Matin Film Leader Retriever FILM PICKER for 35mm Cassettes Safe Films Extractor (Original Version)

I’ve never attempted to use anything like this before, so it was a bit tricky and took me a few attempts the first time I needed to use it. I looked up a video online of someone using it and eventually I got the hang of it. Once you figure it out it’s great! Got my leader back out and my film came out beautifully with no light leaks or impacts from using this before shooting.

I read some reviews on this and decided to try it out. A few things that worked for me:1. I had the tool horizontal with the roll of film almost sitting upright on the table in front of me. The letters A and B on the sliders were facing me.2. I rotated the canister to the left after sliding A into it until i heard a click and then i continued to rotate it until i heard another click.3. I rotated the knob clockwise just a tiny bit.4. I slid B left into the canister.5. I slid A and B out of the canister while watching the top of the canister to make sure it is rotating clockwise. If you don't see the film knob rotate, it has not caught the loose film and you have to start over. This is why i keep the tool positioned as if the roll is just sitting upright on the table.6. Once I saw the knob rotating, I knew it had caught the film and just slid A and B out slowly until the end of the film popped out. I had only 0.5 inches of the film sticking out when it was extracted from the canister.

I had tried to get the film "leader" out of a rewound cassette using thin plastic strips, and while unsuccessful, the attempt let me know what to expect. This film extractor is simple, inexpensive and seems to work very well. While useful for those wanting to change film types in the middle of a roll, my main interest is for loading film onto a processing reel without opening the cassette, to avoid busted knuckles trying to use a "hook type" bottle opener in the darkroom. The empty cassettes can then be reused with bulk film, or in cameras that allow cassette-to-cassette operation where no darkroom is needed to remove the exposed part of a long roll for processing. My immediate problem was a couple 24-exposure rolls which had been fully rewound, one owing to my clumsiness, the other from the "automatic rewind" of a battery-powered SLR from the early 1990s. The MATIN extractor worked on the first try with both of these rolls. I followed the instructions (the ones in English, since I can't read Korean) and while the "click" mentioned is a little hard to hear, I had encountered that with my unsuccessful, if similar technique. While the instructions said to reverse the winding direction "in the case of 12 exposure film" I did this with the 24-exposure rolls since it should give better placement of the film "leader" for getting it through the exit slot of the cassette.I've only used the extractor on two rolls, but both worked, so I have no problem rating the unit at the 5-star "I Love It" level. The condition of the end of the leader could cause problems, if the camera put a sharp bend in it, but this is an excellent solution for those wanting to do what is often a difficult task.

These are tricky to learn to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's straightforward to retrieve the leader from 35mm cartridges. No more having to use the "can opener" to open 35mm cartridges to develop. Plus, you can leave the "tail" at the end of the cartridge to facilitate reloading.

I process my own film a lot and this tool is great for getting out those pesky film leaders that are stick in the cartridge. The secret is to extend it and breathe on it for a second, just enough to see it fog up before following the procedure to retrieve the film. I know it sounds weird, but its made it 10x easier to grab the leader.

This item is completely useless and is designed to solve a problem that you already have the tools to solve. If you take another roll of film flip it upside down put some water on the leader and then stick it into the stuck roll it will retrieve it for you. it works 90% of the time where this tool that scammed me out of $11 for has never worked even if you follow the instructions.

Works as intended as soon as I figured out how to use it properly. Could not retrieve the lead at all following the included instruction so went on youtube to watch numerous videos and still wouldn't work reliably until I came upon one video where you have the bottom of the tool facing up towards you.1) have the bottom of the tool facing you (where it shows A and B markings on the tool itself)2) ensure A and B are in the default position3) insert all 3 plastics into the canister and ensure the canister is at the top and the default position of A and B are at the bottom, the bottom of the tool continues to face towards you4) slide A all the way upwards into the canister5) rotate the film spool (the movable part on the film canister) towards you (counter clock wise when viewed from the side of the canister) until you hear a definite click and stop immediately6) use a finger on your left hand to press firmly onto the film spool so that it doesn't allow rotation at all7) slide B all the way upwards into the canister while doing step 6 so it doesn't push the film lead back into the canister8) pull straight and away quickly from the film canister

This leader retrieval tool does work. But it’s finicky for sure. If you’re going to purchase it, be prepared to put in a LOT of practice time to get it down right. I would recommend this for any photographer that is changing rolls of film mid-roll, when your camera does not have a leader function. I would not recommend this for pulling film leaders to develop film - just use a bottle opener.