Film backward in the Bronica!

Have you ever done this? Finished a shoot with my Bronica S2a this morning. I

parked off the road, opened the back of the camera and discovered a STRANGE

looking roll of film, (A black one). I lifted the tab end of the film roll and

now I discovered the outer face of the film roll. I had loaded the film

backward and exposed an entire roll on the paper side. Luckily at my parking

spot there was a garbage can. The film was filed with little ceremony. The next

roll was loaded correctly with care.

I did that with my first roll in my ETRSi. I simply rewound it back on the original spool in a dark bag and reused it. I now always remember to put the film in what appears backwards.

Been there. I also lost enormous face with my lab, too, since I was actually clueless enough to take it in for processing. The owner just kept grinning wryly before she straightened me out.Funny it happened to me on a Bronica S I got a few years back. The wasted film was tuition--or so I rationalized my stupidity.

I saved the spool :)

That is the oldest MF beginner error there is. Welcome to the club.

"That is the oldest MF beginner error there is."

 

That might be true but I did it in a camera I'd been using for five years and through which I'd run thousands of rolls. I convinced myself the light wasn't too good anyway.

Well, since i've been sticking MF film in a camera since 1959 I guess I'm entitled to doing this at least once. In my case I just laughed, let the film unspool on purpose just for the hell of it. BTW most beginners forget to put FILM in the camera!

I just bought a hasselblad 500cm and did 3 times till I finally figured it out. Good thing it was cheap 120 film.

I did it also on my first roll. I was on autopilot and loaded the back like it was a TLR. My brain did not register which way the light will hit the film. Basically overconfidence from using cameras for so long that I was not paying attention to the DIFFERENT film path of a camera with a back.

I lucked out, though I was completely confused the first few times.

 

My biggest gripe was that it took me longer to load my GS1 than it did my M3.

I've been close to that. The problem for me is that the film seemingly goes the other way around in a SLR than a TLR. Just need to be more rested when loading film :)

The wind always has to reverse curl the film to flatten it. People in gerneral have the "paper towel/toilet paper" syndrone, and want the film to wind off the top.

 

 

I can recall once years ago, loading an old box camera, and instead of frame numbers on backing paper in that little window. I got pink emulsion!

Look at my post here

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KZQV

 

I guess I am not alone :)

I did it in an SQA on about my 200th roll. Thought it made a funny sound when I was winding on! View it as a learning opportunity.

Steve, that is why I picked up a couple of the 12 (aka M12) backs, so I can look in the peephole and if I see film rather than paper...I goofed. Better to know you goofed BEFORE you waste time shooting what won't come out.

I did this with my ETR after I had shot several rolls successfully. The problem is that I was still using TLR cameras and these have more conventional (by 35mm standards) loading. Now I have three medium format SLR cameras so I have more practice. When I made the mistake in the ETR I did wind the film back onto a spool to re-shoot the roll. My re-spooling efforts weren't perfact but I managed to get 13 shots instead of 15.

You've all had me worried! I recently bought an ETRSi and it had its first film in it. I looked at the instruction book, Cheung's manual, and DiSante's Medium-format cameras, when I came to load the film. I can't remember which was best on this subject!

 

Anyway, I've just taken the film out, and it's right. But I'll try not to get complacent!

 

I'll now await the prints..............

 

Mervyn

Merv, as you said its not getting complacent, or as in my case as Jeff said going on overconfident autopilot like I was loading a TLR or 35mm SLR. You have to pay attention to what you are doing, especially if you are switching between systems or coming from a different system.

 

I don't know if the Bronicas have the equivalent of the Hasselblad 12 (M12) back. That back has a "peephole" to see the frame numbers on the paper, it used to advance to frame 1. The side benefit of that is, if I don't see colored paper, I goofed and loaded the film upsidedown. Funny how an older "obsolete" back can be more usefull than a new "automatic" back.