I've been bulk loading 35mm since 1965. When I started a 100 foot roll cost a bit less than $20. The last B&W 100 foot roll I bought was $42. Now it's about $60. I have that roll and a 100 foot roll of Ektachrome, bought just before ended (the first time). Prices are up; availability is down. Kodak stopped selling bulk loads (I think) about 25 ears ago, except for the 00 foot Vision 3 rolls. I do not prefer the Lloyds load he uses, because the film is always being dragged through a felt light trap to get from roll to cartridge.That felt will eventually pick up dust and grit to start scratching the film. The Watson is a pain to use some time, but its gated light trap leaves nothing to scratch the film as you load your roll. Actually, the very best loaders are made by Alden and a couple of other semi-no-name brands. Until the 1970s, all film makers loaded film in reusable cartridges, which we saved - I've got a box full. For new today, I'd use the new plastic cartridges made to reload. Reusing regular cartridges is the last option IMO because they are not built for the wear and tear. The light traps are not made for reuse, so if you go that way, use them maybe 2 or 3 times, then toss 'em. Another issue is DX speed coding, which reusable cartridges don't have. There are sticker products that let you paste a code strip on your reused cartridge. There was a time when I wandered through camera stores and bought any new style bulk loader I ran into. As a result, I have aa freezer full of partial bulk rolls of old Agfa negative color and Ilford B&W. I slimmed down a few years ago and tossed out the really old dtuff, like 50 feet of Kodak Tech Pan. (I'll hear about that.) It's time to slim down again, as some of that stuff is getting pretty old.
Over a year late, but thanks for these stories from the early days of consumer film, Randall. Super interesting! What cameras and lenses have stuck with you throughout the decades, if you don't mind my asking?
Another tip: when you reload old canisters, you can push film in a dumb point and shoot that reads the DX code. Just load it into a higher ISO canister.
Tapio Pitkäranta you know, as I was editing the vid I realized I forgot to mention that. I may make a tag on episode sharing that tip as well. Thanks for adding it into the comments!
@@tapiopitkaranta7667 You can tape a piece of aluminium to the canister and mask it out to match the DX code. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX_encoding#Reading_DX_Camera_Auto_Sensing_codes
Hands down the best video on the subject I've seen on UA-cam. Appreciate you going through all the different options available for bulk loading film canisters.
Very kind remarks!! I'm really happy you found it helpful. It's unfortunate how much the price has jumped on bulk since filming this, however it's still a cost-effective option compared to box price!
I have bulk loaded for the last 10 years, its really the way to go. Anyway, one safety tip I would add is be careful how you tape! Always use a good brand of tape because the film comes off from the tape not only do you get a sticky mess in the camera, but you are going to need a changing bag to get the film out of the camera. In 10 years this has only happened to me twice, but it was a major pain both times. You can also put more than 36 on a roll, the more you put on the more economical it is because you waste so much film putting it in the canister and making leaders etc. If you do make sure your camera doesnt automatically roll back on 36, my Canon EOS 1V did that... so check your settings. My Leica's are manual wind so it doesnt matter, with manual cameras I stop when I feel resistance - see my tip above for secure taping!! :D Other than that - bulk load and save yourself a ton of money - also buy a changing bag! Its more useful than you think!
That's another reason to choose the Lloyd over the Watson - you always have to waste a little bit at the end, but the Lloyd is a lot less wasteful in terms of what becomes the "tail" of the film and you are much less likely to put a once in a lifetime shot on that daylight-blasted segment.
Great vid! I used to bulk load a lot, but have been only shooting Tri-X lately which offers no cost savings in bulk loading. I too have and prefer the Lloyd loaders over the Watsons. I would HIGHLY recommend using the plastic screw-type canisters or reusing commercial canisters as you mentioned. Avoid the metal snap-on types! I have had several of those come apart after shooting a roll which obviously resulted in loosing the roll to light leaks. I've since thrown all of those style canisters in the trash.
Oh this is awesome!! Also, when I'm winding my film after taking the last shot, I listen for when it comes off the spool and only go a little beyond that to leave the leader sticking out the roll. Then I'll fold just the end of the leader so it can't go back inside. :D
I heard that TriX and Tmax 400 are so expensive by the bulk roll right now that it's cheaper and easier to buy 36-exp. cassettes in 10-packs. Unless you're habitually loading short rolls for special purposes (e.g. playing with pushing and pulling in various developers), there seems no point.
On choice of bulk loader: the Watson ( or the "Cadillac" of loaders - the Alden, has a light trap which is closed tight when the loader is open to light and (inside) wide open when loading film to cartridge, so nothing to scratch the loading film. The Lloyd (yours) if I recall correctly pulls the film from the bulk roll through a felt light trap (like the cartridge itself) as film moves into the cartridge. So, it's the LLoyd which presents the potential to scratch your raw film if dirt gets into the felt light trap. It's also surprisingly tricky to load bulk into the Lloyds, as you have to fit the film from the bulk roll through the felt light trap, which can be troublesome in the dark. The good news, regardless of which loader you use, is that far fewer folks bulk load today compared to 1960-70s, so loaders are quite available and inexpensive over the internet and at the camera swap meets which remain.
Can't fault the video and agree with most things, all I would add is I have never had scratches or a light accidents using Watson tanks the reason the Loyd type are better is that you don't loose the last few shots of your film simply because the Loyd style tank allows very little film waste when connecting the film canister to the loader...........Excellent video by the way.
Super informative, Nick. Great idea about reloading the old canisters. I *should* bulk load to save some coin with as much as I shoot, but I enjoy opening my film stock cabinet to see all the different colors and choices!
filmismorefun same here. However i use tmax mainly. Bulking loading saves 1 buck and gears needed for that is more than 50. I shoot multiple format and slides a lot. I don’t use them fast enough to justify bulk load.
