Re: LTMs and leaders

[Paul Schliesser <paulsc@eos.net>]

>I do have a
>very elementary question:  is it really necessary to cut the film leader to
>extend it to the full four inches as shown on the diagram in the camera or
>can the IIIf and other screw mounts be loaded leaving the modern shorter
>leaders as they are?

Steve,

I used a IIIc for a while, and I got good at tearing the leader to shape 
as I loaded the camera. If you start the tear at the base of the modern 
"stub" of film leader, it's pretty easy to tear the film in an arc and 
get the approximate shape that you need. The exact shape is not critical 
as long as you get the strip of leader thin enough to load without 
twisting inside the body, clear the sprocket teeth at the top and don't 
have a ragged edge or sharp corner that can catch on something.

This is especially handy if you buy film while you're away from your 
scissors and template. I used to always carry the IIIc (with the 
obligatory collapsed f/3.5 50mm Elmar) in one coat pocket and a Luna Pro 
in the other. Although I often bulk loaded my cassettes and cut leaders 
with scissors in advance, the tearing technique served me well "in the 
field."

The main problem with an uncut leader is that it is nearly impossible to 
engage the sprocket holes in the film in the sprocket teeth way up there 
in the top of the body. The cut leader allows the top edge of the film to 
travel along the film guides and thread itself onto the teeth as you 
advance.

I always used to waste an extra frame making sure that the film was 
advancing properly before closing the base.

When I was working in Sweden in the early 1980s, I saw a large traveling 
exhibit of HCB's photos in Stockholm. I had never noticed this in books, 
but in several of his prints you can see the sprocket holes running at a 
slight angle along the edge of the frame. I think that anyone who has 
used one of these cameras will immediatly recognize what went on there!

- - Paul