Old Dog, New Trick

 Over the years since I got back to shooting film I have enjoyed opportunities to explore the possibilities of many different film and developer combinations.  The soaring prices of most films have made that an expensive proposition and have prompted me to look at alternatives.  One obvious one to consider was bulk film.

I don't recall when or why I acquired this Watson Bulk Film Loader, but it seemed time to give it a try.  I mentioned the possibility to a couple film shooting friends and was offered some helpful advice on use as well as a partial bulk roll of Arista Edu 200 to get started.  I bought a four-pack of plastic reloadable cartridges from Adorama and loaded 12 frames into one for a trial run.  To eliminate any camera variables in the test, I shot the short strip in my Retina IIc with the Xenon lens which never disappoints.

I took a long walk with the Retina through a part of the neighborhood I seldom visit.  The setting sun cast some nice light and shadows which made it easy to quickly finish the test roll.

I had not used any Arista film in some time and I was pleasantly surprised at the nice tonal palette and fine grain when developed in RO9 1:25.

So, I ordered a 100-foot bulk roll of Arista Edu 200 from B&H.  The hundred-foot roll of film costs $68 and yields about 18 36-exposure rolls; so around $3.77 per roll.  That is a nice savings over the individual 36-exposure cartridges at $5.99 each, as well as some inflation protection for the duration of the bulk roll.

Ultrix Progress

My little Ihagee 127 folder is performing pretty well.  The lens and shutter seem to be working as they should.  Greater familiarity in using the camera has increased my confidence in it.  At this point, the main limitation I am facing is with the film.  The expired bulk Portra 160 always provides interesting results, but it would be nice to have a little more predictability in order to further assess the capabilities of the camera.  I had hoped to try out some new film using my diy film spitter, but I have yet to perfect its operation  I considered buying  a slitter that I have seen on line, but then saw a negative review of it.  I'm thinking now that I may just spring for some of the pricey 127 film that is available in order to give myself a better baseline for camera and film performance.