Bulk loading film tips
Since I started bulk loading my own film, I’ve collected a few notes and tips on how to make it all work smoothly and consistently. Plus, I have some extra tips on using those rolls in a Leica M.
To understand these tips, you’ll already have to know how to operate your daylight film loader. If you don’t, here’s a video explaining it in great detail using a Watson loader, which is very similar to mine: How To: Bulk Loading Film.
I’m using a Computrol 35mm bulk film loader. So that’s what these tips refer to. If you’re using a different style of loader, some might still apply, but some might not.
Let’s get started:
Canister loading tips
Currently, I’m using standard, already used 35mm film canisters and roll the bulk film onto them. For this, I tape the film from the bulk roll to the little bit remaining film that’s still attached to the canister. Here’s a video that shows how this works: Bulk Load Film Tutorial.
So, first some tips for inserting the film cassette and getting everything ready:
- Make sure you tape on the film straight. Otherwise it won’t wind on nicely.
- Before inserting it into the loader, manually wind in the taped part, so the Tesa/Scotch tape won’t get stuck on the outside of the canister once you start using the crank.
- If you do run into problems winding on the film, don’t force it. It should work without much resistance. If that’s not the case, better start over.
- Before starting to spool on, don’t forget to open the gate, so the film doesn’t get scratched and you can effortlessly turn the crank.
- If you’re doing this for the first time – or haven’t done it for a while – load your film in a dim environment. Should you then have an accidental light leak, it won’t be as severe.
Winding tip: Load for one complete counter run
If you’re aiming for getting eighteen 36-exposure rolls out of your 30.5 meters (100 ft) of film, make sure you wind on a full counter run, which is 40 “clicks” or frames. So, before loading a new roll, I set my counter to “0” and wind on 40 clicks, until it’s back at “0” (which is equal to “40”).
With this method, I always get 18 rolls out of the 30.5 meters and each roll has at least 36 exposures on them. Plus, the counter is already reset for the next roll.
Canister unloading tips
When you wound on you film, it’s time to get the freshly loaded canister out of the loader.
- Take out the spool before cutting it loose. This way it’s much easier to cut the film with scissors.
- Cut the film relatively close to the canister. I usually cut after two sprockets. I found there’s already enough film in the canister for my 36+ exposures. No need to have even more on that roll. (Plus, then there’s already enough film sticking out of the loader for the next roll.)
- Put some bright tape on the loader and use a pen to keep track of how many rolls you’ve already loaded. I found the built-in “meters/feet left” counter unreliable and tedious.
Tips for using bulk loaded film in a Leica M
When you shoot a bulk-loaded roll, you can’t simply shoot it until you can’t advance to the next frame any more. Because you would lose a frame or so at the end, since during the loading process both ends of the roll were exposed to light. So, you need to pay attention towards the end of the roll, to know when the film is full.
Here’s what I do to make sure I don’t lose any frames with my M:
- Before inserting the film, make sure the shutter is cocked or has just been fired. That way, each time you wind on a fresh film, the travel will be the same for the first one to two advances.
- Waste the first frame.
- Start shooting at frame count “0”. (Now, to be 100% sure you get a full frame on this first shot, I’d waste one more and start at “1”.)
- Shoot until and including frame “38”. Once the counter hits “39”, the film is full. (Sometimes that’s not the case and you get one more shot out of the roll, though. Which happens to me accidentally, when I don’t pay attention.)
Shooting my M4-2 from frame “0” to “38” indeed gives me 39 fully exposed frames most times. Occasionally, the first or last frame are incomplete. But it’s recently always been at least 38 frames.