Opened camera......film inside.

Mike Kennedy · Mar 16, 2006

Dang it!!!! I was working on an old camera when I inadvertently popped open the back. The camera contains a bulk load of Tri-X 35mm (36exp) 15 shot the previous morning along the river. I slammed the camera shut (faster than the speed of light??) but was wondering just how much I had lost.

Thanks,
Mike

Monophoto · Mar 16, 2006

Been there, done that.

As film passes the gate, it is rolled up inside the camera. In most modern 35mm cameras, this roll of exposed film is contained only within the camera. As a result, when you open the back, you will fog the film in the gate as well as the outer layers of the roll of exposed film. But it is possible, depending on how long the back was open, how bright the light was, and the phase of the moon, that some of the frames at the center of the roll of exposed film were not fogged.

You have two choices. One is to write off that roll of film, and perhaps use it to practice loading processing spirals with the light on. The other is to continue to use the rest of the roll, process it, and see what you get.

Sometimes serendipity produces interesting results.

Carol · Mar 16, 2006

Hi Mike. I've done that once too. It makes you awful careful in the future. I almost binned the roll rather than waste the chemicals developing it. I'm glad I didn't throw it out though as it wasn't nearly as fogged as I had expected and some shots were fine. Good luck.

argus · Mar 16, 2006

Don't worry. Only 3-4 shots will be ruined depending on the speed of your reaction. We all did the same thing once ;-)

G

Richard Wasserman · Mar 16, 2006

Carol & Argus,

What do you mean once? I don't know about eveyone else, but I've certainly done that multiple times. Maybe I'm just not always looked after by the photo gnomes. Then again, maybe I'm forgetful. I can't remember!!!

Richard Wasserman

Ole · Mar 16, 2006

I had a camera one where the back would open if I picked it up by the strap.

Best excuse for replacing a camera I've ever found - especially as I always tried to close the camera with the d*mned strap inside!

srs5694 · Mar 16, 2006

I've done this twice (about 20 years apart). The first time I had ASA 400 color print film loaded. I don't recall what speed I had loaded the second time, but it was color print film. Both times, I lost a few photos -- about 5-7, I'd guess, but I'd have to check the negatives to be sure. Some were completely fogged (fully black), but others had viewable images with flaws. The rest of the exposed frames were OK, although there was some fogging in the sprocket area for additional frames. Photos on the roll after the back-opening event were, of course, just fine.

ricksplace · Mar 16, 2006

It's happened to me too. If your camera has the latch for the back on the bottom of the camera (like a Pentacon Sixtl) sometimes it gets caught on the camera bag when you pull it out of the bag and voila! an open camera with the film in it. Bummer.

vet173 · Mar 16, 2006

Advance it 2 frames and bang away. The rest will be good and whatever you get with the exposed portion will be a winfall.

Dave Parker · Mar 16, 2006

I have done it more than once over the years! Normally I loose between 4-7 frames when it happens...

Sure makes ya think, until it happens the next time, then it makes ya think until it happens the next time! LOL

Dave

sanking · Mar 16, 2006

What you should do in this circumstance is quickly close your eyes and try to close the back as soon as possible. In a relativistic world film can not fog if we have our eyes closed. I am sure you have heard the argument that if no one sees an apple fall off the tree there is no reality associated with it falling.

Sandy

Mike Kennedy said:
Dang it!!!! I was working on an old camera when I inadvertently popped open the back. The camera contains a bulk load of Tri-X 35mm (36exp) 15 shot the previous morning along the river. I slammed the camera shut (faster than the speed of light??) but was wondering just how much I had lost.

Thanks,
Mike

sanderx1 · Mar 16, 2006

Mike Kennedy said:
Dang it!!!! I was working on an old camera when I inadvertently popped open the back. The camera contains a bulk load of Tri-X 35mm (36exp) 15 shot the previous morning along the river. I slammed the camera shut (faster than the speed of light??) but was wondering just how much I had lost.

Thanks,
Mike

Approximately speaking - opening the camera back is an exposure (or the second exposure of a double in case of already exposed frames) with a f/0.5 lens and shutter time of ... however long the back was open. Probably 1/2s to 1 s. A layer of film is I guess around sixs stops of flitration. So depending on what your EV was, the fourth leyer of exposed film in the camera might or might not have recieved any damage, giving you at least 5-6 intact frames. Now, if you opened it just a bit and more on the film casette side, the count of probably intact frames goes up.

argus · Mar 17, 2006

disfromage said:
Carol & Argus,

What do you mean once? I don't know about eveyone else, but I've certainly done that multiple times. Maybe I'm just not always looked after by the photo gnomes. Then again, maybe I'm forgetful. I can't remember!!!

Richard Wasserman

I don't use the 35mm that much anymore ;-)
When going up on film format, you still can make similar mistakes

G

Mike Kennedy · Mar 17, 2006

Update

Well, I just processed my "burnt film". Guess I failed to mention that the camera back popped open while I was examining it under my lit desk mounted magnifier. ZAP!!
Eyeballed the results and to my dismay 13 of the first 15 frames had fried. Not really a problem. I will reshoot tomorrow morning.Live & learn.

Happy St.Patrick's Day
Mike

"May you be one hour in heaven,
before the devil knows your gone"

Mark Layne · Mar 17, 2006

Mike Kennedy said:
Well, I just processed my "burnt film". Guess I failed to mention that the camera back popped open while I was examining it under my lit desk mounted magnifier. ZAP!!
Eyeballed the results and to my dismay 13 of the first 15 frames had fried. Not really a problem. I will reshoot tomorrow morning.Live & learn.

Happy St.Patrick's Day
Mike

"May you be one hour in heaven,
before the devil knows your gone"[/QUOTE
You've been listening to too much Irish Rovers up there in Moncton
Mark

joeyk49 · Mar 17, 2006

Similar situation, but I got lucky...

Finished a roll of bulk loaded Portra and was putting my kit into my car. I had put the exposed roll in my pocket (sans plastic canisiter) and went to dig it out to put in my camera bag. The cassette fell out of my pocket on to the ground and the end cap poped off!

I scooped it up as quickly as possible returnining it to my pocket where I quite awkwardly got the end cap back on. I though about ditching the entire roll, but said "What the heck!" $5.00 at Wal Mart showed me that the roll was in the cassette pretty tightly; 3 out of 16 frames had some serious burnout. Two or three others had some edge burn. They just became 3.5x5" shots...and the rest of the roll was fine...

Lesson: Use a piece of masking tape to label AND secure the edge of the endcaps of bulk load cassttes.

Donald Qualls · Mar 18, 2006

Heh. I've done this, not only in 35 mm, but with a 6x9 cm 120 camera. Oddly, with 120, the frame in the gate was almost unaffected, but the ones before and after got a good bit of fogging where they were exposed between the gate and the rolls.

celluloidpropaganda · Mar 18, 2006

I had that happen with a roll of Tri-X at Christmas. The only fried frames were in the gate, but every other negative had a repeating pattern of light and dark bands, which I guess was a function of the Leica takeup spool (three prongs instead of one central thing, which let light in the middle, too).

Opened camera......film inside.

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