Jacob Delaney

No one knows for sure when Film Ferrania will start releasing film as unexpected issues keep popping up in their plant.

I have a 16mm reel of some junk film that's twisting badly and taking up loosely so I wound it backwards very tightly and let it sit for a while and that seemed to help a little. I've heard of VS film being contagious but I'm not sure if I believe that. Better safe than sorry though. That reel doesn't smell like vinegar at all but I have some 35mm that smells but seems otherwise fine.

I don't know much about using new old stock film but I do know acetate film doesn't like to be stored sealed for that many years. If you bought factory sealed film from the 1980s then I would think it would start breaking down (vinegar syndrome) from having those gases not being able to escape. I might be wrong on this. Does vinegar syndrome only affect developed film? Either way it's most likely bad if it wasn't kept frozen.

I made my own batteries for my Scoopic M with a 10 pack AA battery holder and 10 NiCad 1.2v batteries (make sure you use NiCad batteries and not NiMH or other). You can charge them with any standard AA battery charger that charges NiCads. The only downsides are the battery packs are usually a little bit too big for the cover and you have to wire them directly to the camera via the battery terminals or the external power input. It is ugly but it's a bunch cheaper and even lasts longer than some re-celled battery packs.