Fuji GW690 35mm Hack

I know that folks use a strip of paper backing to advance the mechanism on the GW690 when using 35mm film. I didn't want to use a strip of paper. Just to see, I tried it without the paper and it didn't work. Next, I used PAINTER TAPE and it worked! Here is what I did. I cut a 4" piece of painters tape that was wide enough to cover the 24mm width of 35mm film. I took this tape and rolled it on the film advance roller. I attached the tape from the left and turned the roller counter clockwise until the tape overlapped about 1mm. At this point I reversed the tape, creasing the tape the full length of the roller. From here I turned the roller clockwise and rolled the tape on until it adheres to itself where the crease is. I now have a tacky roller. I tested this setup with a roll of exposed 35mm and it worked brilliantly. It is easy to remove and just as easy to apply. The tape is not like regular tape as the adhesive does not leave residue behind. It is designed to be easily removable and not mar the surface.

I slept on it and had second thoughts. Is adhesive on the silver side of the film a good idea? I'm just not sure. What do ya'll think? My next incarnation will only touch the sprocket area. I'll post pics of that when I get to it this week.

Tape on the emulsion side of the film doesn't sound like a great idea, if you are referring to the parts of film with images on them. On the leader, I don't see an issue.

What is the purpose of the blue tape? To pull the 35mm film from the metal canister? Could you use a piece of tape just long enough to wrap one time around the take up spool, and also adhered to the 35mm leader tongue?

Tape on the emulsion side of the film doesn't sound like a great idea, if you are referring to the parts of film with images on them. On the leader, I don't see an issue.

 

What is the purpose of the blue tape? To pull the 35mm film from the metal canister? Could you use a piece of tape just long enough to wrap one time around the take up spool, and also adhered to the 35mm leader tongue?

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it all points of view. The take up spool is independent of the roller that advances the mechanism, otherwise your suggestion would work.

Best,

Henry

How about thin rubber tape, so the film is pinched with the rollers on the door? A vinyl tape might work. And applied just where the sprockets are...

Thanks for your suggestion, I think you are on to something. This would be easy to do and remove once done. Basically, the film BACK would adhere to the tape on the pressure roller. When the film is advanced, the pressure roller would rotate and the tape on either side of the film would in turn rotate the advance mechanism roller. I can't wait to try this! I think that is the solution. Thanks again!

Wouldn't it be far easier just to load 120 film and simply use the central strip of each frame? The price of 120 film isn't that much greater than a cassette of 135.

Thank you for your response. It certainly is easier, haha! I regularly shoot 120 with this camera and love it. I WANT to shoot 35mm from this camera for a particular subject matter. The camera originally had an accessory that was designed specifically to shoot 35mm. They are hard to find today, so folks like me are hacking their way to the same functionality. There are others that use a strip of paper to advance the mechanism, but I wanted something much easier to implement. I have even made a 3D frame to help flatten the film when I finally test my solution, even though it really isn't needed as others have done without it. That said, I also enjoy tinkering with my cameras and this experimentation is a symptom of that enjoyment.

Best,

Henry

How about thin rubber tape, so the film is pinched with the rollers on the door? A vinyl tape might work. And applied just where the sprockets are...

Man, I was hoping your suggestion would work, but alas it did not. The roller is stainless, thin and difficult to access. Try as I might, I couldn't get the tape on it. It has to be easy to do or I might as well just use the paper method. What would work would be to replace that stainless roller with a rubber one. Oh well, thanks for the suggestion just the same. I'll file it away.

Best,

Henry

The solution I will use is as follows. I will keep in my camera bag, aside from the spacers, a pad with several precut strips of 4" x 1/2" painters tape. Attaching and removing them is easy and nondestructive. The ideal solution would be to have a rubber coated pressure roller (the smaller of the two) as I THINK the first design had, but this will work for now.

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Actually, my idea was to put rubber or vinyl tape like you have above, thick enough so that it will pinch the film against the steel rollers from the door. The film counting roller spins quite freely, even with the door closed and film advance mechanism engaged, so you do not need that much pressure to turn it.

The Pano mask you show above is not made by Fujifilm, looks like an after market item. I made something similar for my Pentax 6x7, and shot a lot of Kodachrome through it - was my poor-mans X-pan in the day. I thought I had done the same on my GSW690 by keeping the film tension tight so it turned the roller, but I can't find any negs from it, so it may have been a dry run experiment.

Actually, my idea was to put rubber or vinyl tape like you have above, thick enough so that it will pinch the film against the steel rollers from the door. The film counting roller spins quite freely, even with the door closed and film advance mechanism engaged, so you do not need that much pressure to turn it.

 

The Pano mask you show above is not made by Fujifilm, looks like an after market item. I made something similar for my Pentax 6x7, and shot a lot of Kodachrome through it - was my poor-mans X-pan in the day. I thought I had done the same on my GSW690 by keeping the film tension tight so it turned the roller, but I can't find any negs from it, so it may have been a dry run experiment.

Sorry, I misunderstood you. Yes, basically what I've done, but with rubberized tape. I just looked up what that (rubberized tape) is and it sounds like that's the ticket. I need to go out and find some to further my experiments.

As to the photo, I guess I was fooled by the text. I wish I could find an image of the original accessory. It would help to document what was and what can be done with the newer cameras. Thanks again for your input, it really helped.

Best,

Henry

Actually, my idea was to put rubber or vinyl tape like you have above, thick enough so that it will pinch the film against the steel rollers from the door. The film counting roller spins quite freely, even with the door closed and film advance mechanism engaged, so you do not need that much pressure to turn it. . . . . .

I tried rubberized tape, two layers and it did not work consistently. There is some slippage. I saw some carpet grip tape that I may try.