Help me clear up my first 35mm mistake

[Chiel de Dood]

I just picked up my first developed film roll and it did not turn out great. I shot on 35mm 200 ISO with an old Olympus OM30. The first 5 cm of the negative are pretty much black and the rest is totally blank. Picture here: https://imgshare.io/image/NpHdkQ
I'm thinking I just loaded the roll up into the turning mechanism wrong, is that what this looks like?

 

[neilt3]

That would happen if you didn't load it right .
The first bit of film was exposed to the light when the back was open , every exposure you made was to the same piece if film as it never wound on .

When you load a film , as you start to advance it on ( to get the film counter on number 1 ) , watch the film rewind knob .
It should also be turning when the film is being pulled out of the cassette .
If it doesn't move when you move the film winder lever , nothings coming out and you need to start again .
The other thing to do to check when you think your good to go is to just turn the rewind knob back , once you've taken up the slack in the spool it will stop .
If the leader hadn't been wound onto the take up spool , it will carry on with no tension untill it goes back in the cassette .
( You would feel the film leave the pressure plate so you can stop winding before the film disapeare's back into the cassette .)

The only other reason film comes back like that is if you used a rangefinder camera ( rather than an SLR) and didn't take the lens cap off !

 

[ciniframe]

Yes, you are correct, this film did not transport through the camera.
When you load the camera make sure the take up is moving the film before you close the back. Even then, you can check after the back is closed by gently turning the rewind knob to make sure the film is snug, then as you advance the film observe that the rewind knob is turning every time you advance to the next frame.
The OM 30 is battery dependent so make sure it has fresh batteries and check that the shutter is opening, before loading film.

 

[guangong]

This won’t be the only mistake. Forgetting to readjust shutter and aperture controls, leaving lens cap on (rf camera), and other petty screwups until camera operation becomes pure habit with no thought needed. Initiation ceremony can sometimes be frustrating, but Welcome to the Club!

 

[Hatchetman]

Must be a problem with loading the film as noted. Cock the shutter and fire a couple of times with the back open after you load the film just to make sure you are doing things correctly. In the most modern cameras you just had to set the film in and it would pretty much load by itself. Not so for older cameras.

 

[Huss]

Check YouTube for a video how to load a 35mm film camera. They pretty much are all the same.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Check YouTube for a video how to load a 35mm film camera. They pretty much are all the same.

Very much not the case. I've got 35mm cameras dating from the late 1930s to the 1990s, and they differ wildly on the process and effort to load. However, none are particularly hard to figure out, you just have to pay attention when loading, and advance at least one frame before closing the back (assuming it's not a bottom loader like an older Leica) to be sure the takeup spool has caught the film. There are often arrows, nubs, and such that need to have the right relationship with the film.

 

[Huss]

Very much not the case. I've got 35mm cameras dating from the late 1930s to the 1990s, and they differ wildly on the process and effort to load. However, none are particularly hard to figure out, you just have to pay attention when loading, and advance at least one frame before closing the back (assuming it's not a bottom loader like an older Leica) to be sure the takeup spool has caught the film. There are often arrows, nubs, and such that need to have the right relationship with the film.

The OP has an Olympus OM30. Any 35mm SLR from that era loads the same way. Pretty sure he won't be googling a camera from the 1930s to get hot tips.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The OP has an Olympus OM30. Any 35mm SLR from that era loads the same way. Pretty sure he won't be googling a camera from the 1930s to get hot tips.

But if you google how to load a 35mm you'll get a cross section of SLRs from the 1950s to 1990s, bottom-loading Leicas, preWar Contax clones with homemade takeup spools, quick-loaders -- even Agfa Rapids and Tessinas -- and unless you find your exact model, you're likely to end up much more confused than you were at the start, unless you learned fifty years ago and have loaded dozens of different models of 35mm camera covering a 70 year manufacturing range.

 

[Huss]

But if you google how to load a 35mm you'll get a cross section of SLRs from the 1950s to 1990s, bottom-loading Leicas, preWar Contax clones with homemade takeup spools, quick-loaders -- even Agfa Rapids and Tessinas -- and unless you find your exact model, you're likely to end up much more confused than you were at the start, unless you learned fifty years ago and have loaded dozens of different models of 35mm camera covering a 70 year manufacturing range.

You really think the OP with an 1980s SLR, would pick a video on a bottom loading Barnack etc as the go to from his search results? Give him some credit.

 

[MattKing]

As long as they don't choose a video on loading the Canon FTb-QL.
I think it is fair to add a caution to the OP - look for a camera at least somewhat similar to yours.
Mike Butkus maintains an invaluable website with a whole collection of copies of camera manuals. Here is the page for the OM-30 - if you make use of it, I'd suggest sending him his requested donation: https://butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_om-30/olympus_om-30.htm
There is a really detailed illustration of how to load film.

 

[Autonerd]

When you load the film, be sure to click off and wind one exposure before closing the back to make sure the film is loaded properly. It'll cost you a shot but it's better than the alternative.

Fret not, we've all made this mistake.

Aaron