Bulk loading- what film is it?

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Lee
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Does anyone know what bulk film comes on a cardboard tube..?. All the rolls I've done are on a plastic reel, so I now have 15 rolls of 'something' ... black and white film.



 
No idea, but you could clip a short bit off and develop it so you can read the id in the margin.
 
No idea, but you could clip a short bit off and develop it so you can read the id in the margin.
Thanks Stephen.... I thought that but would I develop that short bit 'as normal' ?. So HC-110 dilution B, 6 minutes etc... regardless of what the ISO is?.
 
I've become a convert to Diafine for unsure films.

It has the same developing time no matter what film is in there, so you can shoot one roll at different ISOs, or if you're using expired and "don't know what to do", you can just chuck it in. It lasts ages, is reusable, and doesn't care about temperature. The downside is that you have no real control over the developing process, so you can't over/under develop deliberately.

It's designed for pushed films, and it doesn't like T grain film (in my experience) but it works well on stuff where you really don't know where to start.

Not cheap either, but as you don't throw it away, it lasts ages. More about my journey with it here: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/diafine.720814/
 
I've become a convert to Diafine for unsure films.

It has the same developing time no matter what film is in there, so you can shoot one roll at different ISOs, or if you're using expired and "don't know what to do", you can just chuck it in. It lasts ages, is reusable, and doesn't care about temperature. The downside is that you have no real control over the developing process, so you can't over/under develop deliberately.

It's designed for pushed films, and it doesn't like T grain film (in my experience) but it works well on stuff where you really don't know where to start.

Not cheap either, but as you don't throw it away, it lasts ages. More about my journey with it here: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/diafine.720814/
Thanks Ian, I will have a look through your thread a bit later.
I don’t have Diafine( but I will get some in), as I am a fan of ‘chucking it all in together’
I am on the ‘new’ euro HC-110 but I’m not convinced the times are quite correct compared to the older HC 110.
I have a feeling this film might be Ultrafine Extreme. But it isn’t from my film stash.
 
Presumably if you don't know what the film is then you don't know the iso either? I'd be tempted to go for a short roll bracketed either side of iso 200 and see how it looks.
 
Presumably if you don't know what the film is then you don't know the iso either? I'd be tempted to go for a short roll bracketed either side of iso 200 and see how it looks.
Yes, that's the dilemma as I have no clue what it is, other than it's black and white. I would have to use a whole roll of 36+, as that's what I rolled them to[hoping I would get a short end roll to use, but it didn't end up that way]. In fact I might just go for that option anyway.
 
I think @Boots came up with a good idea which is to get another cannister, put your 36xp roll in the bulk feeder, and feed it into an empty can and roll off 18 shots leaving you with 2 x 18 from 1 x 36xp can.
 
I think @Boots came up with a good idea which is to get another cannister, put your 36xp roll in the bulk feeder, and feed it into an empty can and roll off 18 shots leaving you with 2 x 18 from 1 x 36xp can.
Good idea... I'll see if I can find another cannister and give that a go.
 
If you're only trying to develop the film id, development times don't really matter. Extra development only increases contrast in the image you don't have...

Come to that, temperature is relatively unimportant as well. So long as it's between 55 deg F and 80, it will be fine. If you're using a stop bath, you don't even need to fix the film, and if you're fast enough, taking the film out of the developer into the light should give you enough time to read the edge before development starts on the newly exposed film.
 
I think @Boots came up with a good idea which is to get another cannister, put your 36xp roll in the bulk feeder, and feed it into an empty can and roll off 18 shots leaving you with 2 x 18 from 1 x 36xp can.
Thanks for the credit, and it's a great idea... but it wasn't me!

However, back to the original Q - I would just expose it at a low ISO, say 50 or 100. If it comes on a cardboard core, it's probably 40-50 years old. Even if it started out at 400 ISO, it probably won't be now.
 
I think @Boots came up with a good idea which is to get another cannister, put your 36xp roll in the bulk feeder, and feed it into an empty can and roll off 18 shots leaving you with 2 x 18 from 1 x 36xp can.
Or, you could load your 36-shot roll into a camera, and shoot say 12 shots at 3 different EIs, then unload the film in a dark bag and cut it, load your tank, then trim the end and reload your film and away you go with probably 18 shots still left?
 
