Loosening bottom plate of Leica M with film inside

I just turned the lock on the bottom plate of my M7 and started to remove the plate with film inside. I didn’t pull the opposite end of the plate more than 1/4, maybe 1/3 of the height of the plate that seats to the bottom of the body, so not close to actually opened on that end. I had never done this in 35 years using a Leica, but have done it twice now in a week!

This film is at frame 5. I caught myself and immediately pushed it back and re-tightened the lock.

What are the chances I leaked light to the film? Should I advance a couple frames and keep shooting?

What are the chances I leaked light to the film? Should I advance a couple frames and keep shooting?

The chances are good that there has been some light leakage, but the bottom loading does mean that much of the images may still be usable. The film inside the canister is OK, probably.

If the images are one-of-a-kind from a now lost moment, I personally would start over with a fresh load of film, process the exposed roll, and try to learn from it.

If you're just clicking around, keep on shooting and hope for the best. :|

I just turned the lock on the bottom plate of my M7 and started to remove the plate with film inside. I didn’t pull the opposite end of the plate more than 1/4, maybe 1/3 of the height of the plate that seats to the bottom of the body, so not close to actually opened on that end. ... What are the chances I leaked light to the film? Should I advance a couple frames and keep shooting?

I've done this a hand-full of times in my nearly 50-years of using Leica M film cameras (in fact, in every case over the last ~10-years I've been shooting a digital Leica-M). The amount of "damage" will directly correspond to the amount of light there was at the bottom plate when you did the deed.

Regardless, I'd advance the film two frames and keep going. The 5 frames exposed are what they are.