How to bulk load 35mm film and save money

Thanks for the tips, Jahan! I've been bulk loading my film for 3 years and never had an issue. I think if you're consistent and loyal to 1 film stock you can save up a lot of money.

[@doyoudevelop]

Happy to help! Thanks for tuning in, Joan! Absolutely agree, and constituency is an excellent recipe to mastering photography, at least I think so .. :)

[@throtol]

Thank you for keeping it straight forward and simple.

[@doyoudevelop]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@throtol]

@@doyoudevelop I went ahead and bought a loader. In addition, I purchased 10m of low ISO old film from Ukraine for $20 delivered.

[@doyoudevelop]

@@throtol Fantastic! Sounds like a bargain

[@cydery]

You mention the time it takes, I did all my B&W's for years and with practice, it only 5 or 6 minute per roll. I never had a problem, technical or self induced.

[@doyoudevelop]

Absolutely! It's just good to point out to anyone who is new to it.

[@GaGaBisii]

Super helpful, thanks for the detailed tutorial!

[@Lei-yg6bx]

every 50 cents i save, i get 50 cents closer to a hasselblad.

[@doyoudevelop]

That's some good thinking!

[@minisla]

Do labs handle bulk loaded film? I don't develop at home ..

[@doyoudevelop]

Excellent question -- yes, usually they do! Just be sure to let them know what film type it is.

[@illitrait]

...quick question, Jahan - how are frames on bulk film rolls numbered and how would this impact the individual 24- or 36-frame rolls that are made from the original bulk roll? Thanks.

[@doyoudevelop]

Hey there, excellent question! The frames on bulk rolls are numbered from 0-36. If you get the loading right, then you should also have the correct numbering per frame. It's very difficult to get the numbers to align perfectly though .. so sometimes it'll happen that you start on frame 14 or something like that.

[@illitrait]

"It's very difficult to get the numbers to align perfectly though..." ...no surprises there, @@doyoudevelop - I noticed the bulk film loader comes with instructions for x amount amount of turns for a 36-frame roll, y amount of turns for a 24-frame roll, etc. I do quite a bit of home D&P and am on the cusp of diving into bulk loading. Looks like one ends up with numbering all over the place *unless* one sticks strictly to the numbering provided by the film manufacturer - which itself could be a bag of fun in total darkness, eh?😬 Thanks, anyway - super video.

[@illitrait]

...and to be fair, @@doyoudevelop, crazy frame numbering isn't the end of the world if you know what you are doing. Again, thanks.

[@doyoudevelop]

@@illitrait Yeah, I think it's just one of those things you'll have to accept for the benefit that you're saving money .. can't have it all I guess :D

[@doyoudevelop]

@@illitrait Absolutely! Thank you for tuning int!

[@seencere7284]

it has almost no price advantages nowadays unless you find really good deal paying extra 1 or 2 dollars per factory packed roll is a wise choice considering whole process price (develop scan print) IMHO p.s. I do bulk load for almost 20 years. never been using bulk loaders, just dark room. also I am not re-using factory cassettes, never. p.p.s. before you go along this path, just do some financial math per roll. do not forget to sum up whole process from film to scan or print, buying bulk loader and cassettes. my reasonig: there are too many possibilities to ruin your photos when doing bulk.

[@doyoudevelop]

Excellent points! Thank you for sharing!