A Very Stupid Question

iamchrisphoto

iamchrisphoto

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Chris Scuffins
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Ok, i'm really really sorry if this a completely silly question. But I can't figure it out, and I want to make sure everything is as it should be.

On my Olympus OM-2n, when film is loaded, I can still freely move/rotate the film rewind crank lever (on the left of the top plate). The film advance level on the right hand side seems to work as normal.

Is this supposed to happen? Is there any chance of the film winding back or forth inside?

I would appreciate anyone who could help put my mind at ease. The more I think about the more I can't figure out what it's supposed to do!

Thanks
 
The rewind crank will move a little depending on how tightly wound the film is in the canister, but the take-up/wind on is toothed obviously and won't allow a rewind proper till the film is finished.
I'm not familiar with Olympus but there ought to be a button or something that releases the wind on at the end of the film so you can re-wind it back in to the canister..??
 
The rewind crank should freely rotate in one direction (the opposite direction to when your rewinding) and when turned in the other direction tension the film, i.e like trying to wind the film back in but the wind on crank prevents that until it is disengaged (usually using a button on the bottom plate).

Keep it tensioned, the camera keeps it like that so your don't have to do anything, i,e no fiddling!
 
oh wait.....has the film come off the wind-on spool and now your just winding the film back and forth inside the canister.........I've done that...........a lot....lol
 
You can turn it a few turns but then it'll tighten up. If you've depressed the button inside the advance lever, thenvit will disengage the film and allow it to be rewound, which it sounds like you may have done!
 
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I'm not sure if there is a little film window in the back of your model. Some 35mm cameras have them and some don't I'm not sure when they first appeared but in the late 70s early mud 80s the best way of checking to see if there was a film in your camera was by just turning the rewind handle gently. if it spun freely it was empty. If the rewind leaver was taught then you could feel that there was a film inside.

Without listening and feeling it's hard to envisage but if there is a strain on the film the sprockets will tear the film. If you can feel a bit of play / tension with a film loaded then that's perfectly normal but handle with care. Hope that helps.
 
Hey everyone, thank you.

I tried rotating the lever clockwise, as if I were reeling the film in, it took about 3 full turns before there was resistance and stopped, which felt like the film was taught inside. The problem is that going in the direction the dial its very very loose, and moves anti clockwise with the slightest touch, which I assume is putting lots of slack on the film.

I guess I will have to keep my eye on it!

Thanks again!
 
If I'm not mistaken, I think the OM-1 and OM-2 had the rewind release located on the front of the camera just above the self-timer lever. Generally, they're normally found on the base plate.
 
The thing for disengaging the wind-on crank is the little button marked R, on the top plate under the wind-on crank [assuming the 2n is the same as the 2]. It is normal for the rewind lever to move in either direction to some degree. In the rewind direction - yes it will go as far as the tension of the film allows. In the opposite direction all it does is unwind the film within the canister. The light seals on the canister offer some resistance. The back plate inside the body door holds the film against the shutter area, so it cannot go anywhere no matter how much you move the rewind lever. There is no film slack where it contacts the shutter region.
 
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