Kodak 35mm film fragility

[Lee Rust]

Lately I 've experienced repeated occurrences of torn sprocket holes when reaching the end of Portra and Ektar rolls, plus several other instances where the tape that attaches the filmstrip to the cassette reel has completely torn away after the last frame, leaving no way to rewind the film without resorting to a changing bag. Perhaps in my old age I'm getting a bit ham-fisted with the film advance lever, but in more than fifty years of using Kodak products I can't remember ever having to worry too much about breaking the film. Has anyone else encountered this type of problem?

These days Kodak no longer makes their own film base and outsources many materials. In light of the reported print-through problems with B&W backing paper, I can only hope that these material quality issues are either temporary or imaginary.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Nope. No problems at all, and my own fingers are definitely showing signs of dysfunction from age wear n' tear. Maybe it's your camera.

 

[markbarendt]

Like Drew, no issue.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

No problems here either. Amateur and cine films are made of cellulose acetate and are designed to tear rather than damage the camera transport mechanism. What the OP is experiencing is fairly common among people who try to get that one extra frame. If you are loading the film correctly and watching the frame counter you should never experience the problem.

 

[Lee Rust]

Yes, the extra frame. Perhaps the camera is a factor... an Olympus FT with a frame counter that's somewhat inexact and a film advance with plenty of mechanical advantage.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I've had this problem once, and it was because I had loaded the camera incorrectly. My old Pentax KX requires that I pay extra attention to how I load the 35mm cassette into its compartment.

Other than that, it's been problem free with dozens of different cameras over the years.

 

[bdial]

I've had no problems, either with manual wind or motorized cameras.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Film tears and sprocket hole tears were a common occurance with the Canon T-series of cameras (especially the T90) and early EOS bodies. The autowind drives are accustomed to a stable, consistent tension; if that tension varies or the drive encounters resistance, the torque is stepped until the resistance is overcome. But improper storage of film encouraging brittleness (freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw) can also contribute to tears.

 

[Lee Rust]

Looks like it's just me, pushing the half-frame envelope too far. That's good to know.

 

[iandvaag]

I've also never had problems with this, although I know Kodak films are taped to the spool _very_ well, and the sprockets will tear before the tape detaches. This is not true of most other films afaik.

 

[ericdan]

I've had that problem on my Olympus XA2 a few times, but with different film stocks each time. It's not a Kodak thing, it was me trying to squeeze out 39 frames..

 

[railwayman3]

I've had no problems, either with manual wind or motorized cameras.

Ditto. (Only time I've pulled a film end off the spool was on a self-loaded cassette where I'd been careless with taping to the spool. Having said that, T'm careful when winding my cameras (though not obsessing...), particularly when reaching the end of a film.)

 

[Sirius Glass]

It sounds like you are advancing the film after you reached the end of the roll. This is either a camera or operator problem, not a film problem.

 

[Ai Print]

I have only ever had this happen when pushing my luck in search of the elusive 39th frame. Better to have the sprocket holes rip rather than blow the film advance gearing....

 

[MattKing]

My Dad used to have a demonstration for customers who complained that Kodak had sold them "fragile" film. He used to take a piece of film and pull it as hard as possible. It would not, of course, break. He would then show them how easy it was to tear film if it was pulled at an angle, in the appropriate way. All to illustrate how film usually tears (when it is crooked in a camera) rather than breaks.

 

[benjiboy]

Trying to get the maximum exposures out of a film and pulling it out of the cassette is a rookie mistabke, because you can feel the winding tighten as you get to the end of the film.