Loading a Rolleiflex - HELP!

[Colin Corneau]

Trying out a Rolleiflex 3.5 for a friend (friends who lend you Rolleis are good friends), and I just ruined an unexposed roll of beautiful Tri-X.
After loading up the roll, closing the back and winding the film advance lever, it just kept right on sailing through until the whole roll was wound up on the reel...gone.

Is there anything I'm missing here? Normally I wind until it stops and it's Frame One....this time, the counter never advanced past zero. A possibility I didn't wind the arrow marker on the film roll to the proper place, maybe?

Any advice welcome, as I'd really like to test this camera out.

Many thanks...CC

 

[LiamG]

You passed the film through the film 'feeler' roller? In between the two rollers? If the mechanism isn't working, that could be your problem, but it sounds like a loading issue to me.

 

[Colin Corneau]

I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong, here, for sure. Are you referring to a silver metal curved thing in the compartment the fresh film rests in?

Or another roller in the area the lens passes light through to the film? I'll have a closer look! Many thanks.

 

[macfred]

This !

 

[itsdoable]

The leader needs to be passed between 2 rollers that sense the thickness change when the film starts.

From the B&H site: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...world-rolleiflex-tlr-photography-loading-film

 

[summicron1]

and if you know someone with a darkroom you can salvage that roll of tri-x. Just re-roll it backwards (NOT in the camera!!!!) onto a new empty spool. The film end is loose when you do this (it only is taped on the beginning of the film) so it takes a little feeling, but you can easily do it. Those of us who make our own 620 film from 120 do it all the time.

 

[Colin Corneau]

I got the roller wrong! Yup -- now I get it.

Thanks all. Can't believe I got a Rollei education in less than 30minutes!

 

[shutterfinger]

Take the roll of TriX you wound through the camera (now the supply spool) and a empty 120 spool (now the take up spool) and place both in a change bag or go into a darkroom with the lights off.
Start the end of the backing paper on the empty spool and wind until the film will make 3/4 to 7/8 a turn onto the take up spool. With the spools within 2 inches of each other pull the film taught then start it onto the take up spool so that the film is flat to the paper and between the turns of paper on the take up spool. Keeping the film and paper taught and spools within 2 inches of each other wind from the supply onto the take up. If there is a large bulge when you get to the taped end of the film rewind and try again, if there is a tiny bulge then press it down and continue to the end of the backing paper and secure with a rubber band or tape, same for no bulge.

 

[jvo]

The leader needs to be passed between 2 rollers that sense the thickness change when the film starts.

From the B&H site: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...world-rolleiflex-tlr-photography-loading-film

i'm not familiar with very many rollei models - isn't this picture wrong? it seems he's loading the film from the take-up spool. it does show the feeler roller you have to go under - wouldn't you be doing so from the other direction?

 

[macfred]

i'm not familiar with very many rollei models - isn't this picture wrong? it seems he's loading the film from the take-up spool. it does show the feeler roller you have to go under - wouldn't you be doing so from the other direction?

Everything alright there - the gentleman is holding the Rolleiflex upside down. You can't see the take-up spool on this picture.

 

[TheRook]

It never hurts to carefully examine the instructions in the manual before loading film into an unfamiliar camera for the very first time. Should one not have a hard copy of the camera's manual, there's a high probability a scanned copy can be found on the internet if the camera model is not too obscure.