Film Came Back from Lab--Was "Unexposed"

[william_kornrich]

Strangely, out of 6 rolls of Black and white film I sent to a lab for

processing, two came back "unexposed." One roll was 35mm that I shot with a

rangefinder camera; possibly I left the lens cap on. The other roll was 120--I

use a Kiev 88 that is an SLR---what could have happened?

Thanks!

[alan_rockwood]

Bad shutter?

[alexander_illich]

Interesting dilemma! Perhaps they souped the 120 and 35 together and buggered up, OR,

like the latter suggests, camera malfunction.

[graham_line]

Is the edge numbering visible on the rolls?

[rich815]

This is really little better than saying "My camera's broken, can anyone tell me what's wrong?" without telling us anything more. I recommend you try one more roll through each, double check everything (like lens caps) and see what you get. Maybe try a different lab to be sure. If you still have a problem perhaps come back with a bit more info. Otherwise all you'll get is a bunch of pie-in-the-sky guesses.

[brucecahn]

Could have been loaded wrong and didn't go through.

[chris_waller]

I would suspect that the 35mm film did not enage properly in the take-up spool and thus did not go through the camera. You probably wouldn't notice this since the frame-counter will still advance every time you wind on.

 

In the case of the 120, could you have loaded the film with the backing paper facing away from the pressure plate? This is the most common error with 120.

[larrydressler]

Have you checked the shutters ? Open the back point the camra at a light and check the shutters out at all speeds.

 

I recently had a camera that worked great... A kiev then just up and die... I sent it to Arax and it is better than new.

 

Larry

[randall ellis]

If there are edge markings (film name, frame numbers) then the film was processed properly and the problem is on your end somewhere. If there are no edge marking then it likely a problem with the processing. Careful testing of one thing at a time is the only reliable way to know what the problem is if it is not related to the processing.

 

- Randy

[rich815]

"In the case of the 120, could you have loaded the film with the backing paper facing away from the pressure plate? This is the most common error with 120."

 

Really? "Most common"? I have never heard of this happening or anyone reporting doing this. Plus I would think the curl of the film would create a jam by not continuing to spool under the paper once it got past the first frame, no? Also would not the gummed label at the end be unuseable in a way that would make such a mistake obvious even if the film somehow did spool on properly because it would be under rather than on the outside?

[chris_waller]

Rich,

 

As a tutor of photography I have had to console many a distraught student who loaded the back of an RB67 with the backing paper facing towards the lens. And they've even managed it with TLRs, which takes some doing, but never underestimate the propensity to do the seemingly improbable.

[paul_hoyt]

You shot a number of rolls and 2 were blank. Do you know if the blank roll was the last, middle or first roll? If it was not the last roll through the camera, I would rule out camera malfunction. Usually if a camera malfunctions on an entire roll, it is a serious malfunction that requires service. But if by loading the next roll of film the malfunction is magically fixed, it would be difficult to place the blame on the camera. I would have to say it was an operator induced issue, not the camera.

 

Paul

[mark_audacity_romberg]

*cough*DOES IT HAVE EDGE NUMBERS*cough*

[william_kornrich]

Yes---edge numbers are all there---another roll from my Kiev 88 came back with only two out of twelve frames exposed...must be an intermittent shutter problem,,,argh! Any suggestions?

[rich815]

I recommend you get the shutter fixed on the Kiev and remember to take the lens cap off the rangefinder.

 

;-)

[larrydressler]

http://www.arax-photo.com/

 

they do wonders with a Kiev.

 

Larry

[david_gallmeier]

I worked in a camera repair shop for over two years and here's what I think is most likely the problem. BTW, I'm assuming your camera uses shutter blades and not a shutter curtain.

 

Part of the shutter is rubber bushing that cushions the shutter (the thing is accelerated at high speeds and needs to be quickly but softly halted). Under heated conditions (a hot car will easily cause this problem), this bushing will melt and cause the shutter to bind. I've had a camera do this on me once and I've seen many at the shop with this problem. You need either a thorough cleaning job on the shutter in this case or to have it replaced all together.

 

Look at the shutter blades and see if there is any grease/glue/moist gunk on it. If there is, then that's your problem. Even if there isn't, this could still be the problem. Also, without film in the camera, point the lens at a lamp or other source of bright light and fire the shutter several times while looking at the shutter with the film door open. You should be able to see a blink of light as the shutter opens/closes. If you can't, that's your problem.

 

Regardless, it sounds like your camera shutter needs to be repaired. This kind of problem will typically cost you between 80-100 dollars to have done, unless the shutter needs to be replaced outright. If you want, I can refer you to the place of business I used to work at, since they deal with this kind of problem all the time and can provide service, assuming you are in the US.