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35mm film canisters


CleverCloggs

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31 minutes ago, CleverCloggs said:

I have been trawling   eBay and such for canisters that used to hold film, in an age where digital cameras are the mode! they are expensive just for one? 

Any tips on bulk buying in the EU??? 

 

You want to hide a bunch of quality caches with film canisters? ? I used to see these frequently when I started geocaching, but now instead, I find pill bottles. 

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33 minutes ago, Jayeffel said:

Just a suggestion, maybe pill bottles would suffice in lieu of film canisters. May be a bit more watertight. They are in different sizes, may be the size you seek can be found. Hope you find something to work for you. 

wonder if our local farmacia has any?   thanks for the tip... would like to use them for minis if I continue with geocaching hides :) 

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So... There are not a lot of caches near you and you want to hide micro's? I guess there must be plenty of spots that can hold at least a small?

BTW Pill bottles are the worst. Or better, any container that has an opening smaller than the width of the container is. A log roll will get torn quickly as it's hard to get it out though the small(er) opening.

 

 

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1 minute ago, on4bam said:

So... There are not a lot of caches near you and you want to hide micro's? I guess there must be plenty of spots that can hold at least a small?

BTW Pill bottles are the worst. Or better, any container that has an opening smaller than the width of the container is. A log roll will get torn quickly as it's hard to get it out though the small(er) opening.

 

 

I may have to get some serious research done about them...  As in Alentejo this Beautiful part of Portugal, it has lots of places to hide small caches, towns are far away from each other, and we must be vigilante about fire hazards. So some detective work will be had.

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25 minutes ago, CleverCloggs said:

I may have to get some serious research done about them...  As in Alentejo this Beautiful part of Portugal, it has lots of places to hide small caches, towns are far away from each other, and we must be vigilante about fire hazards. So some detective work will be had.

 

If you intend to hide micros, a container designed to seal liquid would be better than a film canister designed to hold film.  Research 50ml centrifuge vials (link is just an example). They have a lid seal similar to soda bottles (as soda bottle preforms), have straight sides for ease of getting the log roll, and have a diameter slightly smaller than a film canister.  Plastic containers must be replaced periodically, so try to get as many as you can all at once for the cheapest price.  I found a great deal on ebay one time and it's a box of 500, which for me is a lifetime supply.

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9 minutes ago, kunarion said:

 

If you intend to hide micros, a container designed to seal liquid would be better than a film canister designed to hold film.  Research 50ml centrifuge vials (link is just an example). They have a lid seal similar to soda bottles (as soda bottle preforms), have straight sides for ease of getting the log roll, and have a diameter slightly smaller than a film canister.  Plastic containers must be replaced periodically, so try to get as many as you can all at once for the cheapest price.  I found a great deal on ebay one time and it's a box of 500, which for me is a lifetime supply.

That's exactly what I thought. Buy bulk so they can be replaced... I have been watching youtube clips of how they make all sorts! fun to watch. I shall have to get my hubby doing some for me. 500 would be a boost :) 

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In addition to the other suggestions, I'd consider match containers used by campers. They're designed to keep water out, and to be opened and closed repeatedly.

 

Also, the better beach safes make good caches. Again, they're designed to keep water out, and to be opened and closed repeatedly.

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8 minutes ago, niraD said:

In addition to the other suggestions, I'd consider match containers used by campers. They're designed to keep water out, and to be opened and closed repeatedly.

 

Also, the better beach safes make good caches. Again, they're designed to keep water out, and to be opened and closed repeatedly.

 

I've placed a few of those.  It's good to have spare O-rings for this kind of thing.  They're designed to be opened/closed many times, compared to soda preforms (petlings) or centrifuge vials which are designed to be opened/closed only a couple of times.  The all generally endure.  My main considerations are form or size for the cache design, and cost vs. size.  For example, I could not use a vial or preform for "Dale Carrot, Jr." :P

 

dcjl.jpg

 

 

Edited by kunarion
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4 minutes ago, kunarion said:

For example, I could not use a vial or preform for "Dale Carrot, Jr." 

