So I went to Russia for the first time. It was a prolonged stop over in Moscow on my way to Germany. I was excited. A country I’ve never been to, amazing architecture of Moscow and just got my M2 back from Kanto Camera.
I started using IXMOO Leitz cassettes to bulk roll film but didn’t want to take them as they might raise questions going through airport security. So I ordered 10 rolls of Tri-X from Foto Impex to my house in germany. For Moscow I was planning to use the few IXMOO cassettes I had loaded and take my chances with the X-ray machines. I that Japan is no Problem. They always inspect your film by hand if you ask nicely. I knew the Russians wouldn’t be that easy. In Russia my luggage was scanned after arrival twice in the airport! Then on the train from the airport then again when entering the subway stations. I just gave up and hoped for the best. I have no clue how many times my film went through xrays. It must’ve been at least 12-15 times.
When I came home and processed my film I was surprised to see light leaks that did not look like they were caused by xrays.
Light leaks from xrays are patters that repeat through the roll. Light leaks at the beginning of the roll would mean I didn’t close the little IXMOO door after loading and accidentally exposed the first few frames. OK. I fucked up this one. Lesson learned but what happened to the next?
Leaks at the end of the roll? The end is what you load first. This means my bulk loader is not light tight.
I need light when I cut the leader and tail. The rest of the bulk loading can be done in a dark bag, which I’m going to try next.
I really hope this is gonna help fix the problem. I love the IXMOO cassettes. They look and feel great, are reusable and are a perfect match for any M2 or M3.