Thank you for the video! I also highly recommend doing that. Unfortunately you don't save much here in Europe you can even spend more than buying individual rolls. I started bulk loading when I got into shooting movie film and there it is an absolute bargain. :D
9:02 There is a little triangular protrusion on the lid which is supposed to line up with the point at which the film comes out of the cassette. Care must be taken in making sure you put the lid on correctly or the back of your camera may not close properly - and if it does, the film may be squeezed and have difficulties feeding. I made this mistake recently, and a nice chap on Pentax forums tipped me off as to what I had done wrong. If you don't have a film picker, you can listen carefully when you rewind the film (on manual cameras) for when the leader comes off the spool; that way you can leave the tongue out with the film leader that has to be exposed during loading. This will give you enough length to start it on the Patterson reel in daylight, and it makes life easier. For those with automatic feed cameras, of course, this is not always an option (although I believe there are a few which can read the number of exposures off the DX strips and leave the leader out, either as an option or as routine). Good tip on reusing the commercial cannisters - I shall have to try that trick next time I buy a 24 or 36 exp roll of something to try out (I am currently using Kentmere 400, and I have secured a roll of Fomapan 100 for when that runs out).
Nick Exposed hey! Indeed it is super easy. I chose Kentmere 100 for my first bulk roll and at 40$ it is very cheap to load at around 2.30$ per cassette of 36 exp. I find myself shooting more because of that.
You know I have always just assumed that bulk loading was a lot more hassle than this and always ‘rolled’ away from the idea (pun intended). This video has helped me have a new understanding of the idea and I may consider it more for future loading !! Thanks Nick.
Prices for bulk have certainly gone up since I made this, but its still very much the cheapest way of shooting. For bnw I would suggest looking into the Kentmere film stocks. A great bang for the buck. Ive switched over to kentmere 400 from HP5 since this video.
Thank you! I have wondered about reusing older cartridges, but hadn't yet researched how to do it. Now it makes perfect sense. I either need to get a lot more cartridges, or a couple more bulk loaders because I like having different speed films at the ready. I have a Watson loader and the one thing I like about it, is that there's an audible click for each frame.
Thank you for the video! I'm thinking about buying a bulk loader but can''t decide between Lloyd's and AP device. The letter one is more expensive, but people say it's less fragile.
Hello Nick, yesterday when we talked on the tmt, I was talking about the film waste on bulk, because I used a watson. With that one you have, it does not seem to have much waste. Hug from Portugal.👍
Subscribed, very helpful tips. I will start bulkloading thanks to this video. I was always under the impression that the process was too complicated but it seems not, thanks Nick.
When I was shooting 5-10 rolls a week, I bulk loaded all of my film. I have two Watson loaders and have never had any trouble with either of them. One holds ISO 400 & one holds ISO 100.
John Wilkinson the Watson holders are great. Hopefully it didn’t sound like I was saying otherwise. I just personally prefer the Lloyd tank. And having two is nice if you’re going to load a little at a time. I tend to load all 20-21 rolls at the same time.
In Sweden 1 roll of porta 400 from the camera shop is $25 but you can get a 5pack for $80 and that's like the best deal you can get if you don't order from abroad.. Film photography hella expensive.
I've been toying with the idea of bulk loading for the last year or so. I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger in a few weeks and buy everything and give some FP4 a try.
Oh man Im right there with you. I wish I had the ear of Kodak. Im waiting for tmax 3200 to be released in bulk, and hope they do so at a affordable price. Im not holding my breath however.
Thank you soo much for this video. It came in the right timing. I bought a used bulk loader just like the one you have and I believe there is still film inside.👍 So this video was very informative for me as this would be my first time bulk loading. Thanks much!
Hi Nick, Thanks for the video, this video help me out for starting to load film, I have the same bulk loader, happy with the choice, it was a bit difficult to find but worth it. Ahh!! in my loader I do 31 turns for 36 exposures and it has the same kind of carved numbers on it. Just one thing, I notice that I lost the last frame because is in the part exposed when loading the film, so the distance it is not enough when the camera stops because of the end of the film, so the last photo I took is is in the part burned, now I stop one frame before but I lost a couple of photos because of that. On the other hand I realized that when I load the film from the canister to the real it makes very hard when loading the last part of the roll ( it didn't happen to me with the original ones from the shop). I have got black strips along the film on the first two shoots, the ones that are in the center of the real when loaded, I suppose the film strip it is too long for the real and it gets bended. This happened in a real that it is not a Paterson, but it as hard to load in the Paterson as well and I get black parts on the film holes. Does it happen to you? Thanks
Sorry for the delay. Some canisters don’t receive bulk film well. I have had a few abruptly stop loading only half way through the loading process. They were a specific type of film canister with razor top (only way I know how to explain the top of the spool). I just removed all the similar canisters from my batch and haven’t had much issue since.
Retrieving the leader from an already developed roll of film is a bit more difficult than one that hasn't been pulled and cut of yet. If I hadn't watched you do it I'm not sure I would have figured it out. Thanks!
Awesome video! I just getting into film photography and I am discovering another world. Make sense you may save a lot of money doing this, thanks for doing this video 👍
I really need to switch to a lloyd daylight loader. The watson loader exposes a good bit of film on either end of the roll. Sometimes it leaves the last frame half exposed. This looks like you expose very little of the film to daylight at all.
It's still possible with the Lloyd, if you have sloppy technique, to expose enough of the tail that you kill the last half of the last frame... but less common.
Not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, I know you know, but anytime you bulk load in daylight loader, there is some exposed film at the end of the roll when you tape to the spool, and even more when reusing old cassettes. I've forgotten before when taking that last shot on a roll, then discovering later that the frame is black.
