A big noob in need of a lot of help

Hi everyone,
I received in the mail today a really beautiful analog camera from a friend. It's a Pentax p30. He said in the letter that he had already taken some shots. I'm not sure if this meant all the film or only some as I couldn't take anymore photos. The reader said 36 - which I thought meant I had 36 shots left...I'm not sure.
Anyhow I assumed it was finished as nothing was working to let me take the shots so I tried rewinding it and felt no resistance so assumed he had already rewound it and I opened it up but there was still film there! Have I fucked the whole roll?
Did I actually still have shots left?I'm so confused. Now the reader just says 'S'... What does that mean? What should I do now?
Any help or insight would be very much appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Clueless x

I have a Pentax P30n given to me -- after over 65 years in photography I am not so 'Clueless' so may be able to help !
When you open the back the frame counter spring makes it jump back to 'S' which is 'Start' . You will have not spoilt all the film if most is still inside the film cassette as it in safely in the dark ! However IF the frame counter said '36' then it look as if all the film was OUT of the cassette and wound onto the take-up side and may be 'fogged' to light -- you can get the film 'developed only' if it is a 'Print Film' marked C41 colour OR it may be a 'Slide Film 'marked 'E6 Process' OR it may be a Black and White film -- I'm in England so a few hours away from Sunny Australia so you cannot 'pop round' to my house to show me !
here is MY Pentax P30n ----

I'm not familiar with that particular camera, but usually the counter counts up. It tells you how many photos you have taken - so 36 should mean it's on the 36th frame (on a 36-exposure roll).

I hope you closed the camera right away. You probably lost a few frames when you opened it, but if you closed it right away, the film that was already used may (or may not) be okay. When you advance the film, it is pulled out of the cartridge and wraps around a take-up spool. If the film on the spool was wound tight, and you closed the camera right away, that part of the film might be okay (or might not - depends on how long it was open, how strong the light was when you opened it, etc.).

There is usually a little button on the bottom of the camera that you must hold in as you rewind the film. If there is a little film left in the cartridge, it will wind freely until it is tight - then you will feel resistance. Also, when rewinding with resistance, keep going a bit after you feel no resistance - because resistance will let-up when the last bit of film is free of the take-up spool but not yet all the way into the cartridge.

When you open and close the camera, the counter resets to the beginning. I'm not sure why "S" is used - I interpret it to mean "Start." Also, when you load film, you will have to fire the shutter, wind, and repeat 2 or 3 times before you get to "1." When you load film, a few inches are exposed to light and thus "ruined." So you have to fire a few shots to get past that part to the unexposed film.

I've accidentally opened a couple cameras when there was no resistance - in my case it was because something in the camera was broken. I only lost a couple frames, and not completely. They looked bad, but still had half an image and weird colors ("fogging") on them when developed. Everything on the take-up spool was luckily ok (though I closed the camera as soon as I saw the film was not rewound).

Thanks so much for your help, makes me feel a lot better!
I'm not sure I've rewound the film the whole way and am too scared to open again to check. Is there anyway I can tell? thanks so much again x

pentaxpete said:

I have a Pentax P30n given to me -- after over 65 years in photography I am not so 'Clueless' so may be able to help !
When you open the back the frame counter spring makes it jump back to 'S' which is 'Start' . You will have not spoilt all the film if most is still inside the film cassette as it in safely in the dark ! However IF the frame counter said '36' then it look as if all the film was OUT of the cassette and wound onto the take-up side and may be 'fogged' to light -- you can get the film 'developed only' if it is a 'Print Film' marked C41 colour OR it may be a 'Slide Film 'marked 'E6 Process' OR it may be a Black and White film -- I'm in England so a few hours away from Sunny Australia so you cannot 'pop round' to my house to show me !
here is MY Pentax P30n ----
View attachment 169067

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your insight! Very helpful and knowledgeable . It is a black and white film roll, will that be fine to develop? Also what is now the safest way to know if it's all wind away and safe to take out?
Thanks again so much x

First, I would just gently rewind until you feel some tension, to take up the slack. You don't really have to do this, but I get the impression you are unfamiliar with this kind of camera, so it will help a bit as you learn.

