120 film, how to handle after removal from camera?

I am (yet another) person getting back into film after twenty or so years.

 

To make a long story short, I went out and shot a roll of 120 (Kodak B&W320)

yesterday and when I was finished I cranked the film off on to the spool per the

cameras instruction. I then opened the camera back and removed the film, now I

am sitting there with a loose roll of film wondering what to do. I vaguely remember

that last time I shot 120 film a LONG time ago had a piece of tape at the end of

the roll that you could wrap around to secure it. There was a little strip of paper

marked -exposed- that did not seem very sticky, am I supposed to use it to

secure the roll of film? With no better ideas I just used a strip of scotch

(cellophane) tape to secure the roll, is that a horrible mistake?

 

Thanks for your help!

Scott

 

PS: Very fun learning to use a medium format camera (RB67) having shot almost

exclusively hand held 35mm and digital pocket camera previously. Learning tripod

technique is definitely going to be a learning curve. It is also fun to see the looks

you get from passers by, I was taking some shots of old weathered trees and

buildings in a park near the ocean. One lady was so interested in what I was doing

she fell off the curb while walking her dog, she was not injured but commented *I

was so busy watching you I was not looking where I was going*.

This video will show you the basics:

 

 

 

 

If the paper tab isn't sticky enough to stay in place after you lick it, you can certainly use a piece of tape as a back-up.

Being a Kodak film, the little strip saying "exposed" will be of the 'lick-to-stick'-sort.<br>Fuji has self-adhesive strips, that you need to peel apart. But Kodak wants to leave us with a bad taste in our mouths every time we finish one of their rolls. ;-)<br><br>Using cellotape is not a bad idea. Will be harder to break the seal when it comes to loading the film in a developing tank though. I carry a few elastic rubber bands in my bag, for all sorts of purposes, which would do fine for this too.

If I expect not to be able to get the film developed for a while, after licking & sticking I wrap

the roll in alu foil just to keep it as light-tight as possible.

Scott,

I develop 120 B&W myself, so instead of using the supplied tape, I rubber-band the

roll. Makes it easier to get off in the changing bag. I'm not sure what commercial

processors would have trouble with. Maybe ask your processor and see if a rubber

band would be ok. I find I can make it really tight with a couple of loops, and I feel

more confident about light leaks than the supplied strip.

Scott

I've not had a problem with using the supplied tape- self adhesive or not. The important thing is to ensure the film is rolled tight before applying the tape. Typically I'll put the film back into its foil sleeve after use- which may be habit rather than useful. and after what might be a few days in the camera bag, it goes in a fabric or plastic bag. If you're going to be extremely careful about anything here then make sure you're loading & unloading out of direct sun, and get the roll tight before licking & sticking.

Thanks everyone, I thought of a rubber band but didn't have one handy, I'll look around and see if I can find a bag of them and yes I also thought of licking the paper band but did not want to trust it. I also folded over a small tab on the scotch tape for easy removal. I plan on developing my own film but this first roll will go off to a local lab.

 

Eric thanks for the youtube link, I am going to have to look at youtube to see if they have a video showing how to load 120 film onto a spool of a developing tank. I did a search here and found some good descriptions of how to do it but I'm sure there is a video floating around out there.

 

 

You guys are great!

Thanks again,

Scott

In addition to fastening the roll end issues, I have had many rolls of 120/220 edge fog over the years. Some cameras don't wind them tight enough.

 

 

Avoid handling exposed roll films like 35mm cassettes (they aren't), in bright sun rolls will fog if not wound correctly.At the very least always turn away from the sun and use your body for shade.

 

 

In the field I wrap them in foil in my bag to keep out the light, and I always loud & unload in "subdued" light too. The original wrapper and box work fine to keep out light too.

Some labs (millers) will supply you with plastic 120/220 film canisters for free. It is like a 35mm canister but shaped for 120 film and is light tight black plastic.

If you still do 35 mm you can make a 120 film canister out of 2 empty canisters

I use an agfa B/W canister and a clear fuji canister.

 

the fuji ones are just about the same diameter on the outside as the agfa ones are on the inside.

 

Make a small hole in one of the containers so that the air can escape.

I know it is not the best description but with a little imagination you should be able to figure it out.

this keeps them protected and shielded from most of the light after that you can put it in your pocket or your pack.

Scott-

 

 

1. If you're going to develop your own film, I would suggest a plastic tank with plastic "walk-on" reels, which are much easier for a novice to load film onto than stainless 120 reels which require a bit of practice. Paterson makes a nice tank:

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/40337-REG/Paterson_PAT115_Universal_Tank_with_Reel.html

 

 

2. My experience is that if your 120 film isn't wound tightly when it comes out of the camera, no matter how dim the light, your film will suffer from some degree of edge exposure- i.e. if you can see the edges of the film with your eyes, you've already got a problem. That said, to avoid any undue light leak damage, I keep my exposed film in opaque, black plastic t-shirt bags I otherwise use to collect dog poop (hint: I find its best not to collect poop and film in the same bag). Anyway, these bags are relatively cheap and work like a charm:

 

 

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=206127901&dept%5Fid=12&brand%5Fid=443&mscssid=X69KDF3TDDJT9G6Q96MD0DRUNCBEDSL3

I second the use of aluminium kitchen foil - it's cheap, absolutely light tight, doesn't take up much space, and once squeezed around the film it doesn't come undone easily. Or use the thick black plastic bags from boxes of printing paper if you can get 'em.

I've shot medium as well as large format for over twenty years, and second a lot of the good info here.

 

I use the Paterson tank; it's about the easiest of all. One tip: Long ago I would find that a roll just wouldn't want to advance on the roll as I twisted the reel. One day I tried snipping off the corners of the leading edge; it was the sharp corners that were hanging up. Also works for 35mm.

<p>I stick on one of those address labels that charity organizations are always sending. Kills two birds, your address is on the film to prevent it from being lost.</p>

<p>HI there, I have never shot 120 film before. I have a 1913 Kodak 1A Junior camera that I am trying to adapt to use 120 film as it takes 116mm. I found tutorials on how to make adapter spools but my question is, I was told I had to go into a dark room to put the film in and take it out. Is this true? I also need to remove the 120 film and attach the adapters I will be making and that would be a lot easier in a lighted room. Im afraid to even take the 120 out of the wrapper to look at it. Thanks for any information. <br /><br />In caseanyone is interested in how to convert a 116 to a 120 here is the link I found. <br />http://www.apug.org/forums/forum147/117150-converting-116-616-kodak-camera-use-120-film.html</p>