broken bridge

[john_robison4]

<p>Hello fellow 8X11 Minox users. I was just wondering if anyone had tried to use minox cartridges with a cracked or broken bridge. Being clumsy, I managed to break the bridge on one of my precious cartridges trying, in total darkness, to unsnap the cover on a finished roll. I have thought about just removing the bridge and loading the feed and take up sides of the cart. just wondering if anyone had tried this. Replacement cartridges from Blue Moon Camera, loaded with film are $20 each, plus whatever shipping is. Bit spendy but I might just have to order anothe couple of cartridges from them. </p>

[MTC Photography]

<p>I believe you can still use a Minox cassette with broken bridge, just put the two chambers into<br>

their slot in Minox camera as if you have two separate film cassettes, one for film supply, one for take up , then and shoot as usual. <br>

When remove a cap, hold only that chamber which you want to remove a cap, and not anywhere else,<br>

you will never break any bridge.</p>

[john_robison4]

<p>Thanks Martin. Now, to load exposed film in the darkroom I use a different method. When I finish the last exposure I pump the camera twice, open and remove the film cart, and then pull the remaining bit of film from the feed side and just leave it like that. In the darkroom I pull out the film from the take up side, snip it off and load onto the reel. Later, in room light, when I reload the cart I open and remove the last stub of film from the take up spool and then reload the cartridge.<br>

I think I'm getting this workflow for the Minox settled into a method that works. Now all I have to do is sew up 120 neg holders to take 4 strips of film each. Then I'll have a place for the negs. Right now they are in 35mm file pages. </p>

 

[MTC Photography]

<p>john, you better invest in a Minox daylight development tank, it is better than reel, you don't need to<br>

load film into development tank in darkroom, all loading can be done in daylight, it makes thing<br>

much easier,without fumbling in pitch darkness.</p>

[john_robison4]

<p>Well Martin, almost all my support equipment is modified regular developing stuff I already had on hand. From an old plastic Yankee reel I cut down, reducing the depth of the grooves and the diameter of the reel and fixing the spacing at 10mm. I only load 16.5 to 17 inches into a cassette for a total of 24 exposures. This length slips on the reel very easy and the development looks completely even. o<br>

Once I have the film in hand slipping it on the reel takes no more than 5~10 sec. <br>

I have successfully developed 4 rolls already. Except for exposure blunders the negs have come out fine. Call me cheap I guess. The single most expensive item, other than the $40 for the camera, a clean and working IIIs, has been film from Blue Moon. I don't think it is overpriced. They get the empty cartridges and coffins from Minox. Then they have to felt them, and load slit film. So, quite a bit of work for $20 each.<br>

I could always spend a lot more money but I've been a DIY type of person all my life. </p>

<p>I want to say I follow your posts with interest. Thank you for keeping up with this forum. Without you it would be dead. I hope a few other Minox users will also share their experience. We need new blood. I will try to learn how to post images, will try to get my computer nerd wife to help me as I've never posted any images anywhere on the internet. </p>

 

[MTC Photography]

<p>Once you get the negative developed, you need equipment to convert it positive images</p>

<p>There are several methods<br>

*Minox enlarger to enlarge it on multicontract RC paper<br>

*Epson flatbed scanner<br>

*Plustek film scanner<br>

*Use digital camera plus macro lens or extension bellow, or extension tube<br>

The first method need darkroom work and chemicals, all the rest can be done in daylight</p>

 

 

http://www.photo.net/minox-camera-forum/?category=Scanning

[john_robison4]

<p>Yes, I casually looked into a Minox enlarger but yikes, the prices! I have a Olympus E-410 and can fit either of a couple of legacy 1:1 macro lenses I have to it. That would get me to a minimum field size of 13X17mm and then add a 25mm extension tube should get me the rest of the way there. I also have a Mamiya Enla head that can be mounted onto the 39mm threads of an enlarger lens board. I'm not thinking of truly monumental prints. I think I'll keep it to about 5X7 (that is still a little over 13X of magnification) I have several Minolta 16mm cameras and have printed their 10X14mm negs using the Enla head.</p>

<p>I've had the Minolta 16II cameras for 15 years or so but the Minox purchase was a fluke. I was content with the Minoltas and had not considered another submini format. One reason was the film issue. For many years new 8X11 film was almost impossible to source. There were many empty promises from Minox in Germany that it would be available "soon" but no film appeared. Finally Blue Moon Camera secured a supply of the empty cartridges and started to stock it as a regular item. Then last year at a photo show there was a table where the guy had several IIIs samples and all appeared to be both cosmetically clean and functional. He only wanted $40 each and I got to pick out which one. It came with the measuring chain and worn but serviceable case. When I got back from the show I set to work obtaining cartridges, 3 NOS from ebay (discarded the very out of date color film) and 2 fresh from Blue Moon. Then took one of the old Yankee reels and modified it to develop 9.2mm film. Also built another pull through film slitter to cut two films from 35mm. (No, I didn't set it up to cut one 16 and one 9.2 from a 35mm strip but still might build that slitter in the future.)</p>

<p>So now the only thing left to make is neg holders. I'll sew three runs into 120 film Clear File pages to hold 4 strips of film per 120 or 16 strips per page. I shoot 24 exposure loads so that will be 8 rolls per page. The only other item I've bought was a Binocular clamp, I found a cheap but good one on ebay as a BIN for less than $20 shipped. It mostly does duty as a tripod adapter.</p>

<p>My Minoltas are feeling lonely and rejected but I'll get back to them too.</p>

[john_robison4]

<p>By the way, almost forgot to thank you for the information about scanning. Have to check that out although probably way out of my retired income bracket. You see, I'm an inveterate tinkerer. Over the decades I have collected a lot of photographic junk (and way too many cameras). So I often find a way to cobble together a Rube Goldberg device to do what I want to do. I get much more pleasure from this activity than actually using the contraptions I build. Go figure. </p>

[n_m10]

<p>A few months late, but I have used cassettes with broken bridges. Previously I used a small piece of tape to keep them together, but tape can add thickness which can then interfere with the camera's pumping action and opening/closing when loading/unloading film. Recently I had an ACMEL cassette break on me and used Crazy Glue to fix it. Even the added thickness of the glue (added sparingly) makes the cassette a tight fit in my Minox C :/</p>

<p>Personally I don't like to use broken cassettes as I had one jam in a Minox B to the point where I had to break it to pieces to get it out of the camera.</p>

<p>When a cassette breaks on me, I use the take-up part as a dedicated development cassette. When I finish a film, I transfer it to the broken take-up chamber and then use it in the Minox tank.</p>

[B. C. S.]

<p>I don't use the Minox tank as it gets chemicals on the felt light traps. Cassettes that I have developed in the Minox tanks seem to have light leaks later. I find my Honeywell SS Minox reel very easy to load, and the casettes don't get in the chemicals.</p>