To rewind, first push the button on the bottom of the camera, then flip the crank handle up and rewind. Personally, I hold that little button as I rewind, because sometimes it will pop out and lock again. It's easy enough to push it again, but can get annoying if the camera does this sort of thing.

Most 35mm cameras require you lift the rewind knob to open the camera. If you lift the knob a bit, the shaft won't engage the cartridge and thus you will feel no resistance. So keep the knob down to rewind, then pull it to open (which you obviously already know).

Here's a video of a different model to give the basic idea of that button. I couldn't find one specific to the P30 that showed it in this way.

Something you could do, until you feel confident you know this camera, is to go into a dark closet or room with no windows. Completely dark, no cell phone, no night light, not even a glowing LED on some electronic device - they can all fog the film. Open in complete darkness, and feel to see if the film is still sticking out of the cartridge. You can also do this under a layer of heavy blankets (I'd still turn the lights off). If you know someone who has a changing bag, that would make it easier.

If you are new to film, just ask any questions you have, we'll help. Even learning how to load film can be difficult if you've never seen it done. People who own the same model (like Pentaxpete above) can give you good specifics.

Oh you're a legend! Thanks so much! I think I'm beginning to get a grasp on things haha let's see how I go.
I'll try what you said and hopefully the photos turn out ok.
Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it x

It might be worth downloading the instruction manual from a site called BUTKUS. He asks for a small donation when you do which is how he funds what is a good service for old camera users

pentaxuser

Seeing as you are new to it I would not worry if you ruin the film, a dummy film cassette is a very usefull tool when learing how to load and check cameras,loading reels ect I used dummy roll last when I tried a 35 conversion kit on a Rollei. I buggerd up my first ever 35mm roll in 1977 when I purchased my first ever camera a new Zorki 4K. I have three Pentax SFX range SLRs and I hate the way they automatically rewind the film after 36 shots and pull it fully back into the can, 3 shots lost and then having to retrieve the film leader so I can re-use the film canister.............Ohh and them beeps and whistles and lights..YUK!

And as Pete says which is of more importance is get the manual...................

Don't panic

When starting out with cameras there is a lot to learn, screw ups are normal, everybody makes them!

I am delighted that beginners are still making the same mistakes and overcoming them. Long live film

As staff retires, it is not so easy these days to go to a camera shop and have a young salesperson explain how to load or unload film, etc.

That thing with that counter can even puzzle experienced people.
A counter may run upwards or downwards. But one cannot realize that by just looking at the counter without winding further.
With SLRs with mechanical counters the common thing is counting upwards, that is counting the exposures done.

Close the camera, finish the roll and then get the film developed, enjoy what you have.

Here is a link to a pdf version of the Owners/instruction manual for your camera.
http://foto.aaweb.cz/pdf/camera/pentax/pentax_p30.pdf
Download it, read and study it, play with the camera then ask more questions if needed.

Thank you all for your feedback, it's very helpful! I'm reading the manual now so hopefully I'll start getting the hang of it soon! I managed to remove the film yesterday and am going to get it developed. Let's see what I get!
Thanks again so much x

hi clueless x

goofing up is half the fun !
just wait until you try to develop
some black and white film
and are loading the film reel

looks like with the manual and the posts
from helpful appugers you are off to a good start.

don't forget to have fun!

i'm still goofing up after many years !
john

ps. welcome to apug !

what part of Oz are you in?

I know some Canon's wind the film out on loading then back in as you use it... pretty smart to protect used frames but probably only on motorised cameras I guess.

I find two things let me know when I've rewound, the change in pressure and the noise the film makes coming off the take up spool. When developing 35mm, I prefer to leave the leader out (trim leader straight and initially load into development spool) so I stop rewinding when I feel and hear the film come off the take up spool.

Nige said:

I know some Canon's wind the film out on loading then back in as you use it... pretty smart to protect used frames but probably only on motorised cameras I guess.

Click to expand...

There are manual transport cameras where the take-up chamber is light tight.

In Australia it's normal I hear for the 'Next Door Neighbour' to live an ' Aircraft Ride Away ' !! Here in Little 'ole England we can ' Pop Round' to help people over Tea and Biscuits ! ( Ha Ha !! )