choosing reloadable cassettes

Thevastmajorityofcassettesfor35mmcamerascanbedividedintotwotypes,thesortwithafixed
velvetliplighttrapandthe labyrinthinetype.Wevastlypreferthelatter,forreasonsthatwillbecome
apparentbelow.Thereisalsoaresidualcategory,usuallycameraspecificthoughtheAgfaRapidcassette
wasusedinasurprisinglywidevarietyofcameras,notjustfromAgfa.

loading
Thebasicquestionisgettingtherightlengthoffilmonthecentrespool,woundemulsionin.Don'tlaugh:
whenRogerwasgiven800feetofoutdatedFP3in1966,hemorethanonceloadedit'backwards'withthe
emulsionout,soallexposuresweremadethroughthebaseofthefilm.We'llcomebacktofilmlengths
later.
Therearetwopossibilities:loadthespool'naked',thenputitintothecassette,orloadthespoolinsidethe
cassette.
Withvelvetlipcassetteswegenerallyprefer
toloadthespooloutsidethecassette,asit
meansonelesstripthroughthevelvetlight
trapwithattendantriskofscratching,grit
collectingandwearonthetrap.With
labyrinthinecassettesthisislessofaproblem
andifyouuseabulkloader(seebelow)then
youwillalmostcertainlyfinditeasiertoload
thespoolinsidethecassette.

Also,loadingthespool'naked'meansyou
havetoholdonprettytightlywhenyoucutthe
film,oritunwindsallovertheplace.
ShirleyWellard'Universal'labyrinthine
cassette
(seebelow)

velvet lip
Thisisthefamiliarstandardcassettethatwasintroducedintheearly1930s,andismostwidelyused
today.Ithasappearedinthreemainforms.

staked end
Themostcommoncurrentformforfactoryloadedfilmisthesocalled'stakedend'typewheretheendcap
issotightlycrimpedontothemainbodyofthecassettethatitisdifficulttoremoveitwithoutdamagingthe
endcaporthecassettebodyorboth,renderingreuseofthecassetteproblematic.
Contrarytowidespreadmutterings,the
stakedenddesignwasnottostoppeoplere
usingthecassettes.Rather,itwastoreduce
theriskoftheendcappoppingoffifthe
cassettewasdropped,animportantfactorin
professionaluse.Rogerrecallsonlytoowell
workinglateintothenightintheearly1970s,
duplicatingslidesforanAVpresentation.By
midnighthewasjustfinishingbuthewas
dogtiredsotiredthatheknockedoneofthe
exposedcassettesonthefloor.Theend
poppedoffandhehadtoreshoot36frames.
Recyclingmanufacturers'cassettes
PatersonAcupanwasmadebyFomaandis
stillavailableasFomapanCreative200an

stillavailableasFomapanCreative200an
excellentfilm,evenbeforeyourecyclethe
cassettes.

pop-off end-cap
Olderdesigns(stillusedbysomefilm
manufacturers)allowtheendcaptobe
poppedonandoffanumberoftimes,
allowinglimitedreuseofthecassette.
Openingthecassette
Pressdownfirmlyonthelongendofthe
spoolandthecapattheoppositeendshould
popoff.

purpose-made re-usable cassettes

Cassettesthataredesignedtobereused
haveeitherpoponcaps(liketheonesused
bysomefilmmanufacturers)oreventwiston
plasticcaps,thoughwehavenotseenthese
forawhile.Themainlimitingfactorwith
theseisthelifeofthevelvet.Apieceoflow
tackadhesive(PostItnote,makingtape)
canbeusedtoremovegritandrefreshthe
napofthevelvet.
Cassetteinpieces

Althoughmanymanufacturers'cassettescan
berecycled,itisworthrememberingthat
theywereonlydesignedforsingleuseand
areprettyflimsy.

AncientIlfordFP3cassette
Youcanseethesuperblighttrappingandready
reusabilitythatresultsfromthisdesignofendcap
butyoucanalsoseethatitwouldalmostcertainly
bealotmoreexpensivetomanufactureand
assemblethanamodernpopendcassette.

labyrinthine

labyrinthine
Thesearebasedontheprinciplethatlightdoesn'tgoaroundcorners.Therearetwoshells,innerand
outer.Insidethecamera,thetwoarerotatedrelativetooneanothersothatthereisaclear,openslot
throughwhichthefilmgoes.Forloadingandunloadingthecamera,andforcarryingthecassette,theyare
rotatedsothattheopeningsareanythingfrom90to180degreesapartthefilmpassesbetweentheinner
andoutershells,hence'labyrinthine'.Openingandclosingisdoneautomaticallywithmostdesigns,but
withtheShirleyWellardthecassettemustbeopenedandclosedmanually.

