101 ways to ruin a roll of film

Strappy said:
BTW, the Portra was in a folder that's going in the Classifieds soon. I'd forgotten all about it but don't think there's anything important on there so I thought it'd be worth using it up and developing as B&W to see how it comes out.
Click to expand...

Badly, is the answer to that question. All the shots were very murky and I couldn't recover much detail except in one taken indoors at a pub, which was a bad shot anyway. Probably wasn't helped by my inspection of the camera showing a number of pinholes in the bellows, though I didn't appear to get much fogging on the film so maybe it's only the start of a downward trend for that camera. It was going to be sold anyway but now it's as a shelf ornament instead of a camera. Shame as the shutter seems to be working fine.

C'est l'arte, as I've never heard anyone say.
 
Strappy said:
Badly, is the answer to that question. All the shots were very murky and I couldn't recover much detail except in one taken indoors at a pub, which was a bad shot anyway. Probably wasn't helped by my inspection of the camera showing a number of pinholes in the bellows, though I didn't appear to get much fogging on the film so maybe it's only the start of a downward trend for that camera. It was going to be sold anyway but now it's as a shelf ornament instead of a camera. Shame as the shutter seems to be working fine.

C'est l'arte, as I've never heard anyone say.
Click to expand...

What camera is it Dean?


SHUT UP STEVEN YOU DON'T USE THE ONES YOU'VE GOT!
 
steveo_mcg said:
What camera is it Dean?
Click to expand...
It's one that I've got but never use. :whistle:

Agfa Isolette II, 6x6 folder that was one of my first purchases from the forum classifieds and my first foray into medium format. Ultimately it's responsible for my Hassleblad habit but in a good way. The film that came out included a couple of shots I remember from when I took my photo for the last postcard challenge, that's how long it'd been since I last used it!


Agfa Isolette II by Strappy, on Flickr
 
I've got two Ikonta that are seriously under utilised, the super Ikonta needs a little remedial work though. I was thinking if the bellows were shot then the shutter/lens assembly could be handy and I fancy making a MF Pinhole to never use too.
 
I like your thinking. There's no better way to remedy not using cameras you own than buying another camera to not use ;0)
 
Had a struggle like that with a rangefinder once, too!
 
Got the results back from the hi matic. Definitely a way for me to ruin much of a roll. Even worse at focussing that than I am the rolleiflex. All perfectly exposed as well. Humph.
 
srichards said:
Got the results back from the hi matic. Definitely a way for me to ruin much of a roll. Even worse at focussing that than I am the rolleiflex. All perfectly exposed as well. Humph.
Click to expand...

Which model Hi-Matic is it? I'm planning on running a roll through mine (a G2) soon. It's zone focussing, so hopefully I'll get similar results to what I get from my Trip 35.
 
FishyFish said:
Which model Hi-Matic is it? I'm planning on running a roll through mine (a G2) soon. It's zone focussing, so hopefully I'll get similar results to what I get from my Trip 35.
Click to expand...

Trip is much easier to use. I got better results with it. I really struggle with the range finder. It's the hi-matic E. Exposure is bob on though. I will try 400 speed next. I do want to get the hang of it as it's easy to leave the leader out so I might be able to do some B & W developing myself.

For some reason I keep thinking one of the compacts I has ISO 1600 on the dial. Checked them all and the best is 500!
 
Last edited:
H'mm if the camera doesn't wind on after each shot we all know you get this, but I was thinking there is at least three shots on this frame so why isn't the neg so dense that it would be unprintable.
 
excalibur2 said:
H'mm if the camera doesn't wind on after each shot we all know you get this, but I was thinking there is at least three shots on this frame so why isn't the neg so dense that it would be unprintable.
Click to expand...
It's the wide latitude of print film, brilliant for doing multiple exposure shots. Not so easy withVelvia.
 
RaglanSurf said:
It's the wide latitude of print film, brilliant for doing multiple exposure shots. Not so easy withVelvia.
Click to expand...

Well a possible explaination is the first shot was correctly exposed, and the other two on top of it were well under exposed...except I don't usually make a mistake with exposures and even more odd in the shot below :- the cars have obliterated a part of top half of the frame, but fades and the trees come through in the bottom half and the third shot doesn't get much of a look in :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
I killed two rolls of film this weekend - both trying to get them onto the spool in the dark tent. Both 120, one neopan 400 and one delta 400. Was a very, very annoyed bunny at the end of it. Don't know what happened - I tried 3 different spools, dried the spools first and they just refused to go on to the point where my hands were sweaty and then the rolls started to stick to themselves. A roll of Acros in 120 and an FP4 in 35mm were salvaged.
 
