Many 35mm rangefinder camera makers offered a reloadable metal film cassette for use with their cameras. Maybe one of the first to do so was Leitz for their Leica cameras.
Pictured below is one of those cassettes with its original Bakelite canister (film can). I believe this set was released around 1953 and was originally intended to be used with the new Leica M3.
Here’s a comparison between a standard disposable film cartridge from 1959 next to the metal reloadable cassette from Leitz (Code IXMOO). Overall the cartridges are within 1 mm of each other but as can be seen, the top of the Leitz canister is slightly taller.
The idea was simple. Since buying 35mm film in bulk was popular at the time, reloadable cassettes were a necessity to keep the cost of taking pictures low. As the disposable film cartridges became standardized the use of bulk film decreased as it was much simpler to use the premade film canisters.
While I was in college back in the early 1970s and taking some photography classes, I bulk loaded my own B&W films (mostly Kodak Plus X). It was a pain but it was far less expensive.
The earliest metal film cassettes made by Leitz were coded FILCA and were slightly taller than the newer IXMOO. I don’t have a FILCA cassette for comparison but I’d like to find one (I’ll gladly accept a donation of one if you have a spare).
From a Leica illustrated price list from 1939, the FILCA was Cat. No. 66,800 and was listed as a “Spare Roll Film Magazine” and sold for $3.00 USD. The catalog covers are pictured below.
Thanks for stopping by and if you’ve made it this far, congratulations for sticking with it! – Chris
Be sure to stop by my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Please respect that all content, including photos and text, are the property of this blog and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris.
Copyright © 2015-2020 Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Chris Whelan
All rights reserved.
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 
I’ve considered buying a 100 feet of Tri-X and rolling my own reels, but since I don’t develop my own film anymore I’d just be wasting the reals. If I wanted to start developing my own film again I’ll probably look into this since it’ll save me a whole lot of money, especially given how much film I’ve been shooting lately.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t developed film in quite a long time but from what I remember after a while I got tired of shooting with the same film over and over again. At least with disposable cassettes, you have more freedom to match the film to conditions and your mood. But if you’re shooting a ton of one type then it makes sense. Good luck and thanks for your comment. Chris
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks for your post! I wonder if the difference in size will allow this Leitz cartridge to be used in a more modern camera, eg. Minolta X700 — I own a Nikon F reloadable cartridge and it is too big!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My experience is that there’s very little opportunity to use one manufacturer’s cartridge in another camera from the same era let alone in a modern model. The Leica cartridge wouldn’t fit in my Nicca or Yashica from the same period. But it might. Good luck and thanks for your comment. Chris
LikeLike