[pathdoc]

...the worst in this case being that I must have not quite had the MX's sprocket release button pushed down hard enough, and I consequently pulled the film off the canister spool when trying to wind off.

THE GOOD NEWS... I have a darkbag and a full B&W processing kit.

THE BAD NEWS... it's colour film and I can't get hold of the chemicals to process it at home (not even a C41 press kit), or I'd just put it straight into the patterson tank and rock on.

SO, how do I proceed from here? If worse came to worst I could sacrifice the film, but I would prefer not to. The best solution is one that gets it back into the cannister to send off for regular processing. The second best is a recipe to home bake C41 in black and white chemistry. I'm shooting Fuji 400 and my chemistry is Kodak D76 and Kodak fixer (which I had bought for use with Tmax).

My first impression is to dismantle the cannister, stick the film back on the spool with sticky tape, reassemble and carefully wind it back. A desperate solution, true, but better than nothing.

---------- Post added 13-03-16 at 15:40 ----------

Update - I managed, by means of ungentle manhandling, to coax about half of it back into the cannister. That was the point at which I cut my losses. I tried opening the cannister destructively without any success.

UPSIDE: I have a short length of film with which to practice loading the Patterson tank.

---

Last edited by pathdoc; 03-19-2016 at 04:23 PM.

[jeallen01]

Sounds like you needed some reloadable cassettes. OTOH, it used to be possible to remove the top & bottom end-caps with a bottle opener, retape the film to the spool and then refit the caps (did that when I was a teenager!).

[Not a Number]

Color Chemicals | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

Film cassettes open easily with a hoop type bottle opener.

Get hold of some of the Kodak black film containers - they are light tight and you can put the film in there. A full service lab (not 1 hour) would have a darkroom or glove box that they can handle the loose film in.

[pathdoc]

Sounds like you needed some reloadable cassettes. OTOH, it used to be possible to remove the top & bottom end-caps with a bottle opener, retape the film to the spool and then refit the caps (did that when I was a teenager!).

I think I'll be investing in a couple now in case this ever happens again. I tried very hard to disassemble the cannister but couldn't get the blessed thing open.

Mistake made, lesson learned.

As for a full service lab... the nearest is about 400km away. And I will be saving my dark Kodak film cannisters for next time.

[Alex645]

Most labs will not accept reloadable cassettes because the film could be B&W, C-41, E-6, or even motion picture stock which has a layer of anti-scratch that will contaminate their tanks. IF you had a rapport and the trust of a custom lab, they'd make an exception.

So your best bet is doing what you did. The problem, as you found, is that factory loaded film canisters are not designed to easily open. Ilford is the only exception that I know of. So for future reference, I'd recommend sacrificing a roll of expired Ilford XP2+ Super (C41 process). You can gently and carefully remove one of the end caps with a bottle opener (round type is better than the Swiss Army type). Then with a change bag, transfer your film into the XP2 canister. It's marked for C-41 and I'd suggest buying a prepaid mailer like:
A&I Processing and Printing Mailer for 35mm Color Negative C4135

On the mailer I would write something like "Develop Only".....or else the lab may be angry that you fooled them with XP2 which most color labs won't print.

[pathdoc]

The trouble I would have is with the lab retaining or destroying the cassette. It's out of province and I am not sure I could trust them to return it.

However, it does have the upside that I can specify on the envelope what type of film I am sending in. I checked - they do process B&W C41, but they charge the specialist price that they would normally hit me with to do professional B&W and they will not scan the negatives for me the way they do with colour.

I'm three shots from the end of a roll of Tmax 100. Tomorrow is crunch time in chemical land. Once I have a developed film in my hands, we shall deal with the problem of scanning. If the results are anywhere near acceptable, a switch to black and white may be on the cards in any case.

[pathdoc]

Okay, processing got delayed - barring any major problems, it's tonight.

Has anyone got an idea of what happens if you put colour film through B&W processing with D76? Will it spoil any black and white film it's put in with, for any reason? Or can I just run it through and see what happens?

[Alex645]

Has anyone got an idea of what happens if you put colour film through B&W processing with D76? Will it spoil any black and white film it's put in with, for any reason? Or can I just run it through and see what happens?

It depends on the color film. For example, motion picture stock reloads has an anti-scratch layer that will come off into the solution and reattach itself to the other film. You can also get staining, which shouldn't be too bad if you pre-wet the film before development.

The main problem is that although you can get some sort of an image with color negs, C41 includes blix (bleach-fix), so the color negs will be rather dense.

[pathdoc]

This is standard Fuji 400 print film, so the motion picture stock issue shouldn't be active here. On the other hand, this is my first time developing film since I was in my preteens and nobody to guide me, so probably best to let the professionals handle it and send the B&W through alone.

[pathdoc]

And holy mother of whatever, IT WORKED. I probably did everything wrong, but at the end of the day when I hung the B&W film up to dry, there were recognisable images on it!!! YAY!!!

Nothing can go wrong now, surely.

Surely?

Now to scan the blessed thing (tomorrow, once it's fully dry and I`ve had time to nip out and grab my bellows set and slide holder).

[pathdoc]

Final update - I got the prints back today. Managed to salvage ten out of 24, which was far better than nothing. As an aside, I notice that the flash-exposed ones are all great, the metered ones are very lacking in contrast and the sledding ones in the snow don't bear thinking about. Careful re-reading is required here, to say nothing of ensuring that more of the frame is filled with subject and less with snow! (And before you ask, I was bumping the stops in terms of both shutter speed and aperture; there was nothing I could have done to decrease the exposure short of use the ND filter I didn't have with me!)

Also as an aside, I've since shot another film with the MX and it's quite clear that it was my rewinding technique that was the problem rather than something with the camera.

[LesDMess]

And holy mother of whatever, IT WORKED. I probably did everything wrong, but at the end of the day when I hung the B&W film up to dry, there were recognisable images on it!!! YAY!!!

Great job

Here on out it will be so much easier!