What would have caused this?

1855

1855

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I'm still new to film photography and wondering if you might shed some light on this (pun intended)

Sent a couple of rolls off to Analogue Wonderland recently to be scanned and they came back to me to say one of the rolls was blank, and appears that the whole film was light exposed and completely fogged. The other roll (which was in my camera before the one that failed) was absolutely fine.

Have sent the camera (Pentax ME Super) off to Peter at Asahi repairs in Brentford and he said that the mirror box needed some attention and would have soon failed, the internal grease had broken down and was replaced, and the switching which the metering relies on had oxidised so that was cleaned, as well as shutter speeds being calibrated.

Seems like it was just user error, but I can't think what I'd have done to cause this? Surely I'd have noticed if the door wasn't shut properly?
 
Do you mean blank as in see-through (in which case it was unexposed as it's a negative)? If it's that, the most common cause I'm aware of, is the take up spool not catching, and you were taking photos with no film being wound on. You basically sent them an undeveloped roll. Easy fix is to make sure the winding handle turns when you advance the film.

If you mean blank as in black, then it's been exposed to too much light. If the door wasn't shut properly, you'd have noticed, and I'd expect there to be some evidence of an image.
 
Harlequin565 said:
Do you mean blank as in see-through (in which case it was unexposed as it's a negative)? If it's that, the most common cause I'm aware of, is the take up spool not catching, and you were taking photos with no film being wound on. You basically sent them an undeveloped roll. Easy fix is to make sure the winding handle turns when you advance the film.

If you mean blank as in black, then it's been exposed to too much light. If the door wasn't shut properly, you'd have noticed, and I'd expect there to be some evidence of an image.
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I'm unsure as I never received anything back, for obvious reasons. What I wrote is what they told me, which implies something went wrong rather than the film not having been loaded properly, but that's definitely something that could have happened. I'll make extra sure next time to check the winding handle when I load the film. I may have been in a rush. Or drunk. Or both.
 
I had a similar situation, and felt deeply uncomfortable about the whole thing. I have shot film (on and off) for most of my life, so doubted I would have misloaded the film AND failed to spot for the entire film. Also they were so quick to refund the money - if I messed up, why would they do that.

Anyhow, it spurred me on to process my own films and scan them at home. No regrets!
 
Boots said:
I had a similar situation, and felt deeply uncomfortable about the whole thing. I have shot film (on and off) for most of my life, so doubted I would have misloaded the film AND failed to spot for the entire film. Also they were so quick to refund the money - if I messed up, why would they do that.

Anyhow, it spurred me on to process my own films and scan them at home. No regrets!
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Yeah they refunded me very quickly, without me asking
 
I used to take my films to a local place for 1 hour D&P. Had a couple of blank films - nothing on them so unexposed and I wasn't charged for the D&P (well, the D, since the operator was half expecting the outcome so halted the run once he could see the negs.) Completely my fault - I'd decided to get them processed since I wasn't sure if they were blank or important and I'd rather have a set of blanks than an important set of shots double exposed. Ever since then, I've either deliberately would all the way back or kinked the leader more than the take-up spool does.
 
1855 said:
I'm unsure as I never received anything back, for obvious reasons. What I wrote is what they told me, which implies something went wrong rather than the film not having been loaded properly, but that's definitely something that could have happened. I'll make extra sure next time to check the winding handle when I load the film. I may have been in a rush. Or drunk. Or both.
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If blank is what they told you, that implies (to me) that there were no photos on it, which is unexposed. If that's the case, they couldn't have messed it up because there's no way (I can think of) that they could "remove" the photos you took and revert it back to being unexposed. Without seeing the negs though it's impossible to know.

I'm not a fan of the way those old cameras "hold" the film while you close the back. Not because they're wrong, but because I fail to get the "knack" of doing it properly. But after having the exact same problem two or three times now, I automatically check the rewind crank to make sure it's turning when I wind on.

Didn't stop me developing an undeveloped roll last week because I thought I'd shot it though.

If you have any doubts though, home developing B&W is very easy and if you have a scanner, recoups the development cost (including the non-consumables) in about 20 rolls of film. Lots of knowledgeable folks here to help you through it if it's a new experience.
 
I used to put the film in , check it was on the sprockets and wind on a turn, then close up, take up slack on rewind and wind on again a shot or two, yes you loose a shot but you can be sure it's engaged and winding.
Fogging a whole film without knowing is not easy, you'd have to open the back at the end of the film (you'd know you did that) or have a big light leak, even the mirror sticking up wont for a whole roll, indeed I've seen people open the back of the camera and still have some shots usable.
As Asha says it's cat sniffing time to me
 
In the last few years I've had a few unexposed rolls and it was user error e.g. not checking rewind knob or for the Canon T70 not checking the "film loaded indicator" which got me thinking AAMOI.....is there a 35mm SLR that doesn't tell you if a film is loaded.
 
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