That's what I do too with 35 mm, leave the leader out when rewinding, then cut the leader and the corners and start the film on the reel before turning off the lights. Then wind it straight out of the canister to the reel (pulling it out while winding) and when finished cut the film.

@@Murgoh yep.👍 And if you have a camera that automatically rewinds the leader into the canister, I highly recommend the “Matin” film leader retriever on Amazon. Works perfectly.

@@joeltunnah You can retrieve the leader by using a piece of negative and stick a double-sided tape on it. Insert the negative into the film canister and turn the roller until it catches the leader, then pull out it out. You may need to do it a few times..free of charge!

@@rickylee1894 good tip thanks. The retriever I mentioned is only $14, so not a big investment.

Yep, I do it this way. I curse myself when I've accidentally re-wound the film fully back in. I'm also learning to cut off more of the leader each time (about 4'' at the moment), its surprising how much of the film is already exposed or you have that half shot that I always seem to get at the beginning. Cutting off more at the beginning saves that film crunching snag at the end when you're trying to get a quart of film into a Patterson pint pot. I use Patterson type 1 or 2 tanks, in bakelite, inbuilt twizzle stick with a wee spout, fill over a sink with a funnel, you always have the right amount of liquid, as soon as the spout leaks a drop stop pouring, no inversions, no messy spills, no chemically hands. Plus they look far cooler!

Awesome! That put a smile on my face :)

Good tips, thanks :)

lol, thanks Miguel :)

Thank you!

Thanks Sina :)

lol, it's all about leverage.

Thanks :)

Thank you Dale!

You're welcome :)

Thanks :)

I need to learn how to use a metal tank at some point. If nothing else out of pure curiosity.

Thanks for the suggestion Peter. However, I'm not much of a DIY guy. I realize you can have more control by making your own developer but I put it in the same category as growing tomatoes. Could be fun, lots of extra work, saves a few pennies. ;)

@@AzrielKnight Thanks Azriel, your more of a DIY guy than you give your self credit for. Processing film and making prints is DIY in my estimation. You have great content thank you. 🍅

Start the film onto the spool in daylight, then put it in your changing bag or darkroom to finish.

Practice with a dummy roll until you're sick in the head of it.

Glad I could help Bruce!

Thanks! I'll do one for medium format as some point. Right now I don't think I have any film I can sacrifice to the cause.

Have you considered you may have a faulty spool?

@@AzrielKnight yes, but I have no way of really knowing for sure since this is the first Paterson tank I've ever purchased and have nothing to compare the parts to. It came with two spools and they both do the same thing, which had me thinking maybe it was me and not the spools. But there is a chance that both spools are faulty. Are there any recommendations on better quality spools to buy that are compatible with the Paterson tank? Thank you for your quick response!

@Matt Mullis it's unlikely both are faulty. I would suggest sit in front of the tv and practice with a dummy roll until it's second nature.

@@AzrielKnight Thank you for your helpful responses. I am still not 100% certain that I can rule out faulty spools since I am doing everything exactly as I'm supposed to and have yet to have had a successful attempt. I will continue looking into it and return back to the comments once I find a solution in case anyone has the same trouble I have had.

Do you have twitter? I'm much easier to get a hold of there.

I don't really know anything about the Ilford kits, but I've always held the belief that if you hold out long enough, you'll find a better deal. Halifax is a pretty small place and I don't know if you'll find what you're looking for in thrift stores but I would start there, Kijiji, and Facebook Marketplace for what you need. Buy developers with a long shelf life like Kodak HC-110. I've got a bottle that is at least 3 or 4 years old now and is fine. You can also shoot a bunch then develop all at the same time. I think at the end of the day, don't do it to save money, do it because you want to learn about film, developing and have the control. I hope this helps.

@@AzrielKnight Thanks for the reply, it does help. I'll look more into developers' shelf life . I thought I heard somewhere that many don't last more than six months or something along those lines. Maybe I'm just misinformed. I'm not really interested in developing to save money (no one shooting film is saving any money lol), it's more a matter of convenience. I've done it many years ago in high school and I do remember enjoying the process. I've never had any luck with film related stuff at thrift stores but Kijiji has been an excellent resource for cameras and lenses, and although I have missed some opportunities to buy developing and darkroom kits people were getting rid of, I wasn't looking at the time. I suppose there is no hurry and I can just let the finished rolls collect as I keep an eye out for a good deal. I haven't checked out any thrift stores since I moved here. Halifax is a relatively small city, but it also happens to be the biggest city in Nova Scotia, if not the Maritimes. Who knows, maybe there are more offerings than what I was used to seeing in Ottawa. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!

I’m curious what could make you have such an extreme negative opinion of them. They’ve been around for 40 years for a reason. I’ve never had a single problem with my Paterson tank, it’s simple, rugged, and affordable. You also can’t beat the fast dump time, no metal tank comes close.

@@joeltunnah Okay, let's run though its issues: (1) It is a brittle, thin wall construction which is easily cracked if dropped. (2) The reels are reported to be troublesome to load, particularly after some use. The material is hard to keep clean. (3) the loading tabs are small compared to others of similar designs, making the reels hard to load, particularly for 120 film. (4) The worst: It's internal funnel design traps between 1/2 to 1/3 of the internal volume of the tank with air. If you agitate by agitation, it functions better as a cocktail shaker. (4) The large semi-soft top is relatively troublesome to seal properly, so it often leaks. With color processing, which generates positive gas pressure, it is fairly common to blow the top off in the middle of the process. The similar AP tank, lacks many of these shortcomings, and is also rebranded as the "house" tank at B&H and Freestyle in the US. It also tends to cost a bit less than the Paterson. Since the Paterson offers no usage advantages and no price benefit, its attraction is a mystery. Also, note that the prior generation of Paterson tanks (pre System 4) were better made and do not have many of these issues.Over the decades, I've had occasion to buy a number of Paterson equipment items for my darkroom. Eventually I gave away everything except a 500ml graduated cylinder and the larger vertical print washer, because its mickey mouse agitation function barely works when new.

@@randallstewart175 well to be fair most manufactured devices are “reported to be difficult to use” by someone on the internet. Have you ever been to a camera forum?😂 The leaking/cracking/air issues you’re claiming may not affect me because I agitate on the counter top using the twiddle stick only. By “AP tank” I assume you mean the Arista Premium? I’ll have to try one of these life-changing designs! Unfortunately they’re currently out of stock, and they’re the same price as the Paterson, FYI. Thanks for your response.

Lab-box is intriguing, but I’ve read some horror story reviews about them not taking up the film onto the reel and you can’t tell until you open it up after it’s done, and your film is ruined. Also some say the handle area leaks, and then there’s the high price...

Since I went to Jobo I just can't use Paterson reels. Jobo reels are just so much better...

Never had an issue with my paterson reels, maybe you should try a thorough scrubbing? Also try what I mentioned in my comment, start the reel outside the bag first.

@@joeltunnah thanks, will try that.

I’m used to an AP tank, which also had way better spools that paterson. I was recently gifted an old paterson tank, but couldn’t manage to use those paterson reels either without ‘mangling my film’.

Thanks for the comment David!

Thanks for the comment Aaron. Personally, I prefer the Paterson snap on to the AP screw on.

To each their own.