question about film stock

[Vivek N N Rao]

does the 400 feet film stock have extra film for loading? or is it exactly 400 feet?

[Stuart Brereton]

It's 400ft. Loading the mag shouldn't take up more than about 12" (if it's 16mm) or 18"- 20" (if it's 35mm)

[Chris Burke]

is it really 400 feet or more like 410 or 420? Either way, any time I load my aaton with 400 feet of film, the resulting load last for 11 minutes at least.

[Stuart Brereton]

I don't see any reason why Kodak would give you 420ft when you paid for 400ft. That kind of inaccuracy adds up pretty quick.

[steve waschka]

its over by a tiny bit. i imagine mostly just for gaurantee that the product is as advertised. not as built in leaders.

[Simon Wyss]

Verne and Sylvia Carlson in their Professional Cameraman’s Handbook, 1981:

 

“Agfa-Gevaert 35mm daylight spools contain approximately 34 meters (112 ft); 16mm daylight spools contain approximately 32 meters (108 ft). 35mm and 16mm darkroom loads contain approximately 3 meters (10 ft) additional footage for threadup.

 

“Eastman 35mm daylight spools contain approximately 33 meters (109 ft); 16mm spools contain approximately 33 meters (109 ft). Eastman 35mm and 16mm darkroom loads contain approximately 3 meters (10 ft) additional film for threadup.

 

“Fuji 35mm and 16mm daylight spools contain approximately 34 meters (112 ft). Fuji 35mm and 16mm darkroom loads contain approximately 4 meters (13 ft) additional footage for threadup.

 

“Ilford 35mm and 16mm daylight spools contain approximately 35 meters (115 ft) of film. Ilford 35mm and 16mm darkroom loads contain approximately 4.5 meters (15 ft) additional film for threadup.”

 

 

I have measured 406½ ft on a darkroom load of Fomapan R 100.

 

I have an E-Mail statement from FilmoTec that their 400-ft. loads are exactly 400 feet long.

 

 

Kodak 16mm. film was initially (1923) furnished with black and red paper leader cemented to both ends, black on the outside, red inside, and perforated. Soon it became evident that it is better practice to give away more film in one piece instead of the labour-intensive makeup. I know that Gevaert used to have the same paper leader practice—long ago—but that’s really a thing of the past.

 

I’d like to learn about the pioneers, how they dealt with portions. One of the most important technical subjects of the trade, raw stock lengths from 1887 to 1907, is almost unknown. When I buy a roll of film I want to have a certain length. I mean, certain. Who wouldn’t?

Edited February 24, 2013 by Simon Wyss