How to test multiple cameras with 1 roll of film?

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

I recently picked up an old SLR. From past transgressions with digital equipment, this is likely not going to be my only film body.

I'd like to test each body for potential problems. Things such as incorrect shutter speeds, light leaks, improper film advance, etc.

To avoid wasting film and processing, I was thinking of maybe firing off like 5 shots with the 1st camera and then 5 with the next, etc. Each shot would be with different shutter speeds, spread out within the range.

The question is how to transfer the film between cameras? I was thinking: take 5 shots with 1st camera, take the camera into a totally dark place, open up the back and remove the film without rolling it all back into the cartridge, then roll it back by hand, leaving the leader out. Then I'd place the film into 2nd camera and, in the same dark room or maybe with the lens cap on if outside, shoot 5 shots to get it back to the point of fresh film and then carry on with the 5 actual test shots. Repeat the concept for a 3rd camera, and so on.

Let me know if this is not workable or if there is a better way.

Related question: how can I tell from the developed film what a light leak looks like? And how should I test a camera for this problem?

Is there anything else I should test a camera for?

Arvee · Mar 6, 2020

I can test three cameras with a 36X roll: camera #1: load, advance to #1, shoot 10X, rewind until I feel leader let go,
camera #2: repeat loading procedure, advance to #1, install lens cap/thumb over viewfinder, advance to #12, remove lens cap, shoot 10X, rewind until I feel leader let go,
camera #3: repeat loading procedure, advance to #1, install lens cap/thumb over viewfinder, advance to #24, remove lens cap, shoot10X, rewind until I feel leader let go.

if your cameras do not have manual rewind, e.g., auto rewind completely into cannister, customize menu to leave leader out...if not possible, you're outa luck!

You'll have no problem recognizing a light leak, I guarantee!

Luckless · Mar 6, 2020

Be wary of running yourself into false economies trying to save film while testing. Sure it is fine if everything goes well and there aren't any problems with any of the cameras, but consider what happens if one of the cameras you've tested has a fault such as a light leak...

You easily find yourself right back at square one as far as testing goes, only you know at least one of the cameras has a critical fault, but you might not readily tell which camera had the critical fault... Not to mention the fun of tracking down light leaks in two of the cameras...

For 135 film, consider testing on short rolls, but still only testing the roll in one camera. You don't even really need a full bulk roll, just the extra film cartridges so you can break down a standard 36 exposure roll for shorter loads.

With 120 I guess you could trim film down for short rolls, but dealing with the backing paper and alignment sounds more annoying than just running a full roll with the assumption that the camera actually works. I figure the worst case is I have lots of examples hopefully helping highlight the problem, best case is the camera works fine and I get a roll of decent photos.

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

Thanks, Arvee! I didn't think of the viewfinder leaking light.

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

Luckless said:
Be wary of running yourself into false economies trying to save film while testing. Sure it is fine if everything goes well and there aren't any problems with any of the cameras, but consider what happens if one of the cameras you've tested has a fault such as a light leak...

You easily find yourself right back at square one as far as testing goes, only you know at least one of the cameras has a critical fault, but you might not readily tell which camera had the critical fault... Not to mention the fun of tracking down light leaks in two of the cameras...

For 135 film, consider testing on short rolls, but still only testing the roll in one camera. You don't even really need a full bulk roll, just the extra film cartridges so you can break down a standard 36 exposure roll for shorter loads.

With 120 I guess you could trim film down for short rolls, but dealing with the backing paper and alignment sounds more annoying than just running a full roll with the assumption that the camera actually works. I figure the worst case is I have lots of examples hopefully helping highlight the problem, best case is the camera works fine and I get a roll of decent photos.

