Load 35mm film into Instamatic cameras with FAKMATIC
With FAKMATIC it's possible to shoot 35mm film with Instamatic cameras. In this video I show the three phases of the process: 1) loading the camera, 2) shooting photos, 3) respooling the film into the canister for later processing.
FAKMATIC is a rechargeable cartridge that replaces 126 film cartridges which are almost impossible to find, often undevelopable, and always expensive.
The FAKMATIC adapter kit is available at www.camerhack.it
RECOMMENDATIONS: Tape the back transparent window with a black tape to prevent light from going into the camera: the FAKMATIC cartridge can be prone to light leaks even if doesn't have an inspection window. It is also recommended to load the cartridge with a 24 exposures film because a longer film would hardly fit into the cartridge and may cause some issues while winding the film.
LOADING THE FILM: The cartridge is made of three parts: the shell, the lid, the take-up spool.
1. Take a 35mm film, cut it straight at the end, and tape it to the take-up spool. Keep the spool's interlocking end upwards.
2. TURN OFF THE LIGHT: from now on you must work in total dark.
3. Pull the film out of the canister until the end and cut it, but leave 2-3 inches of film attached to the canister.
4. Roll up the film and make a very compact reel, it must be as thin as possible. Insert that reel into the smaller space, and the spool in the larger space. Be careful when inserting the film in the central part: the slot around the framing area is very narrow.
5. Put on the lid and be sure that it's well closed. (If you feel a gap with your fingers along the lid's border and the cassette doesn't close firmly it means that the film is not well inserted!)
6. Even if the cartridge is closed, it still has light leaks. Load it into the camera and close its back. TURN ON THE LIGHT.
SHOOTING, WINDING, FRAME NUMBERING: Now the fun part. Instamatic cameras were made to be easy, very simple, often without any settings. The most fancy of them only had a basic aperture ring on the lens and sometimes a flash plug for flashcubes. You just point, shoot, crank. BUT, the old 126 film had strange perforations on the top side, with one registration hole per image. They were not made for film advancement when winding, but for stopping the film in the correct position after winding: a needle entering into the frames's hole blocked the film and armed the shutter. 135 film have completely different perforations, so the the needle will stop the film before it reaches the right position for the next photo. To avoid overlapping exposures, you have to take a dark exposure after every proper photo.
So the right shooting process is: 1) Take your photo and advance the film, 2) Cover the lens with your hand and take a dark exposure, advance the film. Continue with one good and one dark until the end of the film.
RESPOOLING: When the film is finished you need to respool it into the leftover 135 film canister. The next operation must be done in total dark: your exposed film will be out of the cartridge for some moments. To make this operation easier, we left a couple of inches of film attached to the original 35mm cassette: you will attach the exposed film to that tail of film and then spool it back into the canister. Relax, it's not going to be easy the first time.
1. Prepare a strip of adhesive tape.
2. Open the FAKMATIC cartridge and take the film out (it's all rolled around the take-up spool).
3. Tape the end of the exposed film to the other film that comes out of the canister. Be sure it's firmly attached and the two parts are aligned as straight as possible.
4. Start slowly and make sure that the adhesive tape part enters nicely into the canister. Help it go smooth by gently pushing it with your fingers. Keep on spooling until all of the film is into the canister.
YOU'RE DONE! TURN ON THE LIGHT AND SMILE. Take the film to the lab for development. Remeber to explain that it's not a normal 35mm film. You may prefer not to have them cut it in short strips. Also, tell the lab people that part of the exposure is in the sprocket holes zones, in case you want them to scan or print it for you.
Пікірлер: 34
I just bought a Kodak Instamatic X-15, the camera I grew up with as a kid in the '70s, and I was excited to start shooting very shortly after, since I had heard of this 126 adapter. And then I watched the video. There is NO way I am going to be able to do this in the dark. I would even struggle in the light.
Thank you so much ! I will be able to use my mother's Kodak Instamatic 🥰
the tip about one dark photo and one good photo is very helpful, thank you!
