Accidentally opened bottom plate with a full roll of film inside

<p>Hello,<br>

So I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Munich after committing quite an amateur blunder. Went to change the film in my Leica MP, thought I had already rewound it as I generally do this immediately after finishing a roll, and realized I was horribly wrong. Spent several seconds trying to pull the roll out, then opened the back cover to see that there were still frames there and then took a look through the bottom where I realized the whole roll was still on the spool. I'd guess I was doing this for 5-10 seconds. The roll is Provia 400x. Lighting is hotel-standard dim. What are my chances I'll recover shots?<br>

I know I'll have to get it developed to know for certain, but please indulge my wondering.<br>

-David</p>

<p>Good. Some of them may be streaked from the edges, but from experience 50% or so will be fine. Bad luck, but definitely worth processing.</p>

Happened to me once. Only the last four frames were "damaged" with light streaks. Your film will survive.

<p>It probably has happened to everyone who's ever shot film. You probably will have a lot of the shots come out.</p>

<p>ditto. Bad luck, but it is definitely worth having the roll processed/processing it.<br>

Some images may even turn out to be interesting in a "Lomo" sort of way. :(</p>

I think I have lost the last 6 frames at the most the two times I have made this mistake. Hands moving, mind somewhere

else. There might be some very small bit of exposure on the top edge of your images if the film wasn't tight on the spool.

My experience has been that it is not catastrophic.

 

"Lomo sort of way" LOL!!!!

<p>Can't help, sorry. In over half a century with film I've made all the other mistakes possible but never this one.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>but never this one</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Unless you switch totally to digital or cameras that automatically rewind, you will..... you will....</p>

<p>;)</p>

<p>Here is the sort of thing that can happen.</p>

<div></div>

<p>Did this in 1947 with the first roll of film I ever shot on my own. I was using my mother's Kodak Brownie Target 616. I still have the portion of the one frame that was not totally ruined. Probably had I not opened the camera I would not have kept the shot of my third grade class on the lawn in front of the school. Even though I treasure this one partial frame it taught me never to do it again. It also taught my mother not to tell me there were only four frames on the roll because she didn't want me to use up her film. Just one of life's little lessons.</p>

<p>Here's another example.<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/16676775-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="463" /></p>

<p>Yeah, I did this with one of my rolls on a trip to London. I was mortified, but I finished the roll and hoped.<br /> Most of the pictures on the roll did have some kind of light leak damage but nevertheless there were still some nice pictures in there, great for sentimental value if not printing and hanging up on the wall.<br /> <br />This one is typical of the damage:<br /> <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5189/5770181418_73fe15f46b_b.jpg" alt="" width="456" height="674" /></p>

 

<p>All, thanks for the responses. I got back to the States a couple of days ago and had the roll developed. I lost the entire last frame, half of the next one, a third of the one before that and then many, though not all of the other frames have some slight light leaks extending from the sprocket holes. I'll try to upload a contact sheet soon for posterity's sake.</p>

<p>All in all, I'm relieved that the roll is in such good shape. Credit to the Leica for rolling everything so tightly. If I had more immediately known that I had screwed up and closed the bottom plate back up right away instead of poking around a little bit, I might have been able to avoid the sprocket hole light leaks.</p>

<p>Yeah, why does this always happen when we're out of the country??</p>

<blockquote>All in all, I'm relieved that the roll is in such good shape. Credit to the Leica for rolling everything so tightly.</blockquote>

<p>I can't roll Bugler that tightly. Good ol' German engineering.</p>

<p>Some of the dark probably leaked out of the camera.</p>