Cuchulainn said:
I killed two rolls of film this weekend - both trying to get them onto the spool in the dark tent. Both 120, one neopan 400 and one delta 400. Was a very, very annoyed bunny at the end of it. Don't know what happened - I tried 3 different spools, dried the spools first and they just refused to go on to the point where my hands were sweaty and then the rolls started to stick to themselves. A roll of Acros in 120 and an FP4 in 35mm were salvaged.
Click to expand...

Its strange how every now and again this happens, you can load 20 in row with no problem then suddenly a couple won't go on. I had a similar problem a few months ago, just couldn't get the bloody roll onto the spool and ended up sweating so much that I gave up. Very frustrating.
 
The spool issue is why I like the idea of the rondinax. No sweaty mitts to ruin the film!
 
Andysnap said:
Its strange how every now and again this happens, you can load 20 in row with no problem then suddenly a couple won't go on. I had a similar problem a few months ago, just couldn't get the bloody roll onto the spool and ended up sweating so much that I gave up. Very frustrating.
Click to expand...

srichards said:
The spool issue is why I like the idea of the rondinax. No sweaty mitts to ruin the film!
Click to expand...

I'm solving the issue by swapping my spools for the kaiser style ones - I find them easier to load 120 on due to the large supports at the entrance to the spool. The standard AP spools are fine for me with 35mm though.
 
Andysnap said:
Its strange how every now and again this happens, you can load 20 in row with no problem then suddenly a couple won't go on. I had a similar problem a few months ago, just couldn't get the bloody roll onto the spool and ended up sweating so much that I gave up. Very frustrating.
Click to expand...

I went to the Paterson stand at The Photography Show, and they demonstrated a System 4 2-reel tank to me. It took two of them in the light to actually assemble the tank even without a threaded film, let alone in a dark bag. I was VERY under-whelmed. Thinking harder about that new daylight tank now!
 
Just unloaded a roll of film from the Pentax LX, and realised I've shot the entire roll with the shutter speed at 1/2000 rather than A!:(:eek: Turned it to a fixed speed for those first couple of wasted shots, forgot to turn it back. Not sure it's even worth sending in... but I probably will.
 
ChrisR said:
Just unloaded a roll of film from the Pentax LX, and realised I've shot the entire roll with the shutter speed at 1/2000 rather than A!:(:eek: Turned it to a fixed speed for those first couple of wasted shots, forgot to turn it back. Not sure it's even worth sending in... but I probably will.
Click to expand...

:(

Canon realised this could happen so on the T70 and T90 you could set SS (safety shift) where the camera would shift the speed down for correct exposure....in theory you could set your camera say @ f5.6 and 1/250 from sunrise to sunset and in theory get perfect exposures.
 
ChrisR said:
Just unloaded a roll of film from the Pentax LX, and realised I've shot the entire roll with the shutter speed at 1/2000 rather than A!:(:eek: Turned it to a fixed speed for those first couple of wasted shots, forgot to turn it back. Not sure it's even worth sending in... but I probably will.
Click to expand...
:facepalm: Why not try asking the lab to push it about 3 or 4 stops, or try that stand development alchemy thing? :)
 
I ruined a roll recently by putting it through a Konica Pop. Luckily it was only a Poundland Special!
 
mothdust said:
I ruined a roll recently by putting it through a Konica Pop. Luckily it was only a Poundland Special!
Click to expand...

What went wrong there then? I recently put a roll of Agfa through my broken Konica Pop and got some decent results - the only real issue was my misjudging Sunny 16 conditions for some shots and them being a little underexposed as a result.
 
FishyFish said:
What went wrong there then? I recently put a roll of Agfa through my broken Konica Pop and got some decent results - the only real issue was my misjudging Sunny 16 conditions for some shots and them being a little underexposed as a result.
Click to expand...
By the looks of it, every frame was over-exposed. Shame, but I'm not cut up - it's mostly been a pretty thing on a shelf for a while, and that's where it shall return!
 
mothdust said:
By the looks of it, every frame was over-exposed. Shame, but I'm not cut up - it's mostly been a pretty thing on a shelf for a while, and that's where it shall return!
Click to expand...

