At 04:07 AM 6/30/03, Johnie wrote:
>>> On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 00:56:37 -0700, "Richard F. Man"
<richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:
rfm> At 09:43 PM 6/29/2003 -1000, Daniel wrote:
>> This year I'm up to some 30 rolls of film but embarrassing I have
>> shot 3 BLANK rolls of film :( I swear I can tell the different
>> between an empty winding of the film to an empty one. Dumb
>> question; how can I be sure I have film in the camera after losing
>> track sometimes?
>> Dan
rfm> Spin the crank. No film and there won't be any tension.
rfm> Lose a few more rolls and you won't forget :-)
That was going to be my suggestion.
Mine also! Several things I do rigorously now:
(1) Spin takeup crank several revolutions *without* rewind lever/button
engaged *before* opening a camera back. Ensures it's empty!
(2) On loading I ensure the takeup has engaged a sprocket hole by
tightening it slightly.
(3) After closing the back I tension up the takeup crank slightly and
watch for it to turn as I'm winding on to frame number 1. If it doesn't
turn, I rewind the film until I feel it just pull off the spool and reload.
(4) Every half-dozen frames or so I will check to ensure the crank is
still spinning. Not always possible if things are happening very quickly.
I lost about 800f a roll of film when the leader slipped off of the
takeup and only shot six frames at the beginning after the sprockets drove
enough film into the takeup side to stop its continued winding. The
seventh frame had the other thirty exposures on it. Only happened once,
but it was at a wedding . . . fortunately one I was "double
shooting." Nothing cricital was lost . . . but there were some great
candids on the 30 frames.
Lately I've caught myself not checking all the settings during quick
reloads under time pressure . . . shutter speed, lens aperture, etc., and
*must* get back into the habit of doing this every time, without
fail. Same applies when I pick one up again with on-camera flash after
setting it down and this includes flash settings . . . even if it was only
for a few seconds. I've gotten very rigorous in doing this when corded to
monolights.
The consequence of not doing these types of checks can result in what
Johnie went through. Lost almost a dozen frames in the middle of a roll on
an M645 when the shutter speed dial on top of the prism accidentally got
turned to 1/125th during handling when using it corded to monolights . . .
X-sync is 1/60th . . . at least that's the best I've been able to sort
out. Whatever went awry occurred in the middle of a 220 roll (30 frames) .
. . and thorough testing of the flash sync at 1/60th has all but ruled out
an intermittent problem in the body or prism.
Burn enough film and things will happen. If there isn't rigorous
discipline with checking everything when picking it up, setting it down,
and during use, it won't be caught until it's too late. If something is
discovered later after doing critical work . . . e.g., during film
unloading or when putting the gear away . . . it can be the direct cause of
insomnia until the film is developed.
-- John
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