Olympus Mju II Extra Frames... Help Please!

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Thomas Keidan

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I know this topic has been covered a little but I haven't found a definitive answer... does anyone else manage to squeeze some extra frames from the mju ii? I shot my first roll today and got 26 before the film rewound. Is this normal or could my DX coding reader be broken? From what i've read I thought that the DX coding counts the number of frames in a roll and then automatically rewinds once it hits the end?

Thanks
 
Thomas Keidan said:
I know this topic has been covered a little but I haven't found a definitive answer... does anyone else manage to squeeze some extra frames from the mju ii? I shot my first roll today and got 26 before the film rewound. Is this normal or could my DX coding reader be broken? From what i've read I thought that the DX coding counts the number of frames in a roll and then automatically rewinds once it hits the end?

Thanks
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It’s a benefit of smaller cameras - the film leader doesn’t need to come out of the canister as far when you load the film, so you can get extra shots out of the roll. I often get 38 shots from a 36 roll because of this.

I don’t think the camera reads the number of frames, it just rewinds when the roll ends and it detects that it can’t be advanced any further.
 
FishyFish said:
It’s a benefit of smaller cameras - the film leader doesn’t need to come out of the canister as far when you load the film, so you can get extra shots out of the roll. I often get 38 shots from a 36 roll because of this.

I don’t think the camera reads the number of frames, it just rewinds when the roll ends and it detects that it can’t be advanced any further.
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From what i'm reading some people have said that their Mju II's automatically rewind at 36 exposures but many are saying that this is not the case for 24 exposure films. I am so confused! A fellow Mju II owner who could clear this up for me would be much appreciated!
 
FishyFish said:
Really, don’t worry about it. My Nikon F70 SLR often gives me extra frames from a roll. It’s a benefit. Embrace it. :)
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I'm aware that most cameras always give an extra couple of shots but i'm worried because this camera uses DX coding which is supposed to be fully automatic. So my logic is telling me that if the DX coding is not working in recognising the film frame count then it may also not work in determining the ISO (which it should do)
 
I've done a quick Google search which reveals conficting opinions on whether the Mju II does or doesn't rewind after the stated number of frames, but there are certainly other owners reporting that they get more frames than stated (and none of them reporting exposure issues due to the wrong code being read).

e.g. here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/81593235@N00/discuss/72157617303094581/
 
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Thomas Keidan said:
I'm aware that most cameras always give an extra couple of shots but i'm worried because this camera uses DX coding which is supposed to be fully automatic. So my logic is telling me that if the DX coding is not working in recognising the film frame count then it may also not work in determining the ISO (which it should do)
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According to the font of all knowledge that is wikipedia

"The outside of film cartridges are marked with a DX Camera Auto Sensing (CAS) code readable by many cameras. Cameras can then automatically determine the film speed, number of exposures and exposure tolerance. The first cameras to use the technology are said to be the Konica TC-X SLR and Pentax Super Sport 35 (PC 35AF-M)[1] in 1984.

The DX Camera Auto Sensing code takes the form of a grid of contact points on the side of the metal cartridge surface that are either conductive or non-conductive. Electrical contacts in the camera read the bit pattern. Most cameras read only part of the code; typically, only the film speed is read, and some cameras aimed at the consumer market only read enough bits to tell apart the most common film speeds. For example, 100, 200, 400, and 800 can be detected by reading only S1 and S2 and ground."

I've got a Mju II but cant remember what I shot or where the negs are, I'll try and remember to check next time I use it.
 
FishyFish said:
I've done a quick Google search which reveals conficting opinions on whether the Mju II does or doesn't rewind after the stated number of frames, but there are certainly other owners reporting that they get more frames than stated (and none of them reporting exposure issues due to the wrong code being read).

e.g. here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/81593235@N00/discuss/72157617303094581/
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Hi, I've also come across the same whilst researching. It's a slight relief that none have reported exposure issues but i'm absolutely stumped. Like you say wikipedia says Cameras can then automatically determine the film speed, number of exposures and exposure tolerance... so I'm stuck! But I guess the Olympus must just be one of the ones that only determines speed and not exposure!
 
Update: Hi Thomas,

The mju-II has a single row of DX contacts, so can only read the film speed from the
DX-coded cassette.

The film length and tolerence information is on the second row.


This is from the Luton servicing centre!
 
I have an Olympus Superzoom which is very similar to the Mju range and has the same number of contacts for DX coding. I've gone back through my folder of negatives and can see 25 shots were taken on a 24exp roll and 38 shots on a 36exp roll.

I honestly don't think you need to worry about it. Plus, if you've shot nearly a full roll, there's not much to do about it now other than get it processed and look at the results.
 
Thomas Keidan said:
Message read loud and clear, I went out shooting yesterday and managed not to worry at all! It was a welcome change!
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Ah, but if you get 38 shots on a 36 exposure film then you'll not get 6 strips of 6 negs and you'll then need to worry about where to make the cuts (if you home develop). :whistle: (only kidding!)

Just checked the 3 films I've had done by Filmdev and the 24 exp had 25 frames, but the 36 exposure films were both 36, if that is any help at all?
 
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I've got 39 a couple of times, well 38 and 3 daughters, and it counts them.
Not sure about monitoring film length, it just counts wind-ons till it hits the end whatever that number is.
Which makes sense, to have an independent sensor that monitors film end regardless of the number of actuations means that it doesn't matter what length of film you put in.
I've got some useless daft arsed 16 frame 35mm somewhere, I've no doubt it would work just fine if I was daft enough to use it..:)
 
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