I’ve never noticed much inconsistency between one roll of HP5 or tri-x to another. But I’m sure for other film times rolling all from one batch may definitely help with consistency. Thanks for sharing
The problem with the Lloyds loader is that, unlike the Watson and most others, it uses a felt light trap to keep the bulk roll light tight, so you are always dragging your film through a potential scratching situation as you load cartridges. When film first started to fade out in the 990s, you coould buy bulk loaders of all sorts for pennies. Now they can cost up to a hundred bucks or more new. I am thankful that I have always loaded bulk 35mm, so I've got half a dozen loaders. a few with hugely out of date film, as I tended to load from bulk as I used the film and stored the bulk film &.loader in a freezer. Afgacolor 100 XLS anyone?
Noo, not the plastic ones. Zi have had a few unscrew on.me. go with the metel ones, that satisfying smash as you bang it against a hard surface in the dark room is great
Great vidéo! I also bulkload my films. Not HP5+ anymore unfortunately, its price has increased too much... The 30,5m were indeed sold about 60€ in 2017, but today in Europe it's more between 80 and 90€!!! So I bulkload Fomapan 200. 35€ for the 30,5m, let's say a little more with the shipping costs, less than 2€ a 36 exposure roll in any case... And I really like this film exposed at 100 iso and developped 1+1 in Xtol. I don't know what's the matter with Kodak, Ilford and Fuji. Seems that they don't want a lot of us to use film anymore... By the way, I also use plastic canisters, but I put a little bit of tape after I close them to prevent accidental opening
Just got a lloyd bulk loader, and it is kind of hard to wind the film on... as in it takes some force to get the roll started. I'm guessing that there is something wrong with how I am loading it. Have you experienced this before?
My lloyd loader have some gap in the top, it closes alright but doesn't seem to close equal in all parts. You think my film is exposed? i can't see in the inside of course, but the gap is there.
the old bakelite plastics will warp at times. These are designed with an inside ridge though that creates a nice light seal even if there's a small bit of warping to the lid. You can be extra safe by gaff taping or some other opaque tape around the top to ensure its light tight. Hope that helps
Wes Bowker I know right! I had some 70mm film bulk in the fridge that I ended up just giving away because I have no clue what to do with it for bulking medium format 🤷🏻♂️
Hi Nick, thanks for the video. Are both canisters, plastic and the refurbished ones, making the same resistance when pulling the film out the canister while shooting in the camera? I suppose if the resistance is not strong enough the film will not be as tight, so we could have the possibility of losing a little bit of sharpness...?
Great video. For Christmas my parents are getting me a bulk loader and my wife is getting me a bulk roll of Kentmere 400. I had to order them on their behalf so I got to hold them in my hands when they arrived and then my wife had to pry them out of my hands so I wouldn't use them before Christmas :-)
You will have fun. Look up the UA-cam vid on Caffenol by make dot com and give it a shot. I find an adequate development time for Kentmere 400 with the method they use is 25 minutes, which is long and somewhat tedious, but it saves on commercial developer and lets me put all my chemical money into fixer (and the same developing sequence works for Tmax 400 too).
Hey! did the bulk roll come in a plastic container inside the box or a tin one, or was it just the black bag? checking out some expired rolls on eBay and trying to decide which type of container came with the newer stuff. cheers, love your content!
Hey Alex, thank you for the kind words! All the film should come in black bags, regardless of plastic or metal containers. Typically the more premium films will come in metal tins. Not a blanket statement, but true for the most part. T-max, tri-x, HP5 etc, will come in a metal tin. Arista, fomapan, kentmere, etc tend to come in plastic containers to cut extra cost. So both plastic and metal are modern. Also I may be wrong on some of the references. Just realize I am giving examples off the top of my head based on experiences I’m remembering with the films.
Hey Nick, I would to know if you ever pulled your 400 speed. I’ve been looking for example on UA-cam with no luck. I would like to see some example. Thank you.
Thinking about bulk loading my own film! One question though, when you load 36 frames does the loader account for the amount of film you have to pull out to attach it to the winder? Or do you lose a frame or two?
Good grief! I was using the same Lloyd’s loader in 1968! I used HP4, then HP5, then HP5+ as that film evolved. This is like a slice of ancient history. Too bad they took the ‘+’ out of Ilford ID-11 Plus developer. That was a chelating agent that gave it a definite advantage over Kodak D76.
Hi Nick - newbie question (sorry...): How do you know when you're at the end of your 100 ft roll?? Isn't there a possibility that you could wind the very end of the 100 ft roll all the way into the canister?? How do you avoid that?? Also, wondering if you could elaborate on creating/making the DX codes?? I browsed your videos to see if there was on on the topic, but did not see one (or I overlooked it). Thanks so much in advance for your help.
For the end of the bulk roll you need to listen for a click of the film disengaging with the spool. If you don’t watch out you can definitely reel it into a roll, but it can be retrieved with a leader picker. What I do is, I know that with my loading process I am going to get around 19 full rolls, and one half roll, so when I get down to 18 or 19 rolls loaded I know that I should be listening out for the small click. Ive never had an issue with it, I would say don’t let that hold you back from stepping into bulk loading. And for creating your own dx codes you can get heater duct tape, the kind that is a bit more rigid with smooth metal. You can cut a small strip down to mimic the size of a dx code, and then simply apply electric tape squares in the pattern of the code you are trying to replicate. Hopefully that makes sense. If you have any extra questions feel free to hit me up on instagram. I’m much more responsive in this busy season over there. Thanks
Hey Nick, thanks for the amazing informing video. I have a question for you, I was wondering how many frames you get out of a bulk roll, or just the equivalent of a bulk roll to number of 36 exposure rolls? thanks mate.
I watched this only to find out that it's basically impossible to find 100ft bulk rolls of my favorite C41 color films, it seems only black and white film comes in bulk. Oh, and apparently Fuji shut down their plant, and there goes the only "consumer" grade film I actually like, Superia Xtra 400.
I don’t know of many color films that you can get for bulk loading. I guess it all comes down to price. If you can find the film you enjoy shooting in bulk, and granted its less expensive than buying the individual rolls, then yea it’s definitely worth it!
Great content you have on your channel. I've been following it by some months now. Never used bulk loaded film. I'm curious about one thing: how is the frame numbering in those 100ft is film? Cheers from Portugal.
