Anyway to check if film is exposed?

[GSiGuy]

I think i may have not loaded my film properly on a 35mm camera and it slipped off the take up spool. This was not known to me and i just kept shooting until the end of 36 exposures. Then it just kept allowing me to wind and that was when i suspected it never did take up on the spool. As i wasn't sure, i rewinded the entire film back into the canister roll.

My questions now are:-

(1) Can a developer check to see if the film had been exposed or not?
(2) If not, can they save the film and allow me to reuse it?

Thanks!

 

[catchlights]

no, you can't tell whether is a film being exposed, unless process it.

a roll of film does not cost much, don't waste your time and effort unless you are very certain how many frames already being exposed than you able to reload it.
and don't try your luck, you may ruin the exposed shots.

 

[oceanpriest]

try this one

[youtube]Uc00ULY7cYU[/youtube]

 

[bonrya]

I did that once. The kind people only charged me for the ones that came out fine. not in Singapore though unfortunately.

 

[azzurri]

you were not able to rewind at exposure 36 or at the end of the counter? if it was at 36, it is likely that the film was exposed. if it was not spooled properly, you would had been able to shoot right to the end of the counter and not stop at 36

 

[bonrya]

If it was manual windback, I would wind to the edge of the film, reset the film in the spool and shoot another 36. :bsmilie: if the first set was not exposed at all, at least you have one new set without wasting one roll. If not, then you have double exposure magic! :bsmilie: win-win situation. Kekeke..

Maybe it's possible huh?

 

[GSiGuy]

you were not able to rewind at exposure 36 or at the end of the counter? if it was at 36, it is likely that the film was exposed. if it was not spooled properly, you would had been able to shoot right to the end of the counter and not stop at 36

you know how the film advance lever will not crank any further when you hit 36 exposures (or maybe slightly more)? well mine just kept advancing beyond that so i knew i had a problem. so i manually rewound the film back (without pressing the release button) to see if it would tighten up the film or just rewind. when i did that, there was an initial stiffness and then it just allowed me to rewind the film very smoothly. i take this as the film losing grip with the spool at some point in time. where that point is and how many were exposed is of course unknown now.

 

[GSiGuy]

try this one

[youtube]Uc00ULY7cYU[/youtube]

you certainly are a font of useful information, my friend!

i would do that if i was sure none of the film was exposed. but i am unsure at the moment...

 

[virtualme78]

This is what happened to me when i first borrowed a fren's nikon slr to shoot. I didn't load the film properly and totally wasted the whole roll of film. Only the first few frames were exposed to light (the length you pulled when u load the film) the rest are basically not exposed. If you really wanna try, you can extract the film lead using the above method and shoot again.

 

[azzurri]

you know how the film advance lever will not crank any further when you hit 36 exposures (or maybe slightly more)? well mine just kept advancing beyond that so i knew i had a problem. so i manually rewound the film back (without pressing the release button) to see if it would tighten up the film or just rewind. when i did that, there was an initial stiffness and then it just allowed me to rewind the film very smoothly. i take this as the film losing grip with the spool at some point in time. where that point is and how many were exposed is of course unknown now.

my guess is either the entire roll or the majority had not been exposed. no harm shooting that roll again

 

[anuar ahmad]

if its properly loaded...the first thing to do is to see if the rewind crank/knob moves when you advance the film.
Some camera model have a safe load indicator such as those electronic motorised models.

For manual cameras...
you can "feel" the film being rewound...typically 3 different resistances that i can think of if rewinding is done manually.
1. Highest - still on the take-up spool
2. At little loose - film has detached from take-up spool but still held by the film pressure plate and film rails momentarily after which if rewound further...
3. Loose - film is already in the film canister...totally.

It has been a habit for me to bend the leading edge outward before slotting into the take-up spool as it makes film loading easier.
The bent leading edge gives an audible "TAP" against the film back when it is detached from the take-up spool while rewinding.
It will "clicks" intermittenly if you continue rewinding when it is already in the film canister.

For your case...i believe you can still load it and give a good 3 - 4 frames or more "blank" shots before you can confidently expose the film if you managed to pull the leading edge out.

BTW...depending on the type/brand of film, you can sometime get 37 - 38 frames if you can load without too much film on the take-up spool before closing the film back.

 

[GSiGuy]

if its properly loaded...the first thing to do is to see if the rewind crank/knob moves when you advance the film.
Some camera model have a safe load indicator such as those electronic motorised models.

For manual cameras...
you can "feel" the film being rewound...typically 3 different resistances that i can think of if rewinding is done manually.
1. Highest - still on the take-up spool
2. At little loose - film has detached from take-up spool but still held by the film pressure plate and film rails momentarily after which if rewound further...
3. Loose - film is already in the film canister...totally.

It has been a habit for me to bend the leading edge outward before slotting into the take-up spool as it makes film loading easier.
The bent leading edge gives an audible "TAP" against the film back when it is detached from the take-up spool while rewinding.
It will "clicks" intermittenly if you continue rewinding when it is already in the film canister.

For your case...i believe you can still load it and give a good 3 - 4 frames or more "blank" shots before you can confidently expose the film if you managed to pull the leading edge out.

BTW...depending on the type/brand of film, you can sometime get 37 - 38 frames if you can load without too much film on the take-up spool before closing the film back.

Yeah i'm beginning to think that IF i can pull out the film via Oceanpriest's youtube method, then i would shoot a few "blanks" then use the rest of the film.

I'm inclined to do this now cos it's most likely the first few frames were exposed based on what i experienced and based on what you all have told me.

Thank you all, for all the helpful suggestions!