Rolling your own?

[sparty]

I've seen a few stockists are selling bulk rolls of HP5+ but what is actually involved with rolling your own?
I've seen bulk loaders of various types on ebay but don't know the difference between them? And do you get canisters with the film or roll the 'naked' film into the camera?
Sorry if this is a stupid question!

 

[Noah_]

Definitely not a stupid question, I'm curious to find out more about it!

 

[MindofMel]

Definitely not a stupid question, I'm curious to find out more about it!

 

[Carter64]

You will need cannisters (cassetttes).
Cannisters (cassettes) are either supplied with or separately to the bulk loader, depending on where you buy it. Some offer them as a bundle or discounted add-on. They can be bought separately from suppliers.
They come in plastic, metal, reusable or throw-away.
Reusable cassettes are obviously cheaper to run but there's the possibility of light-leaks over time and tiny grit particles getting into the felt light-trap, which can scratch the film.

Bulk loaders vary. Some will 'waste' up to 5 frames per cassette when you load in daylight as per the instructions and design. This is more usually the cheaper, older 'Watson' variety.
I think AG Photographic do one that's less wasteful.

That's very brief but bare in mind that unless you hunt down and often use short or outdated emulsions, it's often as cost effective to buy 10+ ready-rolled than bulk, without the faff and risk.

I'll be binning mine as soon as I've used the last of the Legacy Pro I have in it. It (to me) is simply not cost effective, taking into account potential for foul-ups, wastage and time to roll. At the time I bought it, I was acquiring a few old 35mm cameras and the convenience of rolling 10 shots to a roll, for testing, outweighed the other considerations.

 

[freecom2]

There are various different manufacturers of loaders. I believe Watson loaders are very well regarded, and the "best" loaders tend to be the ones that facilitate getting the most number of rolls out of a single bulk roll of film.

You have to buy reusable canisters (although I believe some people try and reuse ones from rolls they have developed already). Don't forget to factor in the cost of this when you check.

For many emulsions it actually works out cheaper to just buy it by the roll - and you get it in a nice canister and packaged up. I've shown some sums before on threads in the past where bulk rolling actually works out to cost more. Additionally, HP5+ is currently quite cheap, 7dayshop recently had that 4 rolls for £10 (which has gone) but HP5+ is still offered at reasonable prices in many outlets.

[EDIT: just seen Mike's post above mine - my comments regarding Watson loaders might be wrong then, may have muddled it up with another brand]

 

[sparty]

At the time I bought it, I was acquiring a few old 35mm cameras and the convenience of rolling 10 shots to a roll, for testing, outweighed the other considerations.

This is why I was looking into rolling my own. I've got too many 35mm cameras hanging around that are halfway through their 24 or 36exp test rolls! It's not such an issue with 120 as I can shoot a roll in no time and develop straight away.

 

[freecom2]

You may be interested in the method of using one roll over multiple cameras - I'm doing this with a roll of Agfa APX100 at the moment. The details are listed here.

(the thread is about using medium format film over multiple cameras, the post I linked to is where 35mm is first mentioned)

 

[Carter64]

freecom2, mine's a very old Watson, they may have improved the design since 198x

 

[Asha]

Transfering part used film from one camera to another is quite possible and not difficult if a little care is taken

 

[freecom2]

freecom2, mine's a very old Watson, they may have improved the design since 198x

Your experience (and thus post) still counts for more though - I've never actually bulked rolled before (for the reasons stated above), just picked up an awful lot of information about it reading fora everyday.

 

[mustanir]

When I used to do it, I would go to the local Jessops and collect used film canisters for from them (for free) and reuse them. They would usually have a little bit of the old film sticking out which you can tape the end of your bulk roll on to. This way you can refill the cassettes.
Of course, a daylight loader helps, but you still need a changing bag or darkroom for the loading of the bulk roll into the loader. I got a daylight loader off the local market a few years back for a fiver, not expensive things at all.

 

[Joenail]

I'm not going to explain how it works as I think it's been covered, but, for the record, I've been using bulk HP5 for the past 6 months now & it's great. It works out a lot cheaper & I'm never without film. One roll (30m/100ft) lasts me about a month. I've never had any of the issues with scratching when loading that people talk about & I've been using 30 year old canisters. The felt does wear out eventually, but they're easily replaces & it's a small price to pay.

-J