The frame numbering depends on the film you use, but it's pointless trying to keep track of it. Kentmere 400, for example, runs from 1 to 40 and then repeats indefinitely. Unless you spool 40-shot rolls ALL THE TIME starting from the beginning, you will probably never get it to line up, and there is no guarantee that the roll you get starts at 1.
@@NickExposed Clear bathroom windows are illegal in the UK...or rather prevented by planning consent conditions. We worry about perverts too much. But to have no windows in a bathroom at all? What are you guys worried about?
Phil Clarke Haha, that’s wild. Well if we had a window in our bathroom it would go into the next flat over. Haha. Man, Ive never thought of it much, I used to have a beach house that had a window in the shower that overlooked the beach. People running by an such, never considered any perverts out on the beach.
Now the difference between that roll and a simple 36 is 3 times but the price difference is 11.64 so terribly not worth it, unless i got something wrong
Unfortunately bulk film prices have skyrocketed since I made this video. Now I stick with films like Kentmere 400 or Foma pan 400 to keep the costs lower. Still about $60 per bulk (Which gives me 20 rolls). But that's far better than anything else out there.
Never bulk loaded just for fun looked what TriX would be and if you said you get about 21rolls/100ft not much of a difference. Also I take forever to dev film so I'd have to get so many canisters.
Dont bother bulk loading Tri-X a 30m roll is far more expensive than buying ready made, for some odd reason - given how good HP5+ is I wouldnt even bother with Tri-X
I don't think bulk loading anything is for me and my style of shooting. And I only shoot Tri-X now so I was just curious if there would be saving as with other films.
I also use the Lloyd bulk load, the best thing so far. Just a little question: where do you get the little plastic roll that you put in the middle of the loader. I have 2 but i don't remember where i got them. Without these plastic rolls, the bulk film would move around too much and get scratchy. thanks for your work! Just for the fun of it, I have publied one time a little clip to show how to roll films from a Watson bulk loader. ^^ ua-cam.com/video/BxNiKWfAhAQ/v-deo.html
Hey! The plastic roll comes with the film on it. So when you take the film out of the box/bag it will already have the plastic roll in the center. The only film rolls that night not have that are 1000’ cinema reels.
@@NickExposed Nick, I think the fomapan bulk film don't have that, so far. While the former LegacyPro (Fujifilm) had reels instead. Correct me if I am wrong. ^^
The fomapan I’ve gotten in the past had it. I’m not claiming to be any expert on all the different bulk films. I can only speak from my experience, and I can’t remember a bulk that came without it
I've been bulk loading 35mm since 1965. When I started a 100 foot roll cost a bit less than $20. The last B&W 100 foot roll I bought was $42. Now it's about $60. I have that roll and a 100 foot roll of Ektachrome, bought just before ended (the first time). Prices are up; availability is down. Kodak stopped selling bulk loads (I think) about 25 ears ago, except for the 00 foot Vision 3 rolls. I do not prefer the Lloyds load he uses, because the film is always being dragged through a felt light trap to get from roll to cartridge.That felt will eventually pick up dust and grit to start scratching the film. The Watson is a pain to use some time, but its gated light trap leaves nothing to scratch the film as you load your roll. Actually, the very best loaders are made by Alden and a couple of other semi-no-name brands. Until the 1970s, all film makers loaded film in reusable cartridges, which we saved - I've got a box full. For new today, I'd use the new plastic cartridges made to reload. Reusing regular cartridges is the last option IMO because they are not built for the wear and tear. The light traps are not made for reuse, so if you go that way, use them maybe 2 or 3 times, then toss 'em. Another issue is DX speed coding, which reusable cartridges don't have. There are sticker products that let you paste a code strip on your reused cartridge. There was a time when I wandered through camera stores and bought any new style bulk loader I ran into. As a result, I have aa freezer full of partial bulk rolls of old Agfa negative color and Ilford B&W. I slimmed down a few years ago and tossed out the really old dtuff, like 50 feet of Kodak Tech Pan. (I'll hear about that.) It's time to slim down again, as some of that stuff is getting pretty old.
Over a year late, but thanks for these stories from the early days of consumer film, Randall. Super interesting! What cameras and lenses have stuck with you throughout the decades, if you don't mind my asking?
The best bulk loading guide I’ve seen here on the YT, Peace!
Shawn Brezny oh man, thanks dude! I’m super humbled by that! 👊🏻👊🏻
Another tip: when you reload old canisters, you can push film in a dumb point and shoot that reads the DX code. Just load it into a higher ISO canister.
Tapio Pitkäranta you know, as I was editing the vid I realized I forgot to mention that. I may make a tag on episode sharing that tip as well. Thanks for adding it into the comments!
Too bad 1600 speed films aren't that common or cheap so it's not that easy to harvest those :)
@@tapiopitkaranta7667 You can tape a piece of aluminium to the canister and mask it out to match the DX code. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX_encoding#Reading_DX_Camera_Auto_Sensing_codes
Hands down the best video on the subject I've seen on UA-cam. Appreciate you going through all the different options available for bulk loading film canisters.
Very kind remarks!! I'm really happy you found it helpful. It's unfortunate how much the price has jumped on bulk since filming this, however it's still a cost-effective option compared to box price!
I was lost without this tutorial. I just successfully bulk-loaded TMax 100, and I can't wait to load it into a canister or 5. Thank you!
I have bulk loaded for the last 10 years, its really the way to go. Anyway, one safety tip I would add is be careful how you tape! Always use a good brand of tape because the film comes off from the tape not only do you get a sticky mess in the camera, but you are going to need a changing bag to get the film out of the camera. In 10 years this has only happened to me twice, but it was a major pain both times.