I discovered that you can manually set the aperture with it (the electrics on mine are fried) by a combination of the ASA setting and the flash being popped up or not. Should you ever fancy trying it out in 'manual' mode, the settings are:

ASA 400 & Flash Down = f/16
ASA 200 & Flash Down = f/11
ASA 100 & Flash Down = f/8
ASA 200 & Flash Up = f/5.6
ASA 100 & Flash Up = f/4

The shutter speed is fixed at 1/125sec and the lens is fixed focus at around 9 feet, so you can work out some rough Sunny 16 settings & depth of field guides to shoot with. It's probably much simpler to just use a better, working camera, but where's the fun in that? :)
 
I took the roll of FP4 out of my Bronica ETRs and discovered it had morphed into Fuji colour film and 400 ISO. It is currently with Snappy Snaps and I shall find out how ruined it is on Saturday.
 
john.margetts said:
I took the roll of FP4 out of my Bronica ETRs and discovered it had morphed into Fuji colour film and 400 ISO. It is currently with Snappy Snaps and I shall find out how ruined it is on Saturday.
Click to expand...

I think it will be fine. Apparently colour negative film can easily handle that level of overexposure.
 
Robclarke said:
I think it will be fine. Apparently colour negative film can easily handle that level of overexposure.
Click to expand...
But all my nicely selected monochrome images will have nasty colour in them!
 
Mr Badger said:
:facepalm: Why not try asking the lab to push it about 3 or 4 stops, or try that stand development alchemy thing? :)
Click to expand...

I sent the film in with a few others, to Filmdev, asking for small scans. I explained the variable under-exposure. They asked if I wanted it pushed, and we decided on 3 stops; they do up to 3 stops for no extra charge. Just had a look and a good part of the roll has come out rather well. At least one of the frames that is still seriously under-exposed looks quite good too (for my shots!): dark with a few lighter areas with bluebells.
 
Not long had a Leica IIIA from Collectable Cameras, serviced in fact, with a 50mm Elmar. I got it for my 70th birthday. I ran a couple of cheap colour negative films through and everything worked fine except when my eyebrows caught the shutter speed dial.or I set the shutter speed before winding on. I decided to take it to a friends wedding for some outdoor shots, not as the principal photographer, thank goodness. When the pictures came back most shots showed the image of a bit of film which had got stuck between the shutter blinds. In the worst case, like this...
1293_010 copy.jpg
Now I know that this shot wasn't ever going to be a keeper but it does illustrate the point.

After I got the films back I had a look at the shutter and removed a fragment of film very carefully with tweezers. Good job it didn't get into the shutter mechanism I suppose, at least I hope.

Just to be clear, I did trim the film correctly. What I must have done wrong is to push the end of one of the previous films into the take-up spool too hard so that, when I rewound the film into the cassette, a bit snapped off. Rewinding into the cassette maybe isn't a good idea with this camera/spool combination. Subsequently I have read that on the internet.

I was so confident that the camera was working I took it on holiday in April. Same problem again but not quite as severe.

Now you might ask why I didn't discover much later that something was amiss. I was just being parsimonious and waiting until I had lots of films to send of for processing so I paid as little as possible for return postage.

Nothing wrong with the camera as it came from Collectable Cameras by the way, you can't criticise the service and quality of the stuff from there, the first couple of films were great apart from the eyebrow and shutter speed setting problem (missed frames).

So, finally, I have run another film through at a variety of shutter speeds to see if the curtains are damaged or whatever. I'm hoping not.
 
There are sooo many ways to knacker up a film.

Today I went the simple route. I got so fed up with trying to load a roll of 120 onto a spool that I opened the changing bag and threw it in the bin, sorted. :) I was already in a bad mood because I decided to dev my last 2 shots of 5x4 from Cornwall and I also decided to use fresh chemicals. Bleach, fix and stabiliser are fine but the developer has turned into a gloopy black mess. :mad:

I hate photography. :banghead:
 
I've had similar recently, Andy - I spend freakin' AGES trying to get a simple roll of 35mm onto a spool. The same spool I've used so many times before. Why are these things sent to test us?!
 
We all have setbacks and runs of bad luck, so much so that I'm sure that's why things like bacon, chocolate, ice cream, wine, beer and whisky (delete as applicable) were invented! So just look those beautiful feats of mechanical engineering in the eye, load up another roll of film, and say to yourself 'bugger it; nothing ventured, nothing gained!'. (y)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top