Topic: What's in my cameras???

[Indofunk]

This is intended to be a discussion of how we keep track of which films are in which of our cameras 😁 I know that most of you are like me and have a few dozen cameras lying around in various stages of disrepair, with at least a dozen of them working well enough to use 😉 I have a Google doc called "what's in my cameras" that I try to keep up to date.

The other day, I noticed my Minox was on exposure 12 or something. I checked the doc, and Minox was supposedly empty. Oh well, I thought, I must have forgotten to write down what's in there (which happens often enough 👴🏾). So I proceeded to shoot it for a few days until it got above 36. Normally I roll 24exp, so I thought maybe I used a commercially rolled 36exp roll in this one. Nope, kept on going well after 36. THEN, FINALLY, it occurred to me to look at whether the rewind knob was turning when I advanced the film 🕵🏾‍♂️ Guess what? I'd been shooting an empty camera for a good few weeks 🤣🤣🤣

Sooooo .... how do YOU keep track of what film you have loaded in your cameras? 😊

[Francois]

I just avoid putting the ones that have film in them in the same place as the ones that are empty...

I used to do an origami trick to put the empty box around the neckstrap, but that's a bit complicated with bulk loaded film... Lets just say that the metal box doesn't fold too easily 😉

I must say that my dad was expert at stuff like that. We have a good air-roll of family pictures of Niagara Falls.
Funniest thing, he kept saying that Kodak must have improved their canisters as it's now so much smoother winding than the old rolls 🙄

[Bryan]

I bulk roll a lot of film and label them with masking tape, can and cassette.  I take the tape off the can and put it on the bottom of the camera.  Exposed rolls and sheet film holders get marked with an “X”.  I don't usually leave a camera sitting around for a long time with film with the exception of my View-Master camera.  I leave that one on a cabinet so I know it’s still loaded.  I also tape the door shut on that one, don’t trust the latch. 

I have shot a few air rolls but it’s usually because the film didn’t catch properly on the take up spool and I didn’t check the rewind crank.  I’m pretty good about checking the rewind crank now. 

[ManuelL]

I quite frequently forget what film I have in a camera. Usually it is either FP4 or HP5 these days. Normally I put sticky notes on the camera that fall off after a while and relocate to random places in my camera cupboard. Then I decide to either take a gamble or expose the remaining frames at 200 ASA.

[Kai-san]

For bulk rolls I use a small handheld Dymo Letra Tag machine to make paper labels to put on the cartridge so that they are visible through the film window on cameras that have one. On "proper" cameras with a silver metal body you can write directly on the bottom of the camera with a small permanent marker and wash it off afterwards with alcohol (save the whiskey). You could also keep a small notebook to record the content of your cameras, but that requires discipline (oh dear). Or you could live up to the name of Filmwaster and shoot the whole roll while you're at it!

[EarlJam]

I cut a small square from the box end, sized to fit the flash shoe. Ilford in particular makes it possible to clip the emulsion type, exposure count, and speed. With the Leica, I make a tiny notch to accommodate the pin at the front of the shoe. A small rectangle of index card, folded into a square, also works for notation.

[leanne]

Only using 2 films types helped me it was either hp5 or fp4.. if I got it wrong, the film and developer seemed to cope quite well.

[Francois]

Here's the link to my Origami film type reminder
https://filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=5166.0

[Indofunk]

I take the tape off the can and put it on the bottom of the camera.

This is BRILLIANT. I think I will do this, as I mostly bulk roll now.

Here's the link to my Origami film type reminder
https://filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=5166.0

This is also brilliant, for my non-bulk rolled films 😊 Although a bunch of them don't have boxes, but that'll be an edge case 😉

[Francois]

Here's the link to my Origami film type reminder
https://filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=5166.0

This is also brilliant, for my non-bulk rolled films 😊 Although a bunch of them don't have boxes, but that'll be an edge case 😉

It might be worth just making a small cardboard band and taping it to the strap. That's pretty easy.

[Phil Snaps]

I cut a small square from the box end, sized to fit the flash shoe(…)

Oooh I love that one!
The origami trick is very clever, but I hate neck straps. I go with a wrist strap if the camera is really small, or no strap.

I usually only have film in a couple cameras at a time so it is not hard to remember. I also keep open boxes in a different place.
When I reload disposables I write the film name on the body with a white Posca. Then I can erase it with a wet sponge.