You can also put more than 36 on a roll, the more you put on the more economical it is because you waste so much film putting it in the canister and making leaders etc. If you do make sure your camera doesnt automatically roll back on 36, my Canon EOS 1V did that... so check your settings. My Leica's are manual wind so it doesnt matter, with manual cameras I stop when I feel resistance - see my tip above for secure taping!! :D
Other than that - bulk load and save yourself a ton of money - also buy a changing bag! Its more useful than you think!
That's another reason to choose the Lloyd over the Watson - you always have to waste a little bit at the end, but the Lloyd is a lot less wasteful in terms of what becomes the "tail" of the film and you are much less likely to put a once in a lifetime shot on that daylight-blasted segment.
very useful information. thanks.
what is the 'limit' you can still load in a single canister?
Great vid! I used to bulk load a lot, but have been only shooting Tri-X lately which offers no cost savings in bulk loading. I too have and prefer the Lloyd loaders over the Watsons. I would HIGHLY recommend using the plastic screw-type canisters or reusing commercial canisters as you mentioned. Avoid the metal snap-on types! I have had several of those come apart after shooting a roll which obviously resulted in loosing the roll to light leaks. I've since thrown all of those style canisters in the trash.
Yea the metal reusable pop on canisters wear out real quick and start popping like you mentioned. I got rid of all mine as well.
Oh this is awesome!! Also, when I'm winding my film after taking the last shot, I listen for when it comes off the spool and only go a little beyond that to leave the leader sticking out the roll. Then I'll fold just the end of the leader so it can't go back inside. :D
That’s a great way of going about it as well! Definitely helps out! Thank you for sharing. Sorry for the delay in response
I used to buy a lot from someone who does this in Taiwan. Much cheaper compare to buy stock.
Thanks for the great video Nick!
100 ft roll of tri x, or HP5? 🤔..... nick you’ve influenced me again!
KingJvpes always HP5. You don’t save much at all when bulking tri-x.
I heard that TriX and Tmax 400 are so expensive by the bulk roll right now that it's cheaper and easier to buy 36-exp. cassettes in 10-packs. Unless you're habitually loading short rolls for special purposes (e.g. playing with pushing and pulling in various developers), there seems no point.
Have you tried the XP2 Super? That's some tasty film.
Dude, this is awesome. Didn't realise bulk loading is so simple.. Time to reduce my film costs! Thanks!
Sean McGowan thanks Sean! It is way less intimidating then people think. And saves so much money! Enjoy
This channel is gold.
I bulk load ultrafine extreme - both 400 and 100. It's cheap and great film
On choice of bulk loader: the Watson ( or the "Cadillac" of loaders - the Alden, has a light trap which is closed tight when the loader is open to light and (inside) wide open when loading film to cartridge, so nothing to scratch the loading film. The Lloyd (yours) if I recall correctly pulls the film from the bulk roll through a felt light trap (like the cartridge itself) as film moves into the cartridge. So, it's the LLoyd which presents the potential to scratch your raw film if dirt gets into the felt light trap. It's also surprisingly tricky to load bulk into the Lloyds, as you have to fit the film from the bulk roll through the felt light trap, which can be troublesome in the dark. The good news, regardless of which loader you use, is that far fewer folks bulk load today compared to 1960-70s, so loaders are quite available and inexpensive over the internet and at the camera swap meets which remain.
Can't fault the video and agree with most things, all I would add is I have never had scratches or a light accidents using Watson tanks the reason the Loyd type are better is that you don't loose the last few shots of your film simply because the Loyd style tank allows very little film waste when connecting the film canister to the loader...........Excellent video by the way.
Hearing you say the HP5 bulk was $61 when now it's $79 :') lol thank you so much! Still looking forward to trying out bulk loading
Man it's now 101 😭 doesn't seem to be going down anytime soon too
Hey thanks for the video you answered a lot if not all my questions about bulk loading
Wow! I had no idea it was this easy! I'll definitely be bulk loading my film from now on. Thanks for the video!
Hey Regan!! Super simple! Happy to share, and super pumped to hear you will be saving money on shooting film moving forward! Thanks for the comment!
Very nice tutorial! Thanks.
You are welcome 😊
Super informative, Nick. Great idea about reloading the old canisters. I *should* bulk load to save some coin with as much as I shoot, but I enjoy opening my film stock cabinet to see all the different colors and choices!
filmismorefun same here. However i use tmax mainly. Bulking loading saves 1 buck and gears needed for that is more than 50. I shoot multiple format and slides a lot. I don’t use them fast enough to justify bulk load.
This is great. The little things, like keeping half width of film for the extractor is large knowledge. Thanks!
Thank you for the video! I also highly recommend doing that. Unfortunately you don't save much here in Europe you can even spend more than buying individual rolls. I started bulk loading when I got into shooting movie film and there it is an absolute bargain. :D
9:02 There is a little triangular protrusion on the lid which is supposed to line up with the point at which the film comes out of the cassette. Care must be taken in making sure you put the lid on correctly or the back of your camera may not close properly - and if it does, the film may be squeezed and have difficulties feeding. I made this mistake recently, and a nice chap on Pentax forums tipped me off as to what I had done wrong.
If you don't have a film picker, you can listen carefully when you rewind the film (on manual cameras) for when the leader comes off the spool; that way you can leave the tongue out with the film leader that has to be exposed during loading. This will give you enough length to start it on the Patterson reel in daylight, and it makes life easier. For those with automatic feed cameras, of course, this is not always an option (although I believe there are a few which can read the number of exposures off the DX strips and leave the leader out, either as an option or as routine).
Good tip on reusing the commercial cannisters - I shall have to try that trick next time I buy a 24 or 36 exp roll of something to try out (I am currently using Kentmere 400, and I have secured a roll of Fomapan 100 for when that runs out).
Really helpful. I just bulk loaded my first roll today after watching this video as reference. Keep up the good work !!
Awesome! That is so great to hear! How has it been going since? Super easy and cost effective, isn't it?
Nick Exposed hey! Indeed it is super easy. I chose Kentmere 100 for my first bulk roll and at 40$ it is very cheap to load at around 2.30$ per cassette of 36 exp. I find myself shooting more because of that.
