Camera "gotchas"

[Kino]

Love my Konica IIIA, but I always seem to forget to rotate the camera door latch from "O" to "C" after loading. Happened to me again; was out this weekend, walking around an outdoor mall in Charlottesville, Virginia. We went there ostensibly for a meal at a good restaurant and just to get out of the house. Took the Konica as it looked lonely on the shelf, quickly loaded it and headed out the door. At the mall, I grabbed about five shots before it started to rain, so we headed to the restaurant and got a table. I would have paid good money to have a video of my face when I carefully sat the camera on the table and the back popped-open as pretty as you please, exposing all my previous shots to broad daylight. I have to put a tag on this camera to remind me to check the door latch after loading.

My other "gotcha" is the placement of the shutter release on the Kowa 6. It's just in the natural place to grab the camera body when you pick it up, so I have quite a collection of blurred shots of my shoes and diembodied legs. Have to find a later hand grip for the later Kowa 6 versions that physically blocks the release and prevents accidental tripping of the shutter. Locking and unlocking the shutter release ring is cumbersome and a pain...

What are your camera-specific "gotchas"?

 

[BrianShaw]

Always a fun topic!

The biggest gottcha for me is remembering which way the film goes on the take up spool in a Kodak Retina. After decades of the Nikon “underhand” spooling it’s become second nature which, of course, I apply too often to the Retina’s “overhand” spooling. Should be simple to remember but…

 

[AnselMortensen]

The two-stage film door lock on my Canon P always trips me up.

My large-format Wollensak shutters require a long-throw cable release...which guarantees that I try to use a short-throw one first.

 

[bdial]

loading a Rolleiflex with the automatic film sensing bites you if you forget to feed the film under the roller. Close the back, and start winding, then wind some more, realizing what you did, and the only choice is to keep going to the end of the roll.

 

[GRHazelton]

I've also done the Konica IIIa "surprise"! No fun at all.

 

[SchwinnParamount]

I will be taking delivery of a IIIa tomorrow so will take note of the "Konica IIIa surprise" and your reaction to the surprise.

I've also done the Konica IIIa "surprise"! No fun at all.

 

[GRHazelton]

Fortunately I have the "everready" case for my Konica IIIa, so I have some hope of averting the dreaded flying open back, if I remember to put the camera in the case, which is dreadful condition, indicating that it has done its job of protecting the camera. Enjoy your IIIa! It is a marvelous machine.

 

[Cholentpot]

Argus C3. The shutter cocking lever always hits my fingers on the way up.

 

[Donald Qualls]

My Welta Weltini II (35 mm folder;, ca. 1941) has a couple gotchas. First, the bed latch is right next to the film advance release on the bottom of the body, meaning about half the time when I want to open the lens I wind up releasing the advance (not a huge problem, it won't go anywhere without prompting). Second, there are three protrusions on the side of the lens: the focus knob, retrofitted flash sync socket (which seems to have replaced the cable release socket, which I'd get a lot more use out of), and something else (don't have the camera with me at the moment) -- of which only the focus knob will move and focus the lens. Third, the bed can't be folded with the shutter cocked, or you'll bend over the cocking level if you aren't quite gentle.

Also, the camera is prone to popping open if carried in a pocket (which can make it very interesting to either reclose or work out of the pocket). And if that doesn't happen, the shutter release on the body can get depressed enough to trigger the double exposure lock, leading to a blank frame.

Finally, the rewind is a knob, rather than a crank, and it takes forever to rewind 36 exposures, leading me to open the camera back before all the film is back in the cassette on more than one occasion...

Still my favorite EDC camera, though -- small as a Rollei 35, doesn't need a separate lens cap (because it's a folder), and the Xenon f/2 lens is the best I've ever seen on a folding camera.

 

[cowanw]

My glitch was always forgetting to set the Maximum aperture when I changed lenses on a Topcon Unirex

 

[Donald Qualls]

My glitch was always forgetting to set the Maximum aperture when I changed lenses on a Topcon Unirex

Nikkormats (and presumably Nikons) before AI had that, too.

 

[c41]

The Hasselblad shutter press -> dark slide removal is a well trodden path. I know I've walked it many times anyhow.

 

[Disconnekt]

When shooting rerolled 120 film onto 620 spools in my Kodak Monitor 620, all the horizontal shots are upside down because like a good chunk of folding cameras, the film goes from right to left

 

[ant!]

