Lomo loading & 16mm?

[mr_x]

Hi,

With a large Lomo spiral how much of a 100ft reel of 16mm film can you wind onto it please - would you need to cut the film into 50ft strips for loading, for example?

Many thanks,

Ric

[richard p. t.]

Hi Ric,
I think by 'large' you might mean 'medium sized' Lomo. There are 3 sizes; the 10 meter (30 foot) size, the 15 meter (50 foot) size and the 30 meter (100 foot) size. The 15 meter size is the double decker tank - all the rest are single layer tanks. If you have a 50 foot lomo, then it fits about 50'. So yes, you need to cut a 100' roll in half to process all of it. I suggest making the cut with a splicer in the dark so that when you join the film back together you don't loose any frames. To do this, you will either need to splice some leader onto the cut end before loading the second half (making sure you put the tape on the base side, not the emulsion side) or else wind the second half onto another spool such that it is now 'head out'. This way the only the head of the film (the lead in) will get scrunched up when you insert it into the head of the lomo for loading.
I process 16mm film in the large 100' tanks, but often I am processing film prints which migh be 400 or 800' in total length. So I do the splice in the dark thing and put leader on the cut end. Works very well.
rt

[mr_x]

Hi Ric,
I think by 'large' you might mean 'medium sized' Lomo. There are 3 sizes; the 10 meter (30 foot) size, the 15 meter (50 foot) size and the 30 meter (100 foot) size...

Thanks RT,

My spirals are 21.5cm / 8.5 inches across and are 'double decker' as you describe, so they must be medium Lomo's. I have a small size but I have never seen this large 100ft size - sounds intriguing!

Many thanks anyway - now I know what I'll be up to in the dark room! ;)

Bests,

Ric