You know I have always just assumed that bulk loading was a lot more hassle than this and always ‘rolled’ away from the idea (pun intended). This video has helped me have a new understanding of the idea and I may consider it more for future loading !! Thanks Nick.
You're a legend, love the energy in the way you deliver your excellent info.
I’m seriously thinking about doing this.
Prices for bulk have certainly gone up since I made this, but its still very much the cheapest way of shooting. For bnw I would suggest looking into the Kentmere film stocks. A great bang for the buck. Ive switched over to kentmere 400 from HP5 since this video.
Thank you! I have wondered about reusing older cartridges, but hadn't yet researched how to do it. Now it makes perfect sense. I either need to get a lot more cartridges, or a couple more bulk loaders because I like having different speed films at the ready. I have a Watson loader and the one thing I like about it, is that there's an audible click for each frame.
Thank you for the video! I'm thinking about buying a bulk loader but can''t decide between Lloyd's and AP device. The letter one is more expensive, but people say it's less fragile.
I prefer the Lloyd’s for sure. You can’t go wrong either way though. Plenty of people using both.
great video. Simply bulk loads of information. Thank you
Thank you so much
Hello Nick, yesterday when we talked on the tmt, I was talking about the film waste on bulk, because I used a watson. With that one you have, it does not seem to have much waste. Hug from Portugal.👍
Subscribed, very helpful tips. I will start bulkloading thanks to this video. I was always under the impression that the process was too complicated but it seems not, thanks Nick.
When I was shooting 5-10 rolls a week, I bulk loaded all of my film. I have two Watson loaders and have never had any trouble with either of them. One holds ISO 400 & one holds ISO 100.
John Wilkinson the Watson holders are great. Hopefully it didn’t sound like I was saying otherwise. I just personally prefer the Lloyd tank. And having two is nice if you’re going to load a little at a time. I tend to load all 20-21 rolls at the same time.
In Sweden 1 roll of porta 400 from the camera shop is $25 but you can get a 5pack for $80 and that's like the best deal you can get if you don't order from abroad.. Film photography hella expensive.
Wow! That is super pricey! It just keeps going up!
I've been toying with the idea of bulk loading for the last year or so. I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger in a few weeks and buy everything and give some FP4 a try.
Of all the people I know, I am surprised to hear you haven’t started bulk loading yet. I think you are going to really like it! Make the jump
Nick Exposed tell the fine people at Kodak to drop the price of 100ft Tri-X and I’d have done it sooner lol.
Oh man Im right there with you. I wish I had the ear of Kodak. Im waiting for tmax 3200 to be released in bulk, and hope they do so at a affordable price. Im not holding my breath however.
I’m sure you know now, but for those who don’t...tri-x is $80 now.
Wow! That was great! And I was avoiding bulk because it sounded so complicated. It's easier than developing!
Great video Nick! I have been considering bulk loading my own film and your video convinced me I should.
Great transition @6:41
Haha thanks. I forgot about that one.
Thank you soo much for this video. It came in the right timing. I bought a used bulk loader just like the one you have and I believe there is still film inside.👍 So this video was very informative for me as this would be my first time bulk loading. Thanks much!
Hi Nick, Thanks for the video, this video help me out for starting to load film, I have the same bulk loader, happy with the choice, it was a bit difficult to find but worth it. Ahh!! in my loader I do 31 turns for 36 exposures and it has the same kind of carved numbers on it.
Just one thing, I notice that I lost the last frame because is in the part exposed when loading the film, so the distance it is not enough when the camera stops because of the end of the film, so the last photo I took is is in the part burned, now I stop one frame before but I lost a couple of photos because of that.
On the other hand I realized that when I load the film from the canister to the real it makes very hard when loading the last part of the roll ( it didn't happen to me with the original ones from the shop). I have got black strips along the film on the first two shoots, the ones that are in the center of the real when loaded, I suppose the film strip it is too long for the real and it gets bended. This happened in a real that it is not a Paterson, but it as hard to load in the Paterson as well and I get black parts on the film holes. Does it happen to you? Thanks
Sorry for the delay. Some canisters don’t receive bulk film well. I have had a few abruptly stop loading only half way through the loading process. They were a specific type of film canister with razor top (only way I know how to explain the top of the spool). I just removed all the similar canisters from my batch and haven’t had much issue since.
I’ve never heard of bulk loading. Cool stuff!
It definitely helps cut down costs! Thanks for the comment
There's also a special tape you can buy in rolls that you cut diagonally and use to retrieve the film leaders. It's easier to use imo
Retrieving the leader from an already developed roll of film is a bit more difficult than one that hasn't been pulled and cut of yet. If I hadn't watched you do it I'm not sure I would have figured it out. Thanks!
Awesome video! I just getting into film photography and I am discovering another world. Make sense you may save a lot of money doing this, thanks for doing this video 👍
No way you made a T-Shirt out of that photo!!!! So awesome!!!! Is that up on the store?
Timothy Makeups haha yessir. There’s a link in the description 😉😉
Spot on Nick. Well done!
Jahan Saber thanks Jahan! 👊🏻👊🏻
I really need to switch to a lloyd daylight loader. The watson loader exposes a good bit of film on either end of the roll. Sometimes it leaves the last frame half exposed. This looks like you expose very little of the film to daylight at all.
It's still possible with the Lloyd, if you have sloppy technique, to expose enough of the tail that you kill the last half of the last frame... but less common.
Not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, I know you know, but anytime you bulk load in daylight loader, there is some exposed film at the end of the roll when you tape to the spool, and even more when reusing old cassettes. I've forgotten before when taking that last shot on a roll, then discovering later that the frame is black.
Great video, super easy to do, thanks nick
Same here, almost prefer to use bulkfim, and another advantage... you have always consistence because you use one type of batch of film for sure ;)
I’ve never noticed much inconsistency between one roll of HP5 or tri-x to another. But I’m sure for other film times rolling all from one batch may definitely help with consistency. Thanks for sharing
Fantastic guide!