Oh that's cute! 

13 minutes ago, niraD said:

I'd consider match containers used by campers.

Match containers are one of my favorite micro containers. Such a good price and my experience has been that they are so durable. 

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Just now, Max and 99 said:

Oh that's cute! 

Match containers are one of my favorite micro containers. Such a good price and my experience has been that they are so durable. 

 

I used to find the orange match tubes in the camping section of Walmart, $1 for one match tube full of matches.  But they only had one at a time in stock.

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I'm happy with Nalgene 30ml bottles, from your neighborhood camping store.  They're watertight, with a groove around the neck so you can wire it to a branch (loosely, be kind to a growing branch).

 

The size is just right for a single sheet of paper, folded vertically into four, edges sliced, tops stapled, sturdy tape over staples to protect fingers and provide a tiny pull handle.

 

Film cans are extinct, and good riddance.  Kodak cans were the worst, guaranteed to give you a moldy log, maybe some water to pour out.  Fuji weren't much better.

 

Edited by Viajero Perdido
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1 hour ago, kunarion said:

 

I've placed a few of those.  It's good to have spare O-rings for this kind of thing.  They're designed to be opened/closed many times, compared to soda preforms (petlings) or centrifuge vials which are designed to be opened/closed only a couple of times.  The all generally endure.  My main considerations are form or size for the cache design, and cost vs. size.  For example, I could not use a vial or preform for "Dale Carrot, Jr." :P

 

dcjl.jpg

 

 

that's just awesome!!!!

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18 minutes ago, Viajero Perdido said:

I'm happy with Nalgene 30ml bottles, from your neighborhood camping store.  They're watertight, with a groove around the neck so you can wire it to a branch (loosely, be kind to a growing branch).

 

The size is just right for a single sheet of paper, folded vertically into four, edges sliced, tops stapled, sturdy tape over staples to protect fingers and provide a tiny pull handle.

 

Film cans are extinct, and good riddance.  Kodak cans were the worst, guaranteed to give you a moldy log, maybe some water to pour out.  Fuji weren't much better.

 

thanks for the tip...  I intend to have all my logs squeaky clean and free from drips LOl :) 

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2 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

Film cans are extinct, and good riddance.  Kodak cans were the worst, guaranteed to give you a moldy log, maybe some water to pour out.  Fuji weren't much better.

Yeah, most of the time, the main advantage of film canisters was that they were free. Paying for them makes no sense to me.

 

There were exceptions though. I've found a couple caches where the form factor of the film canister allowed camouflage that would have been much harder with any other container. But that's no excuse to use them in other situations.

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6 hours ago, CleverCloggs said:

I have been trawling   eBay and such for canisters that used to hold film, in an age where digital cameras are the mode! they are expensive just for one? 

Any tips on bulk buying in the EU??? 

 

I remembered you said you wanted to hide "quality" caches.   Film cans ain't it.  :D

We like match stick holders, for that sturdy gasket-cut rubber O-ring, and buy them in bulk on ebay.

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16 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

I remembered you said you wanted to hide "quality" caches.   Film cans ain't it.  :D

We like match stick holders, for that sturdy gasket-cut rubber O-ring, and buy them in bulk on ebay.

LOl I get  your point... and yes, I do want to hide good quality ones... But I will be checking often 

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33 minutes ago, NanCycle said:

Film cans are not even close to waterproof; much better options are the match containers, preforms (petlings) and diabetes test strip containers.

Ill have a look for some.. possibly a sports shop. Although I live in the middle of nowhere at the mo :P  Im gonna do some ebay stealth research...

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6 hours ago, CleverCloggs said:

I have been trawling   eBay and such for canisters that used to hold film, in an age where digital cameras are the mode! they are expensive just for one? 

Any tips on bulk buying in the EU??? 

 

 

I reluctantly bought clear film canisters on Amazon that came with logs (a great deal). Why? To replace when/if light post caches are muggled or when larger caches that have a cache inside with a log to sign. I also bought official geocache stickers to place on them. 

