Topic: TMAX backing paper update

[EarlJam]

The guys at my local shop mentioned that the new backing material on Kodak TMAX 120 is causing problems for some Rolleiflexes. The backing appears to be a Mylar-like plastic. With some Rollei's, customers are reporting:

- film just winds through without triggering the auto counter
- film advances but camera freezes on frame 1; using the "multiple exposure" backwards-wind doesn't clear it
- film advances OK, but frame spacing becomes progressively greater, yielding only 11 frames on the roll

One thing that comes to mind is that the new backing may be slightly thinner than the paper, and in conjunction with modern, thin film bases there's not enough thickness for the automatic trigger to function properly, particularly on cameras where the trigger is worn or just outside of adjustment tolerance.

I still have some "old" TMAX in the freezer and have not experienced the bleed-through, so it will be a while until I can test with my Rollei.

[Francois]

Oh my....
This is going to be such a pain.
And at a time where people are fighting to rid the world of useless plastic, there they are just adding more to the world...
And Rollei probably isn't the only ones where the thickness of the film matters...

[Bryan]

I assume that’s the Automat models that detect the thickness to start the frame counter.  That sucks, I really like using T-Max in my Rolleiflex. 

[EarlJam]

The issue is apparently hit-or-miss. Probably worth buying one roll for a test, which I'll do at some point, before committing to a pack or two if the Rollei is ones only rollfilm camera.

[Jeff Warden]

Do you know if the local shop contacted Kodak? I'm sure they would want to know if there is a camera specific issue with their film.

[Francois]

The issue is apparently hit-or-miss. Probably worth buying one roll for a test, which I'll do at some point, before committing to a pack or two if the Rollei is ones only rollfilm camera.

The thickness of the backing paper probably puts the switch in a borderline position. If the mechanics are worn a bit the switch slips to the unloaded position by a hair.

[EarlJam]

Do you know if the local shop contacted Kodak? I'm sure they would want to know if there is a camera specific issue with their film.

Not that I'm aware. Mike, the shop owner, shot a roll in his Rolleiflex and said he had no issues. The various reports came from other customers. Given the range of symptoms, I lean toward it being a borderline issue, based on the auto-counter trigger. I've read that, for some older 120 cameras, it's necessary to pad the takeup spool with a bit of backing paper, in order to get the correct start point and frame spacing. I've not needed to do that with either my Rollei (mfg'd 1954) or Mamiya C3.

[Bryan]

Maybe backing paper thickness is why I get uneven frame spacing with my Baby Rolleiflex.  Sometimes I cut down old 120 backing paper so I can roll my own from a bulk 127 roll.  It’s probably not the thickness the camera was designed for.  It’s not a big deal, the spacing is just slightly off toward the end of the roll, I don’t loose any frames or get overlap from it. 

[Francois]

That's the main thing.
But what I found from the few rolls of 127 that I shot is that the backing paper on those is surprisingly short at both ends when compared to 120.
If like me you have an automatic cutter to slice through a roll of 120, you will get too much stuff on a roll.

[Bryan]

I cut it to match the normal 127 length.  I don’t trust my cutting to be perfectly accurate so I always load the camera in the dark.