Thanks Ryan! I hope it helped :)
Just found this by accident and subscribed, great vid, thanks.
Great video Nick! I should give this a try
The problem with the Lloyds loader is that, unlike the Watson and most others, it uses a felt light trap to keep the bulk roll light tight, so you are always dragging your film through a potential scratching situation as you load cartridges. When film first started to fade out in the 990s, you coould buy bulk loaders of all sorts for pennies. Now they can cost up to a hundred bucks or more new. I am thankful that I have always loaded bulk 35mm, so I've got half a dozen loaders. a few with hugely out of date film, as I tended to load from bulk as I used the film and stored the bulk film &.loader in a freezer. Afgacolor 100 XLS anyone?
Noo, not the plastic ones. Zi have had a few unscrew on.me. go with the metel ones, that satisfying smash as you bang it against a hard surface in the dark room is great
Great clear guide!
You sir....have just earned another subscriber
I'm sold.
Haha, I’m glad to hear that!
Great vidéo! I also bulkload my films. Not HP5+ anymore unfortunately, its price has increased too much... The 30,5m were indeed sold about 60€ in 2017, but today in Europe it's more between 80 and 90€!!! So I bulkload Fomapan 200. 35€ for the 30,5m, let's say a little more with the shipping costs, less than 2€ a 36 exposure roll in any case... And I really like this film exposed at 100 iso and developped 1+1 in Xtol.
I don't know what's the matter with Kodak, Ilford and Fuji. Seems that they don't want a lot of us to use film anymore...
By the way, I also use plastic canisters, but I put a little bit of tape after I close them to prevent accidental opening
I use Lloyds loaders. I exposed a roll of film in a Watson roller when the gate inadvertently opened.
Thanks for the tips! And agree with Timothy the t-shirt is dope! :)
DesignbyMB thanks buddy. It’s available on the Two Stops website if you’re interested in picking one up yourself 😉😉
Yep! Would like to have one, but the question is what shipping would be if it was sent to Sweden? :)
Just got a lloyd bulk loader, and it is kind of hard to wind the film on... as in it takes some force to get the roll started. I'm guessing that there is something wrong with how I am loading it. Have you experienced this before?
My lloyd loader have some gap in the top, it closes alright but doesn't seem to close equal in all parts. You think my film is exposed? i can't see in the inside of course, but the gap is there.
the old bakelite plastics will warp at times. These are designed with an inside ridge though that creates a nice light seal even if there's a small bit of warping to the lid. You can be extra safe by gaff taping or some other opaque tape around the top to ensure its light tight. Hope that helps
Awesome shirt, and perhaps one of your most informative videos yet. Now if we can only make bulk loading 120 rolls a thing . 🤷🏼♂️
Wes Bowker I know right! I had some 70mm film bulk in the fridge that I ended up just giving away because I have no clue what to do with it for bulking medium format 🤷🏻♂️
Could be an opportunity for a new business venture. I’d buy it!
Funny how the price has changed. Doubled in 4 years.
Hi Nick, thanks for the video.
Are both canisters, plastic and the refurbished ones, making the same resistance when pulling the film out the canister while shooting in the camera?
I suppose if the resistance is not strong enough the film will not be as tight, so we could have the possibility of losing a little bit of sharpness...?
Great video. For Christmas my parents are getting me a bulk loader and my wife is getting me a bulk roll of Kentmere 400. I had to order them on their behalf so I got to hold them in my hands when they arrived and then my wife had to pry them out of my hands so I wouldn't use them before Christmas :-)
You will have fun. Look up the UA-cam vid on Caffenol by make dot com and give it a shot. I find an adequate development time for Kentmere 400 with the method they use is 25 minutes, which is long and somewhat tedious, but it saves on commercial developer and lets me put all my chemical money into fixer (and the same developing sequence works for Tmax 400 too).
fascinating, and very interesting!
Thanks so much, Richard :)
Hi...can i have link for reloadable canisters.
Hey! did the bulk roll come in a plastic container inside the box or a tin one, or was it just the black bag? checking out some expired rolls on eBay and trying to decide which type of container came with the newer stuff. cheers, love your content!
Hey Alex, thank you for the kind words! All the film should come in black bags, regardless of plastic or metal containers. Typically the more premium films will come in metal tins. Not a blanket statement, but true for the most part. T-max, tri-x, HP5 etc, will come in a metal tin. Arista, fomapan, kentmere, etc tend to come in plastic containers to cut extra cost. So both plastic and metal are modern. Also I may be wrong on some of the references. Just realize I am giving examples off the top of my head based on experiences I’m remembering with the films.
Question a 100 ‘ roll of ho5 film can make into how many 36 photo canister?
Between 19 and 20 depending on leader length
Super informative!
Hey Nick, I would to know if you ever pulled your 400 speed. I’ve been looking for example on UA-cam with no luck. I would like to see some example. Thank you.
We need to get ILFORD to sponsor you
David Bryant I agree! 😂 I will say I sent them an email last week, but haven’t had a response from them yet.
The Kaiser film loader is a brand new, modern version, including a frame counter, etc
Thinking about bulk loading my own film! One question though, when you load 36 frames does the loader account for the amount of film you have to pull out to attach it to the winder? Or do you lose a frame or two?
You lose the last frame on the roll, but can compensate in your loading. For my rolls I get 36 actual frames on the roll.
Hi
Can you tell me whether using the original cassettes can these be used in auto winding cameras ?
Thanks
Hey Alan! I have a minolta afs-v that I have ran a ton of bulk loaded film through, and never had any issues. You should be completely fine!
@@NickExposed thanks that’s brilliant
Very help
Good grief! I was using the same Lloyd’s loader in 1968! I used HP4, then HP5, then HP5+ as that film evolved. This is like a slice of ancient history. Too bad they took the ‘+’ out of Ilford ID-11 Plus developer. That was a chelating agent that gave it a definite advantage over Kodak D76.