Ok.... thanks everyone for your help.

I winged it basically...

I partly used @Harlequin565 suggestion of winding some film on to another cannister. But, I rolled straight from one cannister to another without using the bulk film loader. And just turned it a few times to get some film on.

I used the Nikon F4s[had to figure out how to use that after it being sat for so long, and I haven't shot 35mm for ages].
I set it to ISO 250[error there as I thought I had set it to ISO 100 :rolleyes:] and set the camera to 'A' mode.Rattled off some frames until it stopped.

I made up the new Euro HC dilution B, 5 mintues - for Ultrafine Extreme 125. [that is what I thought it was]

I do have images... the film is Safety Film Ilford FP4 [it has sat in it's bulk loader for about 8 years in a drawer.
Now I just need to work out what to actually rate it at for the rest of the rolls.



 
I partly used @Harlequin565 suggestion of winding some film on to another cannister. But, I rolled straight from one cannister to another without using the bulk film loader. And just turned it a few times to get some film on.

Great idea. And thoroughly less hassle.
 
Ok.... thanks everyone for your help.

I winged it basically...

I partly used @Harlequin565 suggestion of winding some film on to another cannister. But, I rolled straight from one cannister to another without using the bulk film loader. And just turned it a few times to get some film on.

I used the Nikon F4s[had to figure out how to use that after it being sat for so long, and I haven't shot 35mm for ages].
I set it to ISO 250[error there as I thought I had set it to ISO 100 :rolleyes:] and set the camera to 'A' mode.Rattled off some frames until it stopped.

I made up the new Euro HC dilution B, 5 mintues - for Ultrafine Extreme 125. [that is what I thought it was]

I do have images... the film is Safety Film Ilford FP4 [it has sat in it's bulk loader for about 8 years in a drawer.
Now I just need to work out what to actually rate it at for the rest of the rolls.



Just FP4 rather than FP4 Plus? That would certainly age it.
 
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Yes...
All it says is - Safety Film Ilford FP4 on the top sprocket holes, and on the bottom it shows #90, #90A, #91, #91A etc
Wikipedia says FP4 introduced 1968 and replaced by FP4 Plus in 1990, so that's the ballpark age by the looks of it.
 
Wikipedia says FP4 introduced 1968 and replaced by FP4 Plus in 1990, so that's the ballpark age by the looks of it.
Thank you for that Peter... am I right then that this is ISO 125 film?.
Considering I shot 5 frames with no clue on anything from film to developer... I am impressed with the quality of the film.









 
These are looking good Lee, so I think you've got yourself in business! It is indeed iso 125 and was a double layer emulsion according to Wikipedia. Happy shooting!
Thanks.... so, should they be shot at 125?.
To be honest I didn't really want them as I don't need anymore film...I wanted the bulk loader free to do my bulk roll of XP2 :LOL:
 
Thanks.... so, should they be shot at 125?.
To be honest I didn't really want them as I don't need anymore film...I wanted the bulk loader free to do my bulk roll of XP2 :LOL:
They look pretty good at 125, but popular opinion would be to shoot at a lower iso for more difficult lighting conditions. Maybe 80 or 64? :thinking:
 
They look pretty good at 125, but popular opinion would be to shoot at a lower iso for more difficult lighting conditions. Maybe 80 or 64? :thinking:
I shot them at ISO250. To be fair I did nothing but point and shoot :LOL:
 
For anyone who might come across this film to use for themselves, following on from @Peter B suggestion, I shot a roll at ISO 80. Still using the F4s
The film seems to have a decent amount of latitude, or put another way, it's quite forgiving(considering the age of the film) seeing as I just did a point and shoot, and chuck some developer in and hope for the best(as I'm not particular at getting it all exact)... it was developed for ISO 80 in the new Euro HC at dilution G(1+119 for14 minutes)









 
For anyone who might come across this film to use for themselves, following on from @Peter B suggestion, I shot a roll at ISO 80. Still using the F4s
The film seems to have a decent amount of latitude, or put another way, it's quite forgiving(considering the age of the film) seeing as I just did a point and shoot, and chuck some developer in and hope for the best(as I'm not particular at getting it all exact)... it was developed for ISO 80 in the new Euro HC at dilution G(1+119 for14 minutes)










Lovely tonal range in these Lee, as well as engaging composition
 
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