That horrible moment when...

[FishyFish]

You take a shot and advance the film only to hear a nasty crackling sound from inside the camera.

I was out shooting some Tri-X on my Olympus 35 RC this morning when it happened. As I was only about six shots into the roll I decided to open the back and see what the trouble was, and discovered that the film had come off the winding sprockets. I managed to unwind and re-wind the used frames and now it's hopefully back as it should be - albeit with half-a-dozen ruined pictures and now effectively a 24 instead of 36 exposure roll of Tri-X. Could have been worse I suppose...

 

[jonbeeza]

You take a shot and advance the film only to hear a nasty crackling sound from inside the camera.

I was out shooting some Tri-X on my Olympus 35 RC this morning when it happened. As I was only about six shots into the roll I decided to open the back and see what the trouble was, and discovered that the film had come off the winding sprockets. I managed to unwind and re-wind the used frames and now it's hopefully back as it should be - albeit with half-a-dozen ruined pictures and now effectively a 24 instead of 36 exposure roll of Tri-X. Could have been worse I suppose...

That is the trouble with film, limited exposures / photo opportunities. Suppose it makes us think more. Glad you managed to save some of the roll .

 

[ChrisR]

You take a shot and advance the film only to hear a nasty crackling sound from inside the camera.

I was out shooting some Tri-X on my Olympus 35 RC this morning when it happened. As I was only about six shots into the roll I decided to open the back and see what the trouble was, and discovered that the film had come off the winding sprockets. I managed to unwind and re-wind the used frames and now it's hopefully back as it should be - albeit with half-a-dozen ruined pictures and now effectively a 24 instead of 36 exposure roll of Tri-X. Could have been worse I suppose...

Glad you got it back in trim, hope it doesn't happen again...

My ancient Pentax ME (bought in late 70s) has developed a problem towards the end of each roll where the gearing starts to slip, and eventually won't wind. Overlapping shots... It's more or less retired now; Miles said he didn't have the parts for another of it's problems.

It's a shame, and I'd like to get it back working again. But I suppose when you're playing with 40 year old precision instruments, it's always going to be a risk that something will go wrong!

 

[srichards]

I wonder if the film in cannisters has tension issues like the old tape cassettes do? Used to end up tapping those sometimes to loosen them off.

Glad you got it back in trim, hope it doesn't happen again...

My ancient Pentax ME (bought in late 70s) has developed a problem towards the end of each roll where the gearing starts to slip, and eventually won't wind. Overlapping shots... It's more or less retired now; Miles said he didn't have the parts for another of it's problems.

It's a shame, and I'd like to get it back working again. But I suppose when you're playing with 40 year old precision instruments, it's always going to be a risk that something will go wrong!

I used to have a pentax ME kicking about somewhere. I think the shutter is stuck. It only fires when there isn't a battery in it. Will have to see whether I can find it. I may have dumped it though. If I do you're welcome to it as a donor.

 

[35millimetre]

Had this problem with a friend's Lomo Diana camera - my Diana Mini used to chew through sprocket holes with gay abandon, so I wasn't surprised. Changing bag and 5 mins of faffing about later - film in a black canister! Might be a challenge to get Snappy Snaps to develop it though...

And on the subject of Pentax Me Supers - mine has the opposite problem to Chris's - at the beginning of the film it winds and winds but won't fire the shutter. I need to remember to warm it up a bit before I stick the film in - it eventually starts behaving itself.

 

[srichards]

It's why I prefer motorwind. I don't think I've ever had any bother with motor wind cameras.

 

[excalibur2]

It's why I prefer motorwind. I don't think I've ever had any bother with motor wind cameras.

Well I prefer the built in autowind with rewind lever e.g. Konica FS1...what I don't like about cameras like the T70 is you can't see what's happening and have to trust it...also with a rewind lever you can rewind the film to leave the leader out (for changing into another camera), with the T70 it disappears

 

[srichards]

Well I prefer the built in autowind with rewind lever e.g. Konica FS1...what I don't like about cameras like the T70 is you can't see what's happening and have to trust it...also with a rewind lever you can rewind the film to leave the leader out (for changing into another camera), with the T70 it disappears

With the dynax you can set it to leave the leader out if you prefer. It also handles mid roll rewind so you can change film and it keeps track of where you were so winds on back to the frame you were going to use next when you put it back in.

