{"id":4180,"date":"2024-07-19T23:45:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T22:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/?p=4180"},"modified":"2025-06-17T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T21:40:08","slug":"shirley-wellard-universal-film-cassette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/19\/shirley-wellard-universal-film-cassette\/","title":{"rendered":"Shirley Wellard Universal film cassette"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Shirley Wellard Universal film cassette<\/a> was too much attractive vintage photography equipment to pass on. I bought two of them on eBay and successfully used one today with my Nikon FM2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shirley Wellard’s beautiful design and solid build are not my only reasons for buying them. In fact, having recently started shooting with black-and-white film and wanting to cut costs, I bought a bulk roll of Fomapan 200 film, and as I had run out of used factory cassettes on which to load it and the metal reloadable cassettes ordered from AliExpress will not arrive for a couple of weeks, I was interested in experimenting with the Shirley Wellard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Reloadable
The Shirley Wellard Universal reloadable cassette is a well-constructed vintage piece from the 1950s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Shirley Wellard Universal cassette does not fit in a Minolta X300 camera, which makes it not so universal after all. But to be fair, the instructions leaflet bundled with it lists compatible cameras, all of which came out before the Minolta X300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black-and-white film development is rather curious. Instead of a single process, like C-41 for print films, there are multitudes of processes with various developers (including coffee-based concoctions), chemistry dilution ratios, and development times. Many photographers rejoice in exploring all these possibilities. But I am not one of them\u2014at least, not yet. For now, as long as I can get lost for an hour or two in taking pictures and developing film, I am a happy photographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Nikon<\/a>
Nikon D200 digital SLR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Home<\/a>
Items of different colours used to test the tonality of Kentmere 400 film<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Hourglasses\"<\/a>
Testing tonality of film with hourglasses filled with “sand” of different colours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also bought a new changing bag<\/a>. The previous one, which I’ve had since 2009, was leaking light and causing films to fog as I loaded them onto development reels, because its inner rubber lining had broken down. The new bag is bigger and more spaceous, thus easing blind handling of equipment inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The improvement in quality of the developed negatives after using the new bag brought out the faults in older negatives, which had been cloudy and milky and produced scans with low contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Small
What to do with old solar garden lights and their chargers? Throw the lights into a corner of the garden and stake the chargers in the ground in a mishmash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Broken
This window has been broken for a few years now. Only now, I think of using perspex glass to replace it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Shirley Wellard Universal film cassette was too much attractive vintage photography equipment to pass on. I bought two of them on eBay and successfully used one today with my Nikon FM2. The Shirley Wellard’s beautiful design and solid build are not my only reasons for buying them. In fact, having recently started shooting with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1j9q5-15q","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4245,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2024\/08\/10\/shirley-wellard-film-cassette-in-pictures\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":0},"title":"Shirley Wellard film cassette in pictures","author":"Eddy Young","date":"10 August 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some pictures of the Shirley Wellard metal film cassette. My copy of the Shirley Wellard came with the original case and instructions leaflet. The screw at the bottom of the film cassette can be used to adjust its fit in the camera film chamber. The top cap of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An unboxed metal film cassette","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/2024-07-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4268,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/24\/you-win-some-you-lose-some\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":1},"title":"You win some, you lose some","author":"Eddy Young","date":"24 September 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"These are the \"you lose some\" from a roll of Fomapan 200 exposed with a Nikon FM2. What happened here is that I opened the camera back with the window of the Shirley Wellard film cassette still open. The winding lever was sticking every few frames, and so I rewound\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Graffiti on old concrete structure","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-09-21A-001-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3721,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/02\/playing-with-expired-ferrania-solaris-100-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":2},"title":"Playing with expired Ferrania Solaris 100 film","author":"Eddy Young","date":"2 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This evening I developed a roll of expired Ferrania Solaris 100 film, which I bought on eBay. It was ideal for testing because it had only 12 frames, which I could shoot in a single day\u2014a 36-frame roll can take months. The flowers planted by my mother and me were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2023-09-02-0003-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4893,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/06\/making-intentional-photos-when-shooting-digital\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":3},"title":"Making intentional photos when shooting digital","author":"Eddy Young","date":"6 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When I bought my Nikon D850, I ordered a 128 GiB CFexpress card to go with it, assuming that the camera's high-resolution output would demand substantial storage. Yet, because of my approach to digital photography, I rarely fill more than a fraction of the card while I'm shooting. I seem\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-06-11A-003-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4101,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/18\/fooling-around-with-artificial-lighting\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":4},"title":"Fooling around with artificial lighting","author":"Eddy Young","date":"18 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I bought a fresh roll of Kodak Ultramax 400 to test the film in daylight and under artificial light. I set up some LED lamps and flash lights and took pictures with the Nikon FM2. I also shot the same pictures with a Nikon D200 for later comparison. Here are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Souvenir items from London gift shop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-18-0012-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3241,"url":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/15\/trying-film-photography-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":4180,"position":5},"title":"Trying film photography again","author":"Eddy Young","date":"15 July 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally visited the park that opened near my house in 2020 amidst COVID lockdown. It is a former golf course that has been rehabilitated as a green area. I carried a Nikon FG-20 camera with an unfinished roll of film on my walk and took pictures of the trees\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Peach blossom flowers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2022-07-15-0024-150x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4180"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4784,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4180\/revisions\/4784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/priscimon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}