Ilford HP5 issue

[misteracng]

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I just noticed an issue with the new retro packaged ilford HP5. Wondering if anyone else has encountered the issue. On my Leica MP, this new retro HP5 cannister is causing stiff and notchy film advance, difficult to finish a roll because near the end advancing skips sprockets. Rewinding is also very stiff, yet the cannister on its own feels fine. I have 2 MPs and never had ann issue with amy other types of film. and on one the problem is much worse but no issues. I finally found out the that center film spool is protruding out several more millimeters on this new HP5 compared to all my other film cassettes. It is basically directly contacting the baseplate once you secure it in place and binding the film spool thus giving a lot of resistance. If you unlatch the baseplate all this stiffness goes away. 

[UliWer]

If the film spool of this retro packaged film is generally longer it would be a good film for a Barnack Leica for which the usual spools are too short. 

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/retro-packaging/

Edited May 19 by UliWer

[LocalHero1953]

Have you contacted Ilford about this? It would be interesting to hear their rationale for the different canister. If they contracted out the production of this limited issue, I wonder if they even know the canisters are different!

[misteracng]

I sent ilford an email, never had this issue with previous normal hp5, their other normal 35mm cartridges are fine too, maybe some change happened without them knowing about it, you have to put it next to another 35mm cartridge to see the difference. I would have to grind down some of the plastic spool for it to fit better 

[Chuck Albertson]

On 5/19/2025 at 12:13 AM, misteracng said:

I sent ilford an email, never had this issue with previous normal hp5, their other normal 35mm cartridges are fine too, maybe some change happened without them knowing about it, you have to put it next to another 35mm cartridge to see the difference. I would have to grind down some of the plastic spool for it to fit better 

Be sure to keep the canister and spool - Ilford will likely want to see it.

[misteracng]

The closure mechanism for the MP baseplate is a different design then my M3 and M4, those 2 have a bit more clearance in the baseplate closure in the middle so there is more room, hence no issues, but still these new HP5 canisters are definately different

[canon-ae1user]

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Hi everyone

I just wanted to chime in because I experienced exactly the same issue with the Ilford HP5+ Retro Anniversary Edition, but on a Canon AE-1, not a Leica.

Strangely enough, when I used my first roll of the retro edition, everything worked fine – no issues at all. But with the second roll, I encountered severe problems.

The film felt unusually stiff when loading, and when I tried to spool it onto the reel in my Ars-Imago Lab Box, it was extremely tight and barely fit. It caused an incredibly unpleasant scraping sound, and the spooling motion was very resistant and notchy – something I’ve never experienced with any other film.

I literally made this account just to say: yes, this problem exists, and I haven’t seen anyone else mention it outside of this Leica thread. Thanks for posting.

[misteracng]

Im glad I was not imagining this issue. As an update I have pruchased more HP5 now back to normal packaging and have never encountered this issue again with the new rolls. Also I had retro fp4 package rolls and this issue did not occur.