# Unexpected casualty of digital photography **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848 "2008-05-03T03:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/1 "2008-05-03T03:49:37Z")
No more film cannisters! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/2 "2008-05-03T03:50:44Z")
I know, right? Now where are we going to stash our weed? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/3 "2008-05-03T03:53:33Z")
Nudge, nudge… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/4 "2008-05-03T03:57:32Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I know, right? Now where are we going to stash our weed? [/QUOTE] We still have Altoids tins. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/5 "2008-05-03T04:01:12Z")
Pssst: Don’t tell anyone, but I got film cans. $50 each for the old aluminum screw-tops, $30 for the plastic ones. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/6 "2008-05-03T04:32:05Z")
It’s probably cheaper for the company that makes them to find a new buyer for that form of cannister than to refit their production process for making something else. I wouldn’t count them out just yet. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/7 "2008-05-03T07:32:46Z")
Much like vinyl, film will make a comeback. It will never be what it was but, like the Dude, it shall abide. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/8 "2008-05-03T08:04:53Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] Much like vinyl, film will make a comeback. [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t really call “stubbornly lingering” a comeback. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/9 "2008-05-03T10:04:45Z")
Ha ha ha ho ho. I have anticipated the future market demand for film canisters. I have thousands of them stashed in my shed - with the VCR tape cases. One day they will be worth a fortune and I will be laughing all the way to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/10 "2008-05-03T10:13:45Z")
:eek: They are still selling film though right, for those people who prefer to use 35mm cameras? 😕☹ ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/11 "2008-05-03T12:09:25Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] :eek: They are still selling film though right, for those people who prefer to use 35mm cameras? 😕☹ [/QUOTE] I can still get it without too much trouble here, but only “standard” 400 ASA stuff. I picked up some 800 ASA when I was in the US last, as I haven’t seen it here at a reasonable price for some time. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/12 "2008-05-03T13:01:12Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] :eek: They are still selling film though right, for those people who prefer to use 35mm cameras? 😕☹ [/QUOTE] It’s going to get harder and harder to find. In 10 years IMO you won’t be able to find film in anything but specialty shops and it’ll cost an arm and a leg. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/13 "2008-05-03T14:05:08Z")
Besides storing weed, film canisters are great for shot glasses when you’re camping. What else have you used them for? What kinds of things fit perfectly inside them? I did an image search and found this: [a guy uses them to raise “superworms”](http://www.iaherp.org/superworms/worms2.jpg). (warning: very grubby photo) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/14 "2008-05-03T15:15:23Z")
They are perfect for putting quarters in to take with you to do your laundry. Of course, my new laundromat has a fancy card system…I charge it up by swiping it and putting bills into a machine. But the thing is, I had to pay like $2 to get it initially! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/15 "2008-05-03T18:07:45Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] They are perfect for putting quarters in to take with you to do your laundry. [/QUOTE] Empty pill bottles work well for that, too. Plus, that way they’re secure from arthritic quarter-snatchers. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/16 "2008-05-03T19:47:57Z")
I was given an aluminium one with paper clips in it. Now, in my otherwise disorganised world, I know exactly where my paper clip supply is. Huzzah! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/17 "2008-05-03T19:56:46Z")
I used to open the film cannister itself with a can opener and wind it onto one of those wire reels and load it into a light-tight developing tank, all inside one of those black fabric and vinyl bags with the elastic sleeves and the zipper, to develop negatives when I didn’t have access to a darkroom anywhere. Living in an unconditioned apartment in the summer made it pretty hard to do without getting sweat all over the film. I thought I was pretty good at it, until I read that Minor White would do the same thing, but with two rolls of film at once. He’d flip one of them over so they were backing-to-backing, with the emulsion sides facing away from each other. They’re really hard to wind the wrong way even one at a time, because the film wants to curl in the wrong direction and pop out of the wires. He said it was “to save time”. Can you imagine being so good that that was the easy way? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/18 "2008-05-04T01:16:15Z")
A film can is a perfect measure for exactly one serving of pasta. One film can will hold $6.25, so two cans will hold all the state quarters. [This is a small part of my collection](http://www.photochimps.com/pp/data/782/Film_Cans.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/19 "2008-05-04T01:29:10Z")
My “bug-out” kit is full of plastic film canisters, holding medicines, matches, tinder, cash, and all sorts of other stuff that is better contained. Luckily, my family used to own a number of photo kiosks, so I still have a few hundred laying around the shed. For all I know, some of them may still have weed in them! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848/20 "2008-05-04T01:44:20Z")
I have a small chunk of [Belvedere Castle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvedere_Castle) in a film canister. I was there in the mid-80s, when they gave you a sliver of granite if you donated money to the preservation fund. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-casualty-of-digital-photography/447848.md?page=2)