Source
r/AnalogCommunity•
PinkClubCs

Got my film developed and the roll had no images on it. Im not sure why. More info in post.

General Advice

I found my granddad's old camera recently. When I found it I tested it by dry firing it at different shutter speeds and all seemed to be working fine. The curtain moved out of the way and then back into the way like normal and the different shutter speeds sounded audibly longer/shorter as i cycled through them.

After my tests I was excited and went out and bought the cheapest film my camera shop had to test for light leaks etc before doing any serious shooting.

The roll came back empty. Ive never had this happen before. The negative strip is entirely empty apart from one blob of slightly darker colour. Link to photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/22sSb08

Camera: Pentax spotmatic Lense: Super-Takumar 1.8 55mm Film: kentmere pan 400 b&w

I'd love to get shooting with my granddad's camera and any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. I'm at a loss here.

Posted Feb 6, 2019, 4:45 PM UTC · edited

215
baconbitesx•

Was it definitely correctly wound on? I've had this mistake a few times where the film sounded as if it was in correctly but had never properly wound on. It's frustrating I know :(

EDIT: One way to tell if this happened is when it was being wound back after shooting all the images - did it feel easy to wind without any slight pressure?

7
PinkClubCsOP•

I believe so. It was trickier to load than my other camera so I actually held it onto the take-up spool and wound the lever once or twice until I saw the film wrap around, then closed the back and went shooting.

Im not sure on the film rewind, it felt easier than my other camera but since this is the first roll I've shot on this camera and I've only ever used my other camera I don't know if the difference was because of the cameras or not.

Edit: the film leader did go back insid the film cannister like the other rolls I've shot in the past. Would this still happen if the roll wasn't correctly loaded?

1
baconbitesx•

Hmmm that does sound ok then... That's the only thing I can think of personally if you've already tested the shutter! unless the whole roll got exposed to light accidentally before being processed in the chemicals but I think that's highly unlikely if you went to a professional developers!

2
PinkClubCsOP•

Yeah I went to my local shop for development and they've been doing this since before I was born so I doubt they made a mistake. I've never had any issues developing there in the past.

It must be what you said, I'll try to be more careful in future when I'm loading. My canonet has an arm thingy that comes down and helps clamp the film in place so it's quite likely I learned bad technique when I first got into film and the film didn't catch properly as a result. I normally don't wind,shoot,wind,shoot at the start of the roll like I've seen others do. Normally I'll shoot them as if they were exposures so it's possible that this camera is less forgiving for such things.

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baconbitesx•

unless the mechanism to wind on the film failed... also had that happen to me before?

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PinkClubCsOP•

If I open the back and wind the camera, the take-up spool rotates like I'd expect. I think it may have been the first thing you said because I do remember thinking that the film was very easy to unwind. At the time I thought it was the camera but in hindsight it might not have been properly loaded.

2
baconbitesx•

Ahh okay :) I would definitely recommend the wind shoot wind shoot like you were saying, I started doing it after this happened to me before and it helped! Sometimes the film likes to be pesky and slide out

2
KingOfTheP4s•

Does the shutter work?

3
PinkClubCsOP•

Yep best I can tell it works fine. If I open up the back the curtain is closed, I wind the lever then I press the shutter and the curtain flickers open and closed. At different shutter speeds it sounds faster/slower although I've no real way of measuring to make sure but it's definitely firing.

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KingOfTheP4s•

Does the mirror lift up when the shutter is open? (Can you see all the way through the camera and out the lens)

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PinkClubCsOP•

Yep I can see through after I press the shutter button.

1
abrownpearn•

A few things to check for:

With the back open and the camera pointing at a bright light, try firing the shutter at a few different speeds. You should see the light coming through as the shutter opens. I have had cameras where one or both of the curtains where not traveling properly, so certain shutter speeds would allow no light through.

​

Check the sprocket holes along the entire role. See if there are any tears between sprocket holes. This would indicate that the film was somehow stuck on the canister side. I have a camera where, if the tension is too high, will just tear out the sprocket holes and prevent the film from actually advancing.

​

If all of that checks out, try another role. Double check that it is loaded properly. Things to look for: the film should spool around the take-up with a few dry advances of the shutter, and the sprockets should be aligned with the holes on the film.

Make sure the rewind knob spins as you advance the film. It won't necessarily spin a full rotation, but it should show some amount of movement.

3
PinkClubCsOP•

Hey thanks for the response! In order of your pointers:

Light passes through at all shutter speeds. I can see straight through the lense from the back of the camera after I depress the shutter. The shutter also seems to stay open for different durations as expected. I tested all shutter speeds.

I can't see any tears in the sprocket holes of the film.

I'm going to try another roll, I think I misloaded it as the camera is new to me. I'll be extra careful when loading it next time and make sure to dry fire it a few times.

1
DartzIRL•

Is the lens stopping down to the right aperture, or is it doing something else?

How'd you actually meter the shot? Or is the meter correctly calibrated?

2
PinkClubCsOP•

Yep the aperture blades expand/contract as I would expect.

I shoot fully manual and meter by eye. It's not exact but for black and white it does the trick. None of the negatives were exposed at all so I think the film didn't catch properly on the take-up spool.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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