Very astute, Luckless! I agree, there is the danger of one (possibly, worst case, the last camera) having a light leak. I wasn't thinking of getting into bulk loading so soon but I might as well get started.

jimjm · Mar 6, 2020

Keep In mind that the repeated winding/rewinding of the film will increase the chance of dirt or debris caught in the canister's felt light trap, so increased chance of getting scratches on the film. If you're just checking for exposure, this may not be of concern to you.
If one of the cameras does have a problem where it scratches the film via the roller or pressure plate, it may be hard to determine until you run a full roll through that camera.

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

Thanks, Jim. I haven't bulk loaded in decades and that was just for fun/learning in high school.

Re: dirt getting caught in a canister's light trap causing scratches. Is this a potential problem with the re-usable canisters in general?

jimjm said:
Keep In mind that the repeated winding/rewinding of the film will increase the chance of dirt or debris caught in the canister's felt light trap, so increased chance of getting scratches on the film. If you're just checking for exposure, this may not be of concern to you.
If one of the cameras does have a problem where it scratches the film via the roller or pressure plate, it may be hard to determine until you run a full roll through that camera.

jimjm · Mar 6, 2020

PhoBoKho said:
Thanks, Jim. I haven't bulk loaded in decades and that was just for fun/learning in high school.

Re: dirt getting caught in a canister's light trap causing scratches. Is this a potential problem with the re-usable canisters in general?

It can occur, but many folks will clean and inspect the light trap when they reload the canister. Since you won't have the opportunity to disassemble your cartridge when you switch cameras, it's tougher to do.
If you avoid dusty areas and clean the insides of the cameras well, you may not have any issues at all.

Ray Morgenweck · Mar 6, 2020

Why not just buy one really good SLR with a good reputation and hope for the best? Hard to go wrong with any Nikon F.

Edward Wynkoop · Mar 6, 2020

Load the first camera normally,shoot a couple frames and advance to the next. Put the camera in changing bag,cut off the exposed bit and put on your developing reel. Then repeat the process for the next camera. You should be able to shoot a couple from 3 or 4 cameras with a 36 exposure roll....Even more if you can load the camera in the changing bag.

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

Ray Morgenweck said:
View attachment 241632 Why not just buy one really good SLR with a good reputation and hope for the best? Hard to go wrong with any Nikon F.

For sure the F was on my mind. But because I'm in a large enough city, too many people know about the F and the prices are too high. [At least too high for someone not confident that I'm "good enough" to shoot film and thus, at the moment, just dabbling.]

There are no great thrift store or pawn shop finds in my city (that I've seen).

PhoBoKho · Mar 6, 2020

Edward Wynkoop said:
Load the first camera normally,shoot a couple frames and advance to the next. Put the camera in changing bag,cut off the exposed bit and put on your developing reel. Then repeat the process for the next camera. You should be able to shoot a couple from 3 or 4 cameras with a 36 exposure roll....Even more if you can load the camera in the changing bag.

Hmmm, I think this can work too. Thanks! I'd use an interior bathroom at night for the change; it should be totally dark.

MattKing · Mar 6, 2020

PhoBoKho said:
For sure the F was on my mind. But because I'm in a large enough city, too many people know about the F and the prices are too high. [At least too high for someone not confident that I'm "good enough" to shoot film and thus, at the moment, just dabbling.]

Talk to Nicole at Beau Photo - they provide a short warranty and price their cameras reasonably, and you may find a good selection of choices.

Pieter12 · Mar 6, 2020

Don't waste your time and energy trying to use the same roll of film, which could introduce more problems and issues than you will likely discover with your tests. Either bulk-load short rolls of film for testing, or just blow a 20-shot roll on each camera. Film and processing used for testing are the least expense you will incur if there are any problems that come up with the cameras.

Sirius Glass · Mar 6, 2020

Just shoot a whole roll.

Buy cameras from KEH.com because they are conservative in their ratings, they will refund, exchange or repair a purchase.

MattKing · Mar 6, 2020

KEH isn't nearly as good an option for those of us outside the US - that inconvenient border and really expensive international shipping see to that.