When using (Kodak) 220 film, aligning the start mark to the first dotted line instead of the correct start line a bit after that... Ok, probably that will not happen again now.

With non-auto lenses on the Praktina, forgetting to stop down the lens after focusing (not an issue with the non-SLR cameras, bit of course I tend to focus with an SLR wide open...). And of course this is not related to this camera, but every lens before (semi-)auto became the norm.

In my really early days with manual film cameras (after started young with AF): rewinding without pressing the film release knob.

Still happening: Messing up to have the 35mm film correctly inserted in the spool and realizing this late in what I though is mid roll. Happened last on the Canon Demi EE17, and of course on a halfframe even with a 24exp film it takes a while to realize that this film is unusual long. Should look more on the turning rewind crank when advancing...

 

[bluechromis]

Speed Graphic: thinking you have the leaf shutter enabled, but you really have the focal plane shutter enabled, resulting in unexposed images. (Using rangefinder) You'd think I could tell the difference in the sound of the shutter, but there's a learning curve with a Speed. There is also remembering to open and close the film holder's dark slide at the right time.

 

[loccdor]

I ruined most of a trip's photos with a Canon T90 by not remembering that the lens needed to be set to Automatic when I was using the dial on the camera to set the aperture in Av mode. I had just taken a 10 year break from photography and was pretty rusty. Everything got shot wide open but exposed for the camera's set aperture, so almost everything overexposed and soft. Rest in peace to 200 pictures.

Could have been prevented if I did a test without film and watched the aperture, something you should do with old lenses anyway, to see if the aperture mechanism hasn't failed.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The Hasselblad shutter press -> dark slide removal is a well trodden path.

RB67 has a lockout for that, at least as long as body and film back are Mamiya made and ProS or newer. If you're using older pieces, on the other hand, or other brand film backs...

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

The Nikon FM(2)'s shutter lock mechanism being integrated into the advance lever... is that ever annoying. It gives me a trite excuse to use a Nikkormat or FG-20 instead and so adds some utility to those bodies.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Graflex: Open lens shutter to use the focal plane shutter, pull the dark slide, cock the focal plane shutter -- @XXCT@#@@@!!!!!!

 

[ic-racer]

Argus C3. The shutter cocking lever always hits my fingers on the way up.

 

[ic-racer]

Kino would know...there are hundreds of things that can go wrong here...
I think the most common error is the focusing lens (upper) is not the one that takes the movie. The taking lens is the middle one.
Then the aperture has to be set based on a shutter speed 2.5 times the filming speed.
The viewfinder needs to be set for the same focal length as the taking lens.
The parallax knob on the viewfinder needs to be set the same as the lens distance indicator.
Oh, did the subject move...start over...

 

[Sirius Glass]

Kino would know...there are hundreds of things that can go wrong here...
I think the most common error is the focusing lens (upper) is not the one that takes the movie. The taking lens is the middle one.
Then the aperture has to be set based on a shutter speed 2.5 times the filming speed.
The viewfinder needs to be set for the same focal length as the taking lens.
The parallax knob on the viewfinder needs to be set the same as the lens distance indicator.
Oh, did the subject move...start over...
View attachment 364212

What about leaving the lens cap screwed on to the middle lens as in this above photograph?

 

[Cholentpot]

View attachment 364211

Right. So I have one of my arguseseses in my hands now. How do you flip the switch?

 

[ic-racer]

What about leaving the lens cap screwed on to the middle lens as in this above photograph?

Yes that too!

However, that picture is the 'storage' position as I only have one cap. Those three Kern Switars in D mount are somewhat rare, most dual 8 Bolex were sold with the the 3-element Kern Yvar lenses, which take a smaller cap (see below).
The Switar lenses on my camera are 6 and ten element. Yes that f0.9 12mm Switar with the cap is ten element!
I have been looking for years for a cap for the 36mm Switar. Even considering buying another lens just for the cap and selling the lens.
Also, all the C mount lenses for the 16mm cameras use a bigger cap that won't fit.

 

[ic-racer]

Right. So I have one of my arguseseses in my hands now. How do you flip the switch?

There should be a locknut under the lever so you can loosen that, put the lever where you want it, and re-tighten the nut. You will need a very thin open end SAE wrench. Oh yes, the threads are reversed!