How dark should it be when I load my 120 film into my camera? Will a room with all shades drawn be ok?

Question

I have a brownie hawkeye that was built for 620 film, but I am using 120 film with it (because 620 is no longer produced), and I was just wondering if I should load the film in a dark room or changing bag or if it would be fine if I just did it out of direct sunlight. Any info on 120 film or kodak brownie camera loading would be awesome.

Answer 1

Find a room with no windows. Turn off all lights near the room. Take a towel in with you to stuff under the door to block any light in there. Wait a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. If you can see then, it's still too light.

Alternatively, you can buy a changing bag. It's a large, roomy black bag with openings for your hands. Ask about it at any pro camera store.

Answer 2

Red light? Unless you are using litho film, film is sensitive to red light, you are thinking about photographic paper which is not sensitive to red light. So I am assuming you loaded the 120 film roll onto the 620 spool, hopefully you have done this in a light tight room as any light will either fog or make the film unusable. So after you have the film loaded you should have some leader film at the begining of the roll. This should allow you to load the film in subdued lighting as the rest of the light sensitive part of the film is safe. The only problem of having to load 120 film is when you start unwinding the film past the leader, where the film is sensitive to light. Below is a link to the camera you are using.

Answer 3

Oh no, It needs to be much darker than that. A dark room would be safest. Or a room with no windows. I'd even cover cracks in the door.

Answer 4

Totally dark except a red light.

Answer 5

Found this link, hope it helps!
http://members.tripod.com/~CClemens/Brownie/Hawkeye.htm