 

Edited by HunterandSamuel
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2 minutes ago, HunterandSamuel said:

 

I reluctantly bought clear film canisters on Amazon that came with logs (a great deal). Why? To replace when/if light post caches are muggled or when larger caches that have a cache inside with a log to sign. I also bought official geocache stickers to place on them. 

 

Thanks for the tip :) 

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6 hours ago, Jayeffel said:

Just a suggestion, maybe pill bottles would suffice in lieu of film canisters. May be a bit more watertight. They are in different sizes, may be the size you seek can be found. Hope you find something to work for you. 

 

 

Pill bottles are nice when camouflaged with tape!  We camo a few large vitamin bottles.  I'll post one of ours. 

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"Oh, how things do change. Back in the early days of geocaching, film canisters could be found under rocks and up in trees throughout the world. They were all the rage with their combination of water tight closure and the fact that they came with the 35mm film we were all buying anyway. There were stickers designed to fit them, and micro geocoins were designed to bring them trackables. There may have even been glorious banquets held in their honor.

But, of course things do change. Now geocachers ride their hover crafts to finds, and 35mm film is about as common as a Commodore 64. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that they do make pretty good geocaches. With that in mind, we have decided to bring them back to the main stream"!  https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-supplies/cache-containers/micro/film-canister-geocache.html

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52 minutes ago, HunterandSamuel said:

"Oh, how things do change. Back in the early days of geocaching, film canisters could be found under rocks and up in trees throughout the world. They were all the rage with their combination of water tight closure and the fact that they came with the 35mm film we were all buying anyway.


My very first cache hide was “Jenny Brown”, a heavily camouflaged film canister.  https://coord.info/GC1XE27

She lasted 6 years, and was archived only because landscapers cut down her tree.  The container hung lengthwise, so that probably helped keep the log dry.  The lid and container remained pliable, although my other photo canisters got stiff or brittle.  You never know how a container will hold up.

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I use film canisters (*) and petlings (**) only as stages of a multicache. I would never use pill bottles or any packaging of food or something else. It may be free but it's not a good geocache container.

As final cache I usually have small lock and lock boxes and sometimes something bigger. There needs to be the space for a real logbook so I don't like to hide micros. I have only one micro cache active, that's a tricky hide with a selfmade micro container. Any other container is small or bigger.

 

The main reason for hiding something so small often is the low price. Cachers will use garbage things (yoghurt pots or creme jars) because those are free. I prefer hiding one or two caches with  good and solid containers to hiding 20 micro caches. Better do a few "quality caches" than many "quantity caches".

 

So if you want to improve the cache quality in your area take good cache boxey, stabile ones. You'll still be able to find a good lock and lock container plus logbook plus pen for less than 5 €...

 

Jochen

 

(*) I got some from a photographer - I simply asked and he gave me 20 pieces for 1€ ~ 1.15 $.

(**) I got 100 pieces for a nice price from the internet

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2 hours ago, HunterandSamuel said:

"Oh, how things do change. Back in the early days of geocaching, film canisters could be found under rocks and up in trees throughout the world. They were all the rage with their combination of water tight closure and the fact that they came with the 35mm film we were all buying anyway. There were stickers designed to fit them, and micro geocoins were designed to bring them trackables. There may have even been glorious banquets held in their honor.

But, of course things do change. Now geocachers ride their hover crafts to finds, and 35mm film is about as common as a Commodore 64. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that they do make pretty good geocaches. With that in mind, we have decided to bring them back to the main stream"!  https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-supplies/cache-containers/micro/film-canister-geocache.html

 

Take a film canister, hold it underwater for a while and see how dry it stays on the inside (hint: it doesn't). Unless your hiding place is somewhere protected from the weather, like deep inside a cave, that's the test any container really needs to pass, otherwise you're just contributing to the wet and mouldy logs everyone here keeps complaining about.

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2 hours ago, HunterandSamuel said:

With that in mind, we have decided to bring them back to the main stream"!  https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-supplies/cache-containers/micro/film-canister-geocache.html

The idea of paying $4 for a film canister is hysterical!

