You already have good, correct answers. Just please take note and remember it is incorrect to call it 120MM film. It is 120, it is NOT 120mm.
Hi, I guess you're talking about 120 film. This film is a bit more than 60mm wide. 120mm would be almot 5 inches.
Yes, you can load 120 films in subdued light. Even in sunlight if you use the shadow of your body. The film is paper backed and protected from most of the light. Just be careful.
If you're using cut up film for a pinhole camera made from a tin can you will have to that in the dark, of course. But as long as you use a regular camera or camera back designed for 120 film you're good to load it in light. I guess it would be difficult to that in the dark. The film has START printed on the protective paper and you can advance it to that marking with the camera back open. You would not be able to see that in a darkroom.
So just be careful about it and have fum shooting medium format film (120)!
Same as you would 35mm .
I woildn't load it in direct sunlight though .
What sort of bothers me is the fact that you have a camera that takes 120 film and have no clue as to how to use it .
In the early days of photography a darkroom was needed when the camera was loaded or unloaded. This changed when Peter Houston, a photo hobbyist, invented roll film. He taped film onto an opaque backing paper and then rolled this sandwich up on a spool. The edges of the backing paper are not smooth, they as scraped ragged making a light-tight seal where the paper touches the flanges of the spool. His idea allowed loading and unloading the camera in subdued light. By subdued we mean indoors or even in the shadow of a tree or perhaps your own body.
Huston’s roll film was so successful George Eastman, owner of Kodak Camera Company, licensed his idea.
Over the years, Kodak made and sold many different camera models. The fist Kodak camera, introduced in 1888 was loaded with film at the factory and contained film that made 100 pictures. You sent the camera back to Kodak by mail for unlading and developing and printing.
In 1889 Kodak made the No. 2 Kodak camera. It used a roll film similar to the 120 roll film you are using. Kodak labeled this film 101. Kodak film size 120 is 2.4 inches wide and 32 inches long, made to fit a Brownie camera. The same film size was later wound on a skinner spool so that the Brownie camera could be made a little thinner. This film was labeled 620.
Countless billions of rolls of film have been loaded and unloaded in subdued light. So successful is the roll film design, film unloaded and loaded in bright sunlight will likely be OK as well.
Yes you can load it in subdued light.
Note: Simply "120 film", no millimetres. That number was an arbitrary formation, the film is actually about 65mm across.
You can load that film into the camera in daylight outdoors, but best to turn yourself away from the Sun if it is shining, so that you use the shade of your body. That is how I loaded many thousands of 120 films on professional assignments over the years.
The stories about loading in a dim room indoors are scare stories. Yes, it is better to use more a more shady place if there is one handy, but never worry about it.
It's 120 film, not 120mm.
You can load anywhere, just avoid direct sunlight or anything bright.
Yes. Alan, Frank & Martin S have provided the answer to your query in great detail.
I have owned a Mamiya RZ67 since about 1990 and I can assure you that you can definitely load 120/220 film in daylight situations. While it's best to do it indoors or in the shade, if you have to do it under full sun then it should not be a big problem. Again, if you're concerned about it, the just go inside or under a tree or somewhere else where there's shade. You definitely do not need to be in a very dim room or anything like that.
I've changed film in my RZ67 while out on a beach and had zero problems. I had done a portfolio assignment for school where I was taking photos at a wildlife refuge along the coast of California. I had gone through dozens of rolls of film all changed outdoors all without any problems. Just realize that I was using ISO 25 and ISO 100 films at the time. Could I have had issues if I was using ISO 400 or higher? Maybe, but like I had mentioned earlier, if you're concerned about it, just go into a shady area or put the sun to your back so you cast a shadow over the camera and film.