Pieter12 · Mar 6, 2020

As an addendum to my previous reply, it's false economy to try to test multiple cameras with a single roll of film. If you are going to be shooting film, be prepared to burn through film and processing. You're not shooting large format, it's 35mm. The few rolls you might use for testing are nothing compared to what you'll go through shooting seriously.

MattKing · Mar 6, 2020

If you are going to do this, I would strongly recommend that you:
1) use film with edge numbers;
2) include in your test pictures something like a sign or an image in a mirror indicating which camera/lens/flash is being tested with that frame; and
3) keep good notes.

Deleted member 88956 · Mar 7, 2020

Loading, advancing, rewinding, back again in another body on follow up few frames? This is not testing multiple cameras, but rather trying to get away with one, which counters main purpose of testing. You need to see frames shot in nany variations of shutter / aperture combos in different lighting conditions, and if camera has any automatic modes, in those too. 24 frames is doable, but 36 enough ... per single camera. Still not enough to call it toast if something goes wrong.

KEH is not what it once was ( buf for Canada still an option). It is rather easy to buy a good working film camera that your testing worries would be unfounded.

PhoBoKho · Mar 7, 2020

MattKing said:
Talk to Nicole at Beau Photo - they provide a short warranty and price their cameras reasonably, and you may find a good selection of choices.

Thanks, Matt. I remember Nicole and Beau Photo. I bought a Fuji digital body from they and they treated me well.

PhoBoKho · Mar 7, 2020

Pieter12 said:
As an addendum to my previous reply, it's false economy to try to test multiple cameras with a single roll of film. If you are going to be shooting film, be prepared to burn through film and processing. You're not shooting large format, it's 35mm. The few rolls you might use for testing are nothing compared to what you'll go through shooting seriously.

True, Pieter. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a noob. You are of course right and I hope it actually gets to the point where I enjoy film photography and go through a decent number of rolls regularly. That's actually the desired outcome.

PhoBoKho · Mar 7, 2020

Witold said:
Loading, advancing, rewinding, back again in another body on follow up few frames? This is not testing multiple cameras, but rather trying to get away with one, which counters main purpose of testing. You need to see frames shot in nany variations of shutter / aperture combos in different lighting conditions, and if camera has any automatic modes, in those too. 24 frames is doable, but 36 enough ... per single camera. Still not enough to call it toast if something goes wrong.

KEH is not what it once was ( buf for Canada still an option). It is rather easy to buy a good working film camera that your testing worries would be unfounded.

As per Pieter, I'm learning and in agreement that I shouldn't try to get too clever or cut things too fine. I should be trying to develop (ha!) this into an enjoyable and fruitful hobby. In reality, I'm ahead of the game already with a basic body and lens that I got for a song compared to what I've been paying for digital. I should forge ahead instead of trying to be miserly, at least at this point when I've limited experience.

PhoBoKho · Mar 7, 2020

MattKing said:
If you are going to do this, I would strongly recommend that you:
1) use film with edge numbers;
2) include in your test pictures something like a sign or an image in a mirror indicating which camera/lens/flash is being tested with that frame; and
3) keep good notes.

Good advice, Matt. There's no EXIF data with film and so I'll have to learn to take notes; carry around a photographer's notebook in fact. I think that's part of the discipline that I'm trying to instill in myself.

Deleted member 88956 · Mar 7, 2020

PhoBoKho said:
As per Pieter, I'm learning and in agreement that I shouldn't try to get too clever or cut things too fine. I should be trying to develop (ha!) this into an enjoyable and fruitful hobby. In reality, I'm ahead of the game already with a basic body and lens that I got for a song compared to what I've been paying for digital. I should forge ahead instead of trying to be miserly, at least at this point when I've limited experience.

Key is to have fun as shooting film ought to be.

How to test multiple cameras with 1 roll of film?

PhoBoKho

Arvee

Luckless

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jimjm

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Edward Wynkoop

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MattKing

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Pieter12

Sirius Glass

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How to test multiple cameras with 1 roll of film?

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