Labyrinthinecassetteshavenovelvettotrap
gritandcausescratches,orwearandletin
light,andtheycanbeusedvirtuallyforever:
becausetheyaresosolidlymade,theriskof
wearingthemoutisnegligible.

Nikoncassettecentrespool
Reloadablecassettesofthiskindbelongtoan
earlierage.Therewasachipoffilmleader
stuckinthisonesoittookafewminutesto
stripitdownandreassembleit.Thetwotiny
screwsontheleftholdtheplateovertheslotin
thecentrespooltheshortbariswhatholdsthe
filminplaceintheslot.

Theirgreatdisadvantageisthatmostarecameraspecific(e.g.Leica,Contax,Kiev,Nikon)andfewerand
fewercamerasaredesignedtousethem:evenLeicasnolongeractuatetheLeicaselfopeningcassette.
Thereishoweveronelabyrinthinecassettethatcanbeusedwithjustaboutanycamerathathasapullup
rewindknob,theShirleyWellardUniversal.Thesehavenotbeenmadefordecadesbutstillturnupat
camerafairsoroneBay,andbecausetheyarenearuniversal(ornearUniveral),wedealwiththemfirst.
shirleywellard
Thetrickwiththeseisthefourlittlestudsonthebottomofthefilmspool,clearlyseenintheillustration
below.Normallythesesitslightlyoutsidethecorrespondingholesinthebottomofthecassette,butifthe
spoolispusheddownandtwistedtheyengageandtheinnershellcanberotated:clockwisetoclose(the
samedirectionasrewinding)oranticlockwisetoopen.Thisisdonebypushingdownontherewindknob
andtwistingintheappropriatedirection.

Thereareonlytworealdisadvantages.Oneisthatthe
rewindknobsitsveryslightlyproud(about1/16inch,
1.5mm)whenthecassetteisinthecamera.Theother
isthatyouhavetoremembertoopenandclosethe
cassette.Theformerismoreoftenanaestheticproblem
thanpractical,andthelatterisaquestionofmemory.
ShirleyWellard,disassembled
Theendcapjustscrewsonandoff.Youcanclearlysee
thefourstudsonthebottomofthefilmspoolandthe
correspondingholesinthebaseplateofthecassette.If
anyoneweretobuildsuchcassettestodaytheywould
probablyhavetosellatoverahundredpounds($200)
eachtheamountofengineeringinthereis
extraordinary.

Twoformsofadjustmentareprovidedtofitthecassettetothecamera:aproperlyfittedShirleyWellardfits
perfectlyandwillnotrattleatall.Oneistheverticaladjustment,andtheotheristherotationaladjustment.
BotharemosteasilyunderstoodfromShirleyWellard'sowninstructionleaflet,reproducedonitsown
page.

leica
UnliketheShirleyWellard,wheretheinnerandoutershellarepermanentlylinked,thetwoshellsofthethe

UnliketheShirleyWellard,wheretheinnerandoutershellarepermanentlylinked,thetwoshellsofthethe
Leicacassettecomeapartforloading.Thepictureswillmakethisclear.Itisimportanttonote,though,that
therearetwomodelsofLeicacassette,theearly'blackmushroom'modelforscrewmountLeicasonlyand
thelater'chromemushroom'modelwhichcanbeusedinallLeicasexceptthelaterMseries.Wearenot
surewhenLeicasstoppedautomaticallyopeningandclosingthesecassettesviaakeyinthebaseplatebut
theycertainlydon'tworkinourMPwithitsLeicavitM.

Leica
cassettes
Ontheleft,
thelater
'chrome
mushroom'
varietywith
itscorrect
plastic
container
(screwon
lidwith
whiteplate
fornoting
filmtype)
onthe
right,the
earlier
'black
mushroom'
typewith
itscorrect
metal
container
(pushon
lid).
Obviously
thelater
onehas
hadmuch
moreuse!

Whenthe
catchon
thebottom
ofthe
Leicais
turned,the
springon
theleftof
the
cassetteis
pushed
aside,and
the
'mushroom'
thepost
onthe
right,
opposite
thespring
isrotated.