This is amazing! I just received my order the other day and loaded my camera (rolled A26) so exited for the outcome!
Au top merci beaucoup pour ces explications 👍 cheers from France !!
hi! thanks so much for this informational video! my friend has this same exact camera and when we looked inside we were wondering how the film could get loaded since it looked like some parts were missing
Hi, thankyou for the clear video! I have a question: there is no spool in my camera, Only a non openable prepared film. I could probably by this individually somewhere?
@gemista
4 жыл бұрын
That is a 126 film cartridge. They are no longer manufactured, so you will need to buy an adapter to use the camera.
will this work on an agfaclick camera?
I have an Instamatic Kodak camera x33 but i don't have that piece inside the cam where fim get load... so sad nd i don't know where can i get it ☹️
Terima kasih atas videonya di tunggu video selanjutnya
Works great with my Kodak Instamatic 400. I find that I have to shoot 2 covered photos for every 1 actual photo. I get about 18 photos on a 24 exposure 35mm film reel.
@camerhackadapters4604
6 жыл бұрын
thanks a lot for your feed back. if you feel like sharing the result, post somewhere in twitter or instagram with #fakmatic hashtag :-)
@MrWon1der
6 жыл бұрын
Camerhack Adapters I posted 2 images in Twitter, a single frame and 2 overlapping frames that caused an unexpected panoramic.
Hello! Thank you for this video! But I just have one question, when you're hiding the lens to take a photo just after taking a "normal" photo, does that mean that on the film when we'll want to develop it, one photo out of two will be black ? Thanks for answering :)
@camerhackadapters4604
6 жыл бұрын
Liz, because of the film perforations, the 35mm film will not travel for the lenght of a whole frame, so you have to advance two or three times to get to the correct spacing between the exposed frames. You need to cover the lens to avoid exposing the film while you advance it. Hope this helped, feel free to ask for details.
What's the upside of this as opposed to just using and refilling a used 126 cart? It seems just as much work?
@swisswildpicsswp3095
3 жыл бұрын
Not everyone has used 126 carts I guess
@Joy-jr1vm
3 жыл бұрын
@@swisswildpicsswp3095 yes, i cant find a used 126 cart
whut? this is possible? i need this asap thanks for sharing
Can the fakmatic also be used on the Kodak 255X instamatic camera?
@camerhack
4 жыл бұрын
Hello. I definetely think so. I use it in a Kodak 277X which is basically the same camera with a different lens.
can i use a darkroomlamp while loading the film?
@camerhackadapters4604
5 жыл бұрын
Nope, the red darkroom light is safe only for paper. Film will be exposed to the red lamp's light. I suggest a dark changing bag instead.
Any 3D printing data, for the cartridge?
@nataliapontius6505
3 жыл бұрын
If you get it let me know!
@louisdalibard818
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah would be nice!
How i set the ASA ?
the FAKMATIC is here www.camerhack.it/product/fakmatic-135-to-126-film-adapter-kit/
The Instamatic came with a plastic lens that wasn't noted for its high quality. I guess I need to see more examples of the results before I'd bother to acquire an old Instamatic camera.
@brandontonka6239
6 жыл бұрын
Many instamatics camera were cheap, but give a nice vintage look to photos. Some were very high quality though, I have an Argus 270 that has a superb lens, as good as most good Japanese 35mm cameras
@kevinpatrickmacnutt
6 жыл бұрын
The Kodak Instamatic 500 was German made with a Schneider 28mm f/2.8. Those were nice 126 cameras.
@swisswildpicsswp3095
3 жыл бұрын
You obviously dont tinker with Instamatics for the quality of pictures. You do it because it's fun, nostalgic, pictures look vintage... maybe you want to use the family Instamtic that hasn't been touched for 20 years, maybe it was your granddad's and you don't want to throw it away. Maybe you're young and just curious about one of the most popular cameras ever made. Many many reasons: none of them is about taking good pictures. I mean, any smartphone will take better pictures than an Instamatic!