Does this things exist for 120 film?
Hi Nick - newbie question (sorry...): How do you know when you're at the end of your 100 ft roll?? Isn't there a possibility that you could wind the very end of the 100 ft roll all the way into the canister?? How do you avoid that?? Also, wondering if you could elaborate on creating/making the DX codes?? I browsed your videos to see if there was on on the topic, but did not see one (or I overlooked it). Thanks so much in advance for your help.
For the end of the bulk roll you need to listen for a click of the film disengaging with the spool. If you don’t watch out you can definitely reel it into a roll, but it can be retrieved with a leader picker. What I do is, I know that with my loading process I am going to get around 19 full rolls, and one half roll, so when I get down to 18 or 19 rolls loaded I know that I should be listening out for the small click. Ive never had an issue with it, I would say don’t let that hold you back from stepping into bulk loading. And for creating your own dx codes you can get heater duct tape, the kind that is a bit more rigid with smooth metal. You can cut a small strip down to mimic the size of a dx code, and then simply apply electric tape squares in the pattern of the code you are trying to replicate. Hopefully that makes sense. If you have any extra questions feel free to hit me up on instagram. I’m much more responsive in this busy season over there. Thanks
@@NickExposed Thanks sooo much for getting back to me...I really appreciate it. And that's for all the great content!
best video ever!!!
Hey Nick, thanks for the amazing informing video. I have a question for you, I was wondering how many frames you get out of a bulk roll, or just the equivalent of a bulk roll to number of 36 exposure rolls? thanks mate.
I've read that it depends on the loader you use, but it's usually 18 rolls of 36 exposures, plus a few more exposures (around 10-15).
Awesome video, thanks! U sir have a new subscriber.
I watched this only to find out that it's basically impossible to find 100ft bulk rolls of my favorite C41 color films, it seems only black and white film comes in bulk. Oh, and apparently Fuji shut down their plant, and there goes the only "consumer" grade film I actually like, Superia Xtra 400.
It is very unfortunate how the industry has declined since my making this video.
I've got a bunch of 500T I've started bulk loading!
so, please show us how to bulk load 120 film.
bulk loaded in the past. Only HP5, Neopan 400 + 1600. Wished they still made neopan. Not a fan of HP5
Is it worth it to bulk color films? Excellent video, thanks!
I don’t know of many color films that you can get for bulk loading. I guess it all comes down to price. If you can find the film you enjoy shooting in bulk, and granted its less expensive than buying the individual rolls, then yea it’s definitely worth it!
Cries in colored tears ;_;
Runy hahah
Great content you have on your channel. I've been following it by some months now. Never used bulk loaded film. I'm curious about one thing: how is the frame numbering in those 100ft is film? Cheers from Portugal.
The frame numbering depends on the film you use, but it's pointless trying to keep track of it. Kentmere 400, for example, runs from 1 to 40 and then repeats indefinitely. Unless you spool 40-shot rolls ALL THE TIME starting from the beginning, you will probably never get it to line up, and there is no guarantee that the roll you get starts at 1.
thank you!!!
You bet! Happy to help :)
Wait, Americans don't have frosted windows in their bathrooms? Is that a thing?
Haha, Im sure some do. Most of the bathroom windows I've seen throughout my life are clear standard windows. Is that not a thing elsewhere? 😅
@@NickExposed Clear bathroom windows are illegal in the UK...or rather prevented by planning consent conditions. We worry about perverts too much. But to have no windows in a bathroom at all? What are you guys worried about?
Phil Clarke Haha, that’s wild. Well if we had a window in our bathroom it would go into the next flat over. Haha. Man, Ive never thought of it much, I used to have a beach house that had a window in the shower that overlooked the beach. People running by an such, never considered any perverts out on the beach.
Now the difference between that roll and a simple 36 is 3 times but the price difference is 11.64 so terribly not worth it, unless i got something wrong
Unfortunately bulk film prices have skyrocketed since I made this video. Now I stick with films like Kentmere 400 or Foma pan 400 to keep the costs lower. Still about $60 per bulk (Which gives me 20 rolls). But that's far better than anything else out there.
Can I still get 110 developed?
Most any lab that does medium format will be able to develop for you. Otherwise doing it at home is pretty simple.
Thanks nick
Never bulk loaded just for fun looked what TriX would be and if you said you get about 21rolls/100ft not much of a difference.
Also I take forever to dev film so I'd have to get so many canisters.
Dont bother bulk loading Tri-X a 30m roll is far more expensive than buying ready made, for some odd reason - given how good HP5+ is I wouldnt even bother with Tri-X
I don't think bulk loading anything is for me and my style of shooting. And I only shoot Tri-X now so I was just curious if there would be saving as with other films.
It’s like preparing for surgery...I am the doctor
Wow crazy to think it’s $119 now lol
I also use the Lloyd bulk load, the best thing so far.
Just a little question: where do you get the little plastic roll that you put in the middle of the loader. I have 2 but i don't remember where i got them. Without these plastic rolls, the bulk film would move around too much and get scratchy.
thanks for your work!
Just for the fun of it, I have publied one time a little clip to show how to roll films from a Watson bulk loader. ^^
ua-cam.com/video/BxNiKWfAhAQ/v-deo.html
Hey! The plastic roll comes with the film on it. So when you take the film out of the box/bag it will already have the plastic roll in the center. The only film rolls that night not have that are 1000’ cinema reels.
@@NickExposed Nick, I think the fomapan bulk film don't have that, so far. While the former LegacyPro (Fujifilm) had reels instead. Correct me if I am wrong. ^^
The fomapan I’ve gotten in the past had it. I’m not claiming to be any expert on all the different bulk films. I can only speak from my experience, and I can’t remember a bulk that came without it
@@NickExposed Ok thx!
$90 a roll in 2021 but a single 36 roll is $10 so I guess still a deal.