 

[NickT]

It's why I prefer motorwind. I don't think I've ever had any bother with motor wind cameras.

I've only ever had trouble when trying to get that 'once in a lifetime' photograph. I was perfectly positioned in Richmond in 2012 for the Olympics cycling road race. My Canon A1 had a fresh film loaded and the MA motordrive had been fitted with fresh batteries. I took a couple of test shots as the police outriders rounded the corner, all was well. The main bunch, including Cavendish and Wiggins came round the corner, I pressed the button and it jammed. 10 seconds later and they were all over the bridge and gone!

 

[excalibur2]

With the dynax you can set it to leave the leader out if you prefer. It also handles mid roll rewind so you can change film and it keeps track of where you were so winds on back to the frame you were going to use next when you put it back in.

Sounds great.....have the SRT, X300, X700, Xd-II but never got up to the Dynax. Used the XD-II yesterday and it's annoying pressing the shutter button when nothing happens because I forgot to wind on...using different cameras can cause annoyances

 

[ChrisR]

With the dynax you can set it to leave the leader out if you prefer. It also handles mid roll rewind so you can change film and it keeps track of where you were so winds on back to the frame you were going to use next when you put it back in.

My Pentx Z-1 rewinds leaving the leader out, which would be excellent if I was using it for black and white, but for colour I have to remember to wind it back in or it'll probably get re-used! That Minolta trick is clever, can't think how it recognises the cassette second time.

 

[srichards]

My Pentx Z-1 rewinds leaving the leader out, which would be excellent if I was using it for black and white, but for colour I have to remember to wind it back in or it'll probably get re-used! That Minolta trick is clever, can't think how it recognises the cassette second time.

I think it uses DX coding and assumes that the same film it saw before of that type was the one that was in it before. I don't think it's very clever but it's just clever enough It keeps a log of aperture/shutter speed and frame of each film you use. I forget how many it stores but before the first is forgotten.

 

[s162216]

My Pentx Z-1 rewinds leaving the leader out, which would be excellent if I was using it for black and white, but for colour I have to remember to wind it back in or it'll probably get re-used! That Minolta trick is clever, can't think how it recognises the cassette second time.

I think it uses DX coding and assumes that the same film it saw before of that type was the one that was in it before. I don't think it's very clever but it's just clever enough It keeps a log of aperture/shutter speed and frame of each film you use. I forget how many it stores but before the first is forgotten.

It works on using the infrared frame counter (which counts the perforation holes to know what frame the camera is on). Essentially it just remembers how many perforations have passed, and then when the film is re-inserted it moves back to the same position and then winds on as before. It was becoming a quite standard feature on high end cameras toward the end of when such films cameras were still being produced, the Pentax MZ-S had a similar version of the same feature for instance.

 

[angelpaaul]

It's a shame, and I'd like to get it back working again. But I suppose when you're playing with 40 year old precision instruments, it's always going to be a risk that something will go wrong!

I'm using a Ferrania falco s, a nice little folder. Originally bought in Egypt in March 1951. I am SO careful using it as I think spare parts would be a bit thin on the ground. None the less, I'm still using it. I just dread the day I hear the words 'Sorry, mate, it's beyond repair'

 

[ChrisR]

I'm using a Ferrania falco s, a nice little folder. Originally bought in Egypt in March 1951. I am SO careful using it as I think spare parts would be a bit thin on the ground. None the less, I'm still using it. I just dread the day I hear the words 'Sorry, mate, it's beyond repair'

Those words would, IMHO, be caused either by competence or parts issues. In either case, trying somewhere else is the obvious option! There are some exceptions, particularly later cameras with more electronics involved in the shooting (Contax G2, etc). But the earlier all-mechanical cameras should be mostly repairable in my lifetime, I think.

 

[angelpaaul]

Those words would, IMHO, be caused either by competence or parts issues. In either case, trying somewhere else is the obvious option! There are some exceptions, particularly later cameras with more electronics involved in the shooting (Contax G2, etc). But the earlier all-mechanical cameras should be mostly repairable in my lifetime, I think.

I quite agree. I use Newton Ellis & Co. in Liverpool, never let me down yet.