 

 

1 hour ago, kunarion said:

My very first cache hide was “Jenny Brown”, a heavily camouflaged film canister.  https://coord.info/GC1XE27

"What a rotten sense of humor" indeed. Thanks for the Smothers Brothers reference!

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26 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

Take a film canister, hold it underwater for a while and see how dry it stays on the inside (hint: it doesn't). Unless your hiding place is somewhere protected from the weather, like deep inside a cave, that's the test any container really needs to pass, otherwise you're just contributing to the wet and mouldy logs everyone here keeps complaining about.

 

Yep.   We've tested dozens of containers over the years, most usually on a year product test, so they get all four seasons.   :)

We fold/roll a piece of construction paper in each.  That paper type soaks water like a sponge.   

All set outdoors against a tree,  and an OPOS on top. 

Family members opened/closed  'em when they were around (stuff inside for the kids on their contribution to QA  ;-) .

Finding a lot at the time, film cans tested in '04 didn't make it past season one (Fall) and all failed.

Odd though, it seemed the ones we thought would do worst (snap in tops like the ones linked to) held up better than the snap on tops (but still a fail).

 - But they have decons too, and if they're actual decon containers, they rarely made it past a few people.

Anyone seeing decons filled with water because numerous people didn't close 'em properly understands.   

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3 hours ago, HunterandSamuel said:

"Oh, how things do change. Back in the early days of geocaching, film canisters could be found under rocks and up in trees throughout the world. They were all the rage with their combination of water tight closure and the fact that they came with the 35mm film we were all buying anyway. There were stickers designed to fit them, and micro geocoins were designed to bring them trackables. There may have even been glorious banquets held in their honor.

But, of course things do change. Now geocachers ride their hover crafts to finds, and 35mm film is about as common as a Commodore 64. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that they do make pretty good geocaches. With that in mind, we have decided to bring them back to the main stream"!  https://shop.geocaching.com/default/geocaching-supplies/cache-containers/micro/film-canister-geocache.html

Are these containers water-tight?  The original film canisters are NOT!!  My test is to put a piece of tissue in it and run it through a dishwasher cycle.  If the tissue is still dry, it's water-tight.

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This is usually what I see in my area. Especially if the film canister has been out for a few months. Fun as a Gran: Geocaching with Scampbeast.

 

"One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that they do make pretty good geocaches."

 

Nope, they were always leaky containers. 

 

Here's another one from 2013:

 

bd098625-c759-40cc-8b2d-3ab34bd101d6.jpg

 

What the log looked like:

 

6b5b8e1b-b79f-4750-a3da-fdfe1e590fa2.jpg

 

Notice how well the baggie is working. <_<

 

A couple more:

 

Screenshot_2b.thumb.png.e5cf9d5c38d850a93b6dac28194ee042.png

 

Screenshot_3a.png.8fe8b8f4a3d8c596245ac69ac60089b4.png

 

 

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A container can survive a dishwasher test, but not Nature.

 

Warm days, cool nights.  Air inside the container expands and squeezes out, then later it contracts and some squeezes back in.  Add condensation due to cool temperatures at night, repeat a few thousand times.  WET.

 

Also, squirrels run off with film cans.  Coyotes walk away with anything < 1L in size.  If they're not tied down, they will wander.  Those fingers of yours, that handled a few slices of bacon at breakfast and later the cache, will make the cache interesting to critters.  So will the smell of fresh (<2 wks) camo paint, or the glue of tape.

 

Edited by Viajero Perdido
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2 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

A container can survive a dishwasher test, but not Nature.

 

Warm days, cool nights.  Air inside the container expands and squeezes out, then later it contracts and some squeezes back in.  Add condensation due to cool temperatures at night, repeat a few thousand times.  WET.