Leicacassettes,disassembledandopen
Ontheleft,the'chromemushroom'cassetteis
disassembled(somehaveblackspools,some
grey)whileontherightthe'blackmushroom'
cassetteisopenyoucanseehowthespringis
pushedbackslightly,atwhichpointyoucan
rotatethe'mushroom',aligntheslots,andopen
thecassette.DONOTsendthesecassettesto
labswhoarenotfamiliarwiththem:wehadone
writtenoffwhensomehamhandedcretinjust
bentthespringoutatarightangletoopenthe
cassette,insteadofadmittinghedidn'tknow,
andasking.

contax/kiev
TheseappeartobeinterchangeablewhichisnosurpriseastheKievisessentiallyaContaxII/IIIbut
wehavenothadtheopportunitytotrybothkindsinbothcameras.Wecouldn'tfindourKievcassettewhich
iswhyitisn'tillustratedhere.

nikon

TheseareclearlybasedontheContaxversion,
whichagainisnosurpriseastheoriginalNikon
rangefindercamerasborrowedalotofdesign
featuresfromtheContax.
TheyareeasiertohandlethaneitherShirley
WellardorLeicabecausetheslotsareopenatthe
ends,withouta'bridge'.
Nikoncassette
Open.ThewhiteendisanISOscalefilm
reminder.

Nikoncassette
Left,closed,empty.
Thebuttonatthe
bottomoftheendface
actuatesthelock.
Right,loaded,withthe
correctNikonscrew
topplasticcontainer.

Nikoncassettedisassembled
Outershell,fineblackwrinkleexterior,leftinner
shell,glossyblack,right.Ifyouloadyourownfilm
frombulk,andifyouhaveacamerathatcan
acceptsomesortofreloadablelabyrinthine
cassette(whetherselfopeningorShirleyWellard)
theyarewellworthseekingoutandtheyoftengo
forabsurdlylowprices,giventheamountand
qualityofworkinvolvedinmakingthem.

other cassettes
TheAgfaRapidsystem,longobsolete,hadnocentrespool.Asfarasweareawareitderivesfromthe
AnscoMemoof1927.Thefilmwaspulledoutofonecassettebythefilmtransportmechanism,and
pushedintotheotherwhere(ifyouwerelucky)itcurledupofitsownaccord.Theoldfeedcassettethen
becamethenewtakeupcassette.Thelongertheload,theharderitwastopersuadeittofeedproperly.
Anythingmuchover20exposuresispushingyourluckaswellasthefilm.Onthebrightside,cassettesare
easytoreload(buthardtoclean).

easytoreload(buthardtoclean).

AgfaRapidcassette
Youcanseethatthereisnocentrespool:thefilm
isjustpushedintothefeedcassette.Theendof
thefilm(withtheperforated'Agfa'ishoweverquite
heavilytextured.Wedonotknowhowimportant
thisisinassistingstiffnessandloading.
SomeRobotcassetteshadavelvetlighttrapbut
thelipsofthetrapwerepushedapartwhenthe
camerabackwasclosed.Thisallowedatighter
trapwhenitwasclosed,allowingbetterlight
sealing,andgreatlyreducedtheriskofscratching
whenitwasopen.

Afewmanufacturershaveoffered250exposuremodels,or250exposurebacks,withcorresponding
cassettes:Leicawastheearliestofthemajorsystemstodothis,butNikonandothershavedonethe
same.Thecassettesinquestiontakeabout10metres(33feet)offilm.
Mostothercassettesareevenrarer,suchastheextrasmallcassetteforTessinasandoneortwofromthe
1920sandveryearly1930sbeforecassetteswerestandardized:inthosedays,everymanufacturermade
themtohisowndesign.

cassette-to-cassette
Afewcamerasallowyoutoworkcassetteto
cassette,whetherdedicated(e.g.originalContax)
orwithstandardvelvetlipcassettes(e.g.Exakta).
Thisoffersseveraladvantagesincludingtheloss
ofonlyacoupleofframesofexposedfilmifthe
backisopenedbymistake,andminimalfilmloss
ifyouwanttochangefilmsinmidroll.Loadingis
howeverslowerandlessconvenient.Another
drawback,whichhadnotoccurredtousuntilwe
triedit,isthatyoucanendupwiththefilmina
differentcassette.Here,forexample,thecamera
isloadedwithIlfordDelta100(Exaktaswork
'backwards',remember)butthefilmcouldendup
inanoldAcupancassette.DevoteesofExaktas
maybeinterestedinthepaidreview.

working without cassettes

Withcameraswhereyoudonothavesuitablecassettes,itisoftenpossibletoimprovisesomeformoffeed
cassette(usuallybasedonthecentrespoolofastandardmoderncassette)andloadandunloadthe
camerainthedarkroom.Thisishardlyconvenientbutifyouwanttotrysomeancientcameraitisworth
remembering.
Gototheunillustratedlistofmodules(ineitheralphabeticalordateorder)
orgototheillustratedlistofmodules
orgotothehomepage

Back

2006RogerW.Hicks