Cutting Double 8MM film.

[Andrew Dealtry]

Hi,

 

I posted last night on here about buying cheap Double 8MM film. I've discovered I can buy 100FT of Double 8MM film for around £30, give or take a few quid.

 

Here's my dilemma, most 8MM film cameras, including mine, only have a capacity for 25FT of film.

 

Now, could I cut this down? Like cut it into 4 sections and put it onto 4 separate 25ft spools? What lighting would I need to do this in? Complete darkness? Subdued lighting?

 

I'm almost certain I can cut it down, I just don't know about lighting conditions.

 

Thanks, Andrew.

[David Cunningham]

Despoiling would be easy. But, yes, total darkness only. You get pretty good at it with practice.

[Andrew Dealtry]

What's my best bet, a dark room or a dark bag?

[David Cunningham]

I just use my dark and windowless bathroom at night. It must be completely black.

 

You can also be use a changing back like that used for loading magazines but if you don't already have one a good one can be pricey.

[Ian Cooper]

I'd load/unload my camera in a changing bag (Std8 & 16mm), but when I respooled from 400ft cores of 16mm film down to 100ft spools I did it in my windowless bathroom at night. If for the first time you sit in there in the darkness for 5 minutes or so to allow your eyes to adjust, you'll be able to see if there are any light leaks.

 

To load 25ft from 100ft daylight spools you might not need anything more, but for what I was doing I made up a length of wood with two spindles on it that I could put the parts on to spool from one to the other. I would think trying to do the job in a changing bag would be just inviting dust to get all over the film.

 

If you're using the high contrast B&W Orth film perfed by Edward Nowill then I think you can use a green safe light with it (if I remember correctly), but personally I would use total darkness, it's not difficult if you're organised about where you put things. If you're using panchromatic B&W or colour then you don't have any choice, it's got to be darkness.

Ian.

[Will Montgomery]

Are there any labs or camera rental houses in your area? You might be able to borrow their dark room for free and it would have rewinds and everything you need. Often they let people use it for free or at least promise to process film with them whenever you can.

[Ian Cooper]

Are there any labs or camera rental houses in your area? You might be able to borrow their dark room for free and it would have rewinds and everything you need. Often they let people use it for free or at least promise to process film with them whenever you can.

 

I'll stick my neck out and suggest probably not.

 

The OP's location is "Staffordshire" (Stafford Uni perhaps?), the only labs left in the UK, and the film based rental companies, are centred around London - a journey of about 150 miles each way.

[Mark Dunn]

Stafford Uni has darkrooms. You'd need one to yourself so you could turn off the safelights.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Mark Dunn