I bought a Watson bulk film loader a few years ago that came with what was left of a bulk roll of Fuji HR100 colour film - age unknown. It wasn't until I got to the last few rolls that I found out about shooting old colour film at one stop more per decade, and by the time I got to the final roll I was starting to get decent results. It hadn't occurred to me to experiment with short rolls so I wasted quite a lot of this film.
E 5961 is more likely a batch number than a film ID code. Since most bulk film will not be light struck like the film here, the alternative and quicker way to select a film speed and processing info is to use your standard developer and approximate or average development time, then just process a blank, unexposed strip of film. The film ID is almost always printed on the film edge. Then, you look up your processing info. The development time is not critical, so long as it is enough to bring up the edge printing to a visible level.
This is a great comment and definitely is the way to go with an unknown film that is newer. I should have emphasized the point that the approach I've used here is specific to really old film. For very expired film the effective film speed and processing times rarely match the film's original specs; I was looking to "kill two birds with one stone" by using this process to figure out the best way to handle the expired film along with trying to identify what type of film it is.
Very enjoyable and interesting! Thanks.
To follow you throughout the process is priceless… lots of lessons learned just by watching! Thanks a lot!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Interesting and informative video! Thanks again for your time and effort! 📸
Thank you for the feedback! It's always good to hear that someone may find some use from my videos.
I bought a Watson bulk film loader a few years ago that came with what was left of a bulk roll of Fuji HR100 colour film - age unknown. It wasn't until I got to the last few rolls that I found out about shooting old colour film at one stop more per decade, and by the time I got to the final roll I was starting to get decent results. It hadn't occurred to me to experiment with short rolls so I wasted quite a lot of this film.
I've definitely also found out that same lesson the hard way myself!
E 5961 is more likely a batch number than a film ID code. Since most bulk film will not be light struck like the film here, the alternative and quicker way to select a film speed and processing info is to use your standard developer and approximate or average development time, then just process a blank, unexposed strip of film. The film ID is almost always printed on the film edge. Then, you look up your processing info. The development time is not critical, so long as it is enough to bring up the edge printing to a visible level.
This is a great comment and definitely is the way to go with an unknown film that is newer. I should have emphasized the point that the approach I've used here is specific to really old film. For very expired film the effective film speed and processing times rarely match the film's original specs; I was looking to "kill two birds with one stone" by using this process to figure out the best way to handle the expired film along with trying to identify what type of film it is.