Filling Those #@&% Stainless Reels

[ljwest]

<p>Interesting. I guess we each have our own preferences, as I found the added tension from the cassette to help me spooling it onto the reel, and keeping it straight! One does have to pay a bit more attention this way, but I will say that I am a whole lot less frustrated loading the reels today than I was 20, 30 years ago!</p>

<p>I just broke open a 36 exposure roll of film that a retailer had discounted a lot, and that spooled on fine as well. Now I need to get a changing bag, and practice inside it before going for the real deal!</p>

[cj8281]

<p>If I am working in a changing bag, I usually leave the film in the cassette and just retrieve the leader. One benefit of this is that you can cut the leader off square before putting it in the changing bag. This keeps the changing bag less cluttered, you don't have the film twisting around everything while you are trying to load. With reloadable cassettes this also saves on wear as you don't take them apart as often, only when you load them. With the reels in the picture above, they are easier to load if you just slip the end of film into the center of the reel and not put it in the clip.</p>

[markdeneen]

<p>UPDATE:<br>

I bought the Paterson system and I have now done about 20 rolls of 120 and 35mm with the Paterson. I like it a lot. For me, it is very easy to load film on this reel. I did learn the hard way that ANY moisture of any kind on the Paterson wheel = FAIL. It simply will not move film if there is moisture. So, I blow dry the reel with a hairdryer in between. Works fine.</p>

<p>The difference is geometry. The stainless works from inside to out, where the plastic works from outside to in. Since the outside is a larger diameter, it feels easier to get the film started. The stainless is a "winding" operation, and the plastic is a "sliding" operation. So, the differences are rather profound mechanically. Anyway, I am doing fine now with the Paterson stuff. I suspect that if I had started with "true" reels, the stainless would have worked also, but mine were so bogusly manufactured they were a bad joke.</p>