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Bulk Loaders on eBay - So much ruined film!!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:29 am    Post subject: Bulk Loaders on eBay - So much ruined film!! Reply with quote
I just can't believe how many times I have seen this on eBay... flash shots of the insides of bulk loaders with film in them!









Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad

So much good film has gone to waste... sellers have no idea what they are doing, and sometimes ruin large amounts of film that would probably be worth more than the loader itself!


PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is there a way to tell if there is film loaded inside?


PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
Is there a way to tell if there is film loaded inside?


Usually they will be left with a tongue of film sticking out through the loading slot, sometimes even taped down to keep it from falling back inside.

Beyond that, you can often tell by the weight, and by the sounds it makes when you shake it lightly up and down in the direction of the center spindle.

* No sound and light weight means that it is empty.
* A very faint "clink" sound and a light weight means an empty core is inside.
* A light or medium weight and a dull "tap" sound means that some film is inside.
* A "thud" sound and a moderate weight or the feeling of mass shifting means that quite a bit of film is inside.


And if you make it through those tests and think it is empty, the final step is to open it in the darkest place you can find, such as inside a black garbage back (improvised changing bag), in an interior closet with the door closed, at night time, with all of the lights out. Very Happy You wouldn't be able to see it, but you could feel inside for the film. If you do find film, you can close it back up quickly, and depending on how dark your space was, you may have only ruined the first few winds of the film and/or the outer edges of the film (outside the sprocket holes).



But I suspect that the problem here on eBay isn't that sellers mistakenly think they are empty - it is that sellers don't understand the concepts and just open them up without thinking. Often times the loaders are from estate sales or from relatives, and the seller just isn't into photography enough to know what they have. Neutral


PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Although, if you did buy one that seemed unopened, would you trust that it never had been? I suppose you can roll 12 exposures or so and try it out.

Thing is too, if someone knew or could figure out what the film was without opening the loader, it may be much more valuable - with some rare or cool film... I'd pay more for say pan-x


PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 3:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I once saw a listing on eBay for some darkroom paper and the seller opened the pakage and spread out all the sheets to photograph them so that everyone could see how nice they were.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 3:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
dof wrote:
I once saw a listing on eBay for some darkroom paper and the seller opened the pakage and spread out all the sheets to photograph them so that everyone could see how nice they were.


Laughing Laughing Very Happy Wink


PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nesster wrote:
Although, if you did buy one that seemed unopened, would you trust that it never had been? I suppose you can roll 12 exposures or so and try it out.

Thing is too, if someone knew or could figure out what the film was without opening the loader, it may be much more valuable - with some rare or cool film... I'd pay more for say pan-x

Yes, testing & developing it (and checking for edge markings) is really the only way to know for sure. Since much of the film left in bulk loaders is greatly expired and improperly stored, a test roll or two would be advisable anyway. Wink

In addition, I would be willing to bet that if a seller indicates it has film in it but doesn't specify the type, the odds are pretty good that they opened it in the light. Wink



I have found a few more lately where sellers seem to know a little bit... at least enough to know when they have made a mistake.

ebay wrote:
WATSON (Made in USA) 35mm Bulk Film Loader
Includes 10 new Kodak Snap-Cap magazines Cat #141 8656 (not shown)
Includes 100ft (approx) bulk roll of exposed 35mm film (not shown - for practice loading spools)


ebay wrote:
For sale is used Lloyd's Daylight Bulk Film Winder in very good condition. I don't know what else to say about it. It has some film in it. I'm not sure if it's good film or not. I have no idea what's on the film either. Probably nothing since I opened the winder up and took a bunch of flash photos of it. It was probably something really good and interesting too. Like pictures that could have proved the existance of aliens in Area 51 but now it's just messed up film. Oh well.... All you get is the bulk film winder and a bunch of film that could have made you a gazillionaire. But probably is nothing now.

Laughing Laughing Laughing
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