Accidentally exposed film.... :( what to do?

haring · May 5, 2011

Please don't laugh!
I was in the middle of shooting a roll of 220 color film for my kids when I accidentally removed the film back from my MF camera so part of the film has been exposed to light.
My question:
- Should I throw out the whole roll or do you think I can still develop part of the film which hasn't been exposed to light?

vpwphoto · May 5, 2011

Any of the film that was "in" the paper will be ok.

MattKing · May 5, 2011

I'd have it developed. I'd want to make sure that I had a chance to review it first though before asking my lab for prints or scans.

And by the way, very few here are likely to laugh, because unless you have interlocks and they are operating properly, this can be easy to do

mouren · May 5, 2011

I accidentally exposed a roll of film once when I removed the bottom plate off of my Leica, thinking there is no film inside. I put it back on immediately, took me a sec or two to figure out what just happened though. When I developed the film, I only lost about 5 frames that were near the end of the roll. So, I think a large chunk of it should be ok.

pinhole_dreamer · May 5, 2011

I've done that before with a roll that ended up loose on the take up spool using my Brownie box. I got one frame out of it with a lot of burned edges. Looked kinda neat once I developed it, though.

haring · May 5, 2011

MattKing said:
I'd have it developed. I'd want to make sure that I had a chance to review it first though before asking my lab for prints or scans.

And by the way, very few here are likely to laugh, because unless you have interlocks and they are operating properly, this can be easy to do

I feel much better!

Worker 11811 · May 7, 2011

I was shooting pictures of my stepsister's kids that I was planning on using as her wedding gift. I finished the roll (35 mm) and took it out of the camera then promptly dropped it on the sidewalk, causing the bottom to pop off the cartridge. I just stood there and stared... Oh SH--!

I quickly picked up the roll and stuffed it into my pocket, ran into the house, ducked into the bathroom and slammed the door. The cartridge was bent but I did get the ring back on, eventually.

Developed the roll and only about 4 or 5 shots were fogged on the edges. I even ended up using one of the fogged shots in the final project.

Sirius Glass · May 7, 2011

With 120 film, the paper will protect most of the photographs. Since you were using 220 film, you might loose a few more or about the same number. Finish the roll and have it processed. The cost of development will be the same, but if prints are made, you will only be charged for the usable prints.

Steve

2F/2F · May 7, 2011

Don't throw it out. You've probably lost three frames at most (one from direct exposure, and possibly one on either side from bleed-over)

Or did you take the whole insert out of the back? In that case, you've lost a good deal of the roll, as 220 has no backing paper to protect the shots that were already exposed. Might as well process it, though.

haring · May 7, 2011

Thanks!

Newt_on_Swings · May 7, 2011

I had a loose tank lid pop off last week as I was pouring out the last bit of the developer and shaking it to drain. both reels popped out which i promptly slammed back in. the most tentative 7-8 minutes, for stop and fix before i went to frantically check them. all basically fine, maybe the slightest hint of solarization on the end of the top roll.

sometimes its better to know that a whole rolls been messed up instantly, than realize a few days later there was a light leak and all your film was streaked.

Accidentally exposed film.... :( what to do?

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