties. I avoid loading film into the camera in bright light)

The film getting thinner also makes the old turns count for a given number of exposures on the loaded film invalid. I found this out recently when I used the method with one of my current loaders where the counter was not working.

The loaders I use are: the A-P Bobinquick 135 Junior loader and another exactly the same with 'Konica' on it. Both these have a light trap to the bulk film that opens when you put the winding handle in after inserting the cassette. I generally use (and re-use) plastic openable cassettes.

Oh, for the old Leica cassettes - N cassettes (I always thought they were Z cassettes until I read something about them recently) - that are opened/closed by the locking key on base plate of the camera. They were solid - painted brass.
Mike
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