I recently purchased a IIIf BD with a guide to help trim the leader. The manual shows how it should be done. I did not have any problems loading my first roll since it's similiar to the Minox GT-X. I did not trim the leader on that roll and could not understand why I should. That and the other rolls I've loaded had no problems. Is it okay to load the camera just using the leader on current rolls of film instead of measuring the correct length as per the manual?

-- D. Chan (deezer@juno.com), September 06, 2000

Answers

There was a time many, many decades ago when 35mm film was bought in bulk rolls and the photographer then had to load each cassette himself (you can still buy film in bulk rolls today), which meant trimming the leader. But in most of our lifetimes film has come in individual cassettes already trimmed. I have never had any problem loading my Leica 111G.

-- Steve LeHuray (icommag@toad.net), September 07, 2000.

The screw mount Leicas require a leader trimmed longer than normal to ensure that the film loads correctly. The number two cause of screw mount failures is pieces of film jamming the works. The film catches on the edge of the film guide or shutter gate and then the camera's sprockets can break off small pieces of film. These pieces lodge themselves in various inappropriate places internally, causing, or waiting to cause, damage and lock ups. Ask any good Leica repair person and they will, after throttling you for loading incorrectly, confirm this. If you have to the ABLON trimming plate already it only takes a second to do. If you do not have a trimming plate you can cut the leader by hand. Trim it back far enough so that, with the film leader in the take up spool, the trimmed part of the leader extends back past the shutter gate. Make sure you do not cut through a sprocket hole making a sharp brittle edge. Today's misload that jams so that you have to reload the film may well result in a repair being needed months down the road. If you insist on not trimming the leader then you must fire the shutter on "T", remove the lens and guide the film carefully into place. It has always seemed easier to just trim the leader. Here are a few URLs that discuss this at greater length and one that illustrates several loading techniques ( and other interesting LTM stuff).

http://www.mediakyoto.com/camerashopper/lrc_e/index_e.html

http://www.cameraquest.com/ltmcam.htm

Cheers

-- John Collier (jbcollier@home.com), September 07, 2000.

Works fine for me just cutting the end off square with no leader at all. That's what I always do when I bulk-load film, and it goes in my Canons the same way.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), September 07, 2000.

I've wondered about that, but never had the guts to try. The problem usually happens when the upper corner of the cut making the leader becomes folded over and broken off in loading the camera (since the back doesn't open, you can't control it). This is almost certain to happen if you let it, especially given that the film has a bit of curl in the right direction to help. When I tore down my IIIa to find out why the slow shutter speeds had died this was exactly the piece I found jammed in the slow speed gears. And there was another wrapped in with the shutter curtain.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), September 08, 2000.

I never trim the film leader for my IIIf.

-- Joe Buechler (jbuechler@toad.net), September 11, 2000.