Bulk Film Loader ... tips?

[tirediron]

I haven't used bulk film for many years, but when I did, I never bothered with a loader. I knew that the outstretched width of my arms was about 40 frames, so around 38 or 39 I would just manually rewind.

 

[Derrel]

what would happen if I forgot to rewind it after the 24th exposure?

I'm still kinda wondering about this...

Will the camera 'feel' the tension at the end of the roll and automatically rewind, or will it try to just keep going? Is there some way that it 'knows' when to rewind non-DX coded cartridges, or do you just have to pay attention to what frame it's on?

I'm using a Canon 1N RS if that matters. (I didn't see anything in the manual that talks about that...)

edit
Is there any chance of it damaging my camera? Or the film?

Sorry if this is total noob stuff, but I've never used non-DX coded cartridges before, or DX coded ones that had less film in them than what the DX code says...

The camera should sense the tension at the roll's end...I'm pretty sure there's some type of clutch mechanism that prevents the camera from stripping out the sprockets,etc,etc...

Not sure if you are developing your own film, but if you are, remember not to just rip the tape at the end of the roll as you load it...that can cause a static electricity discharge, which will lave your film with lots of little mini-lighting-bolt like spark images!!! (I learned this lesson the hard way!)

I never really owned a camera that was DX-capable until way,way late in the game...I stuck with Nikon FE-2,FM,FM-2,and F3-H bodies for around 15 years, well after they had been replaced by newer models,so my DX-cannister film experience is pretty limited.

 

[Josh66]

Good to know.

I guess on the less than 36 exposure rolls, I'll just keep shooting till it rewinds. Maybe I'll get one or two extra frames.

(I do like to keep it to multiples of 6 though ... just for easy storage in my negative sleeves...)

 

[Josh66]

I haven't used bulk film for many years, but when I did, I never bothered with a loader. I knew that the outstretched width of my arms was about 40 frames, so around 38 or 39 I would just manually rewind.

I've heard of people doing it that way...

Judging from my very limited experience ... I think I would have a hard time taping the end of the film to the spool in the dark...lol.

 

[tirediron]

I think I would have a hard time taping the end of the film to the spool in the dark...lol.

Nah, dead easy... you take the spool, put a 'U' of tape on it, make sure that the sticky sides won't touch, and develop a system so that you can put your fingers on each item (spool, case, locking rings) as you need them.