Nikon FM3A & seond blank roll of film?

[grodis]

I consider my Nikon FM3A w/MD-12 the best 35mm in my arsenal. However, out of the last dozen rolls of film it did

produce (2) rolls that were completely unexposed. I can't imagine what could have went wrong. The film was

threaded properly, I did 'feel" the film rewind as it should yet nothing was on the negs. The camera did make

all it's normal shutter and winder sounds so I just don't get it. I really hate to put this one out to pasture

becasue I really love this camera.

Any idea or hints? Maybe the lab is screwing up?

 

 

 

-Joe

[ronald_smith2]

Are the negs totally blank or can you see some detail? The latter means serious underexposure, maybe the shutter is malfunctioning. Were these flash images?

[grodis]

The negs were completely clear, I checked very closely. All shots were non-flash, outdoors with various shutter speeds from B to 1/4000th. It's strange that 10 rolls went through with each and ever shot coming out then all of a sudden not a single one??? Now keep in mind that it wasn't the last two rolls... it was like the 3rd roll then the last. I'm thinking the lab may be an issue?

 

 

-Joe

[gary_watson]

Same results without the MD-12? Was the rewind crank actually turning while you shot?

[grodis]

The first time it happened I wasn't using the winder at all. The second time all was working well, the MD-12 (or at least mine) makes a distinctive sound after the last frame on the roll. So I know the film was actually moving. It really saddens me to have lost 72 shots and having to label this unit unreliable :-(

[paul_sauer]

Without having any film in the camera, remove your lens. Then open the back of the camera. Press the shutter button wind and repeat a few times. Did you see a flash of light come through the shutter as it opened. If so, that means the shutter is working correctly.

 

My guess is you didn't load the camera properly or the film slipped out of the reel on the right side. Did you watch the film wind rewind dial "spin" as you advanced the film forward or as your winder advanced the film forward? That usually the proof to me that I've go the roll properly loaded. If your negatives are totally blank, most Kodak darkroom developing books and the like will say the problem is film never was transported through the camera.

 

To always know if your film is correctly loaded, just watch the rewind crank as you advance the leader and first few frames in the camera.

 

Even though you may have thought you were rewinding a whole roll of film on these unexposed rolls, sometimes what your are really rewinding is just slack. When the slack is gone, then what you're doing is just pulling back the first frame and leader into the cannister.

 

Hope this helps.

[ted_kahn]

Can you see the film type and frame numbers printed along the edges of the negatives? If not then something went wrong during development. If the printing is dark and sharp then the development was fine.

[grodis]

I let the lab toss out the negs so I can't check them, But that's a good idea to check for frame numbers and will check that if it happens again. I did open up the camera back and fire the shutter several times while aiming at a light source. I did see light so I guess I screwed up loading the film (I hope). I'll load it up here shortly and hope for the best. If it happens again I check the negs for frame numbers.

I suspect the camera a shop will take my 1st born if this needs repair?

 

Thanks for the tips guys!

 

 

-Joe

[ted_kahn]

Here's another suggestion. Choose a roll of film you're willing to sacrifice (for instance an expired roll or just a cheap one). Load the camera the way you normally do, and fire off the entire roll. Without rewinding the film, open the camera back and check if the film advanced all the way to the end. If it did, rewind the film, being careful to leave the tongue sticking out of the cannister. Reload the film and repeat this process a dozen times to see if you can reproduce the problem. It'll be kind of tedious, but you may be able to figure out what's going wrong.

[ShunCheung]

If your roll of film inside the camera winds all the way to the end, there should be resistence from the film so that you

can't wