Kodak Portra 400NC 120 "Frame 1" missing

I'm mucking about with a Nettar 515/2 6x9 camera, and consequently

have shot some 120 film for the first time in my life. Just as soon

as I work out a way of scanning it, I'll be able to see if the pix

are any good!

 

Anyhow, my problem is simple. I load up the film and then wind-on,

looking for the "1" to appear in the little red window on the back of

the camera. It never appears.

 

I've only shot two rolls of film so far. I won't bore you with the

details, but suffice to say I lost both frame 1s.

 

After shooting frame 1 I wound the film on and eventually (after what

transpires is more winding than for subsequent frames) found "2" in

the red window. Followed by 3, 4 etc. as I shot each subsequent

frame. The spacing of frames 2 to 8 is correct, so I'm pretty sure

the basic loading/alignment is correct. When I loaded the film into

the camera, I wound it so that the thick-line with arrows pointing to

it was aligned with the left edge of the image-aperture (i.e. the

side of the camera for the source spool). There was no "1" visible

before I closed the back.

 

So, instead of the number "1", what am I looking for?

 

I really wish I'd shelled out the extra money for some Fuji film

(which does have a "1" as far as I know), now. Got 3 more rolls of

the damn Kodak, and no idea how to find frame 1.

 

It's a bit embarrassing asking this, but I dunno how else to find

out. The box has no instructions, after all it's professional film.

 

Am I going mad? Does some of the silly little writing that I see

whizz through the red window mean something? It seemed to just say

Portra 400NC or something.

Jawed: I just had the same problem with 400UC in an old Hasselblad back that also requires me to find frame one by looking through the back. Got al the way to frame 3 before wondering "What the hey?"

 

The problem is that Kodak is using a sans-serif type-face for the numbers. so the "1s" look like a dashed line "� �" across the film instead of numbers. Very trendy - but not very readable.

 

The sequence to watch for is: first, the backing paper color changes from yellow to white (perhaps not visible through a red window); then, after a bit, there are two arrows, then there is (in tiny print) the name of the film; then, IMMEDIATELY!, there are the numbers 1 - but as I said they look like a vertical dotted line unless you know otherwise.

 

Every film-maker uses different markings - Ilford's gray circles leading up to the number are often hard to see in a red-window camera. Agfa and Fuji seem to have the easiest and most unmistakable markings.

Thanks for your swift answer!

 

I will look out for the 1 that looks like a plain line! Utter madness.

 

Much appreciated!

After loading, did you advance the roll until the arrows line up with whatever indicator that is in your camera? this happened to me when I first used my Mamiya 7 II. Too spoilt by the Rolleiflexes with their automatic detection system.

Johnson - these cameras are so old and simple that they don't HAVE indicators to match to the arrows on the film! Or mechanical exposure counters.

 

To load them, you wind the film until you see the actual frame number (1), printed on the paper backing of the film, show up in a red glass window in the camera back. That's the frame counter, as well - you look at the numbers printed on the actual film backing for each and every shot. It's normally kind of fool-proof - and you never forget whether the camera is loaded or not if you are actually laying eyeballs on the film before each picture.

 

Kodak's numbers are printed in an ill-considered typeface - that's all.