so then

terri · Jan 19, 2005

aggiezach said:
When I used plastic reels, one of mine didn't have both ball bearings and it seemed to work ok. It wasn't as fast as the others but it still did its job

Sbalsama, If you really like the stainless tanks you could always get a Hewes 35mm reel. They are BY FAR the easiest reels to load in my experience. They use two little tabs that grab the sprocket holes to help get the film started right! They're GREAT!

Zach

I'm curious about something....why do the stainless reels (generally speaking) get such a bad rep, if they are in fact so easy to use? Does it vary by brand, with Hewes being the best design? I was first taught on stainless, but there were no tabs grabbing the sprocket holes, it was unwieldy and seemed hopeless. This was with the lights ON!! :lol:

Before my next class I'd given up and run off to buy Paterson.

ksmattfish · Jan 19, 2005

terri said:
Iwhy do the stainless reels (generally speaking) get such a bad rep, if they are in fact so easy to use?

I think that many beginners find the rachet loading method easier, and it also may provide some assurance that the film is loaded on the reel correctly, and not bent and/or touching other parts of the film. I think a lot of the trouble with SS reels comes from folks having to first try them out in a public or school darkroom where they are old and beat up, and hard to load.

I mainly use a 64 oz SS tank that'll hold 8 35mm reels or 4 120 reels plus 1 35mm reel. I only load 6 35mm reels or 3 120 reels, and use approx 50 oz of chems in it at a time. I like to leave some air space in the tank so that I know the chems are mixing freely when I'm agitating. When the tanks are filled to the brim with chems I was sometimes getting slight uneven development; usually only noticable in large areas of even tone such as the sky. I still fill the tank with all of the reels though, to keep the loaded reels from bouncing around.

I have a tank that'll hold 18 120 reels (3 gallons of chems to fill), and is used by raising and lowering a rack holding the reels into the chems (in total darkness). I've only used it a few times, because I don't keep more than a gallons worth of my chems mixed up. It was cheap on Ebay, and so obnoxious that I had to have it.

terri · Jan 19, 2005

I think a lot of the trouble with SS reels comes from folks having to first try them out in a public or school darkroom where they are old and beat up, and hard to load.

That was indeed my situation...I don't know how beat up they were, as a total novice sitting there they looked shiny and nice. But even the instructor struggled a bit. It didn't help that we watched him develop a roll after he'd loaded onto the SS and the film came out stuck together and blotchy. NOT an impressive showing.

It was cheap on Ebay, and so obnoxious that I had to have it.

That made me laugh.

ferny · Jan 19, 2005

Having not actually used them yet, how does the ratchet system work? You gently feed the film in then keep twisting the reel? Won't the balls just bump about of the film which won't be moving at all that way? :scratch:

sbalsama · Jan 19, 2005

I definitely prefer the ratchet system, I tried the SS reels in daylight before actually developing myself. Since I had the plastic ratchet, I just used that. I have heard of those Hewes before, probably on this forum, and checked them out. Maaaaaaybe someday, if I ever get a bum roll or something, I'll sit down and really teach myself.

The ratchet system, ferny, you feed that baby in under the balls, which act as grips. Every twist forward (then backward) will advance the film. Very convenient, very easy. Makes loading film reels...fun?

oriecat · Jan 19, 2005

I think it'll be ok without the ball bearing. I have one reel where I even took them out because I couldn't get it to load the 120 right and I wanted to see if that helped (i think it did, altho I'm not positive, I guess I need to check and see which reel I've been using for the 120...)

Ferny, it would definitely help to practice loading before you try it for the first time. Do you have any old or bad film you could use?

ferny · Jan 19, 2005

Only everything I shoot.

Nah, I'll be fine.

oriecat · Jan 19, 2005

Of course you will! After as perfect as your first emulsion lifts were, I don't doubt you'll master this quickly as well.

ksmattfish · Jan 19, 2005

oriecat said:
Ferny, it would definitely help to practice loading before you try it for the first time. Do you have any old or bad film you could use?

Practice first, or you'll be sorry. Also, practice with your eyes closed, as it does you no good to practice in the light. It seems simple, but when you have to do it in the dark, it's suddenly hard.

aggiezach · Jan 19, 2005

ksmattfish said:
Practice first, or you'll be sorry. Also, practice with your eyes closed, as it does you no good to practice in the light. It seems simple, but when you have to do it in the dark, it's suddenly hard.

Can't emphasize that last part enough! Everything is so much harder when you can't see what your hands are doing

Zach

ksmattfish · Jan 19, 2005

If I haven't spooled 35mm in a while, I always do a practice roll, and I've developed 1000s of rolls of 35mm. Once when I was doing the first developing demonstration in a basic photo class I was teaching, I screwed it up and ended up with parts of the roll undeveloped because the film was touching. The problem is that at first you'll just have a little problem, but as you twist and tweak and over handle the film the edges get mangled, and it gets harder and harder to load the roll.

120 size is very easy to load onto the dev reel. They're short and wide and easy; hey, that sounds like a joke...

The only problem with 120 is that if you loaded the camera wrong the images may be really close the either end of the roll. I've wrecked a few images by getting them too close to the end, and the film clip messes it up.

If you get into trouble after you've opened the cassette, you can stick the film in the developing tank. That's why it's good to keep them clean and dry. The go practice, and try again. Save your plastic photo paoper bags, you can use them as emergency dark bags too.

oriecat · Jan 19, 2005

ksmattfish said:
Save your plastic photo paoper bags, you can use them as emergency dark bags too.

Ooh I never thought about that! I knew there musta been a reason they were piling up on the floor. But I thought it was just laziness. :mrgreen:

ksmattfish · Jan 19, 2005

oriecat said:
Ooh I never thought about that! I knew there musta been a reason they were piling up on the floor. But I thought it was just laziness. :mrgreen:

And when you have a whole bunch, you cut them so they lay flat. Stick them together with gaffers' tape, and you have great stuff to cover windows in your darkroom.

Sometimes you can also get this kind of stuff from your local photo labs. Big rolls of paper come in big, light proof bags. It's trash at the lab, but I collected them when I worked at a lab, cut them, taped them, and they've been blocking light for over 5 years now.

I assume most labs would be willing to save them for a customer.

ferny · Jan 20, 2005

It may sound big headed, but... I'm pretty good with my fingers in the dark. I just seem to have a knack for fiddly jobs. I remember Mindy getting grumpy when my first emulsion lift came out ok. :mrgreen:

When you load the reels, why does it have to be in complete darkness? When you load the camera you have to pull out some film, why can't you just pull out that bit, load up the reel and get it started and then switch the light off and carry on?
There's probably a really good reason.

terri · Jan 20, 2005

ferny said:
It may sound big headed, but... I'm pretty good with my fingers in the dark. I just seem to have a knack for fiddly jobs. I remember Mindy getting grumpy when my first emulsion lift came out ok. :mrgreen:

When you load the reels, why does it have to be in complete darkness? When you load the camera you have to pull out some film, why can't you just pull out that bit, load up the reel and get it started and then switch the light off and carry on?
There's probably a really good reason.

The reason is that you have to have a pretty good lead going to ensure it's loaded and ratcheting correctly, and you'll hopelessly fog if not ruin the entire roll if you do that. Your initial emulsion lifts were dandy, my friend, but trust me, this ain't no emulsion lift. :wink:

You can watch what you're doing in that situation. This is blind work and you must trust by feel alone that you've done it correctly; there's no peeking in later to make sure. Try it several times in a changing bag just to get the feel of it, I join the others in this advice.