 

Also, squirrels run off with film cans.  Coyotes walk away with anything < 1L in size.  If they're not tied down, they will wander.  Those fingers of yours, that handled a few slices of bacon at breakfast and later the cache, will make the cache interesting to critters.  So will the smell of fresh (<2 wks) camo paint, or the glue of tape.

 

 

Climate (and micro climate) plays a big part. Here in the subtropics, there's usually enough warm sunny days to dry out any incidental moisture from condensation or an occasional downpour. With reasonable container choice (Sistemas are a favourite here), it's really only caches placed in continuously moist environments like deep gullies next to permanent watercourses that are problematic. Even then, there are extra tricks like waterproof logbooks and double containers that can make such caches long-lasting without needing maintenance.

 

For example, this one of mine, which I've just been up to check on, I hid in March 2014:

 

20200929_114543.jpg.609583dcf7708aca5250db76009b8101.jpg

 

It's tucked in under a rock ledge near the top of the ridge:

 

20200929_114645.jpg.5264177ac21d1fb51e6a5ba845f60c04.jpg

 

It's the original container with its original logbook and the only maintenance I've had to do in those six and a half years was to replace the pencil that went missing. Calamities (like muggling or a fire) aside, I don't see why it shouldn't last just fine for another six and a half years. Still lots of room in the logbook.

Edited by barefootjeff
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When I started geocaching in 2008, film canisters were very popular as micro hides, especially in urban areas. In fact, they were the generic micro cache. Inexperienced newbie that I was ;) , I thought that if I wanted to hide some caches of my own one day, I should better get some film canisters. So I walked into the biggest photography shop in town, and asked if they have used film cans to spare. A guy put a very large box in front of me, filled almost to the top with empty canisters, and said "suit yourself". So I grabbed about 100 of them ... it turned out to be a lifetime supply. I quickly learned that film canisters are not water-tight! Lying out in the open, after a few months they will look like the examples shown by @L0ne.R above. Other container types mentioned in this thread (PET preforms, match containers) are much better suited here.

 

Anyway, what I wanted to mention is this: If you made the same mistake as I and hoarded a big supply of film cans, but don't want to throw them all away, there are locations where they can survive as caches for a long time. With a solid cover from above, protecting them from rain, snow and direct sunlight, they will last (and stay dry inside) for many years. One of my hides from 2009 is a film can  in such a protected environment, and it's still the original container in good condition. The only maintenance necessary was in 2016, when the cover of the film canister had become slightly brittle and might have failed eventually, so I replaced just the cover. So, film canisters do have their niche, but they are not suited as generic all-purpose micro caches.

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2 hours ago, baer2006 said:

When I started geocaching in 2008, film canisters were very popular as micro hides, especially in urban areas. In fact, they were the generic micro cache. Inexperienced newbie that I was ;) , I thought that if I wanted to hide some caches of my own one day, I should better get some film canisters. So I walked into the biggest photography shop in town, and asked if they have used film cans to spare. A guy put a very large box in front of me, filled almost to the top with empty canisters, and said "suit yourself".


Very similar experience to mine.  I now use the film pots to hold the logbook, inside an outer container.  I find they offer a little extra protection, and they’re certainly more effective than baggies.

 

If I still want to hide a micro of about the same size, a film pot fits snuggly in a 60 ml screw-lid specimen pot.

 

23D00A71-3787-43E6-92C4-F39E1C043221.jpeg.796b9bdc30188a9a02f805741d30d589.jpeg

Edited by IceColdUK
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Has anyone else used film canisters for Alka-Seltzer rockets? It's something we used to do with the kids at church sometimes. You fill the canister about halfway with water, drop in a chunk of Alka-Seltzer (or other effervescent tablet), pop on the lid, and then set it on the pavement upside down (with the lid down). It's basically a cheap water rocket. The pressure builds until the lid pops off, sending the canister flying upwards.

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We switched from film canisters to test strip containers some time ago.  They are basically the same size, much sturdier than film canisters and have a great snap on lid.  Some styles have a large lip on the top, easily sanded down.  You can buy them online, but we have a friend who still uses test strips and saves them for us.

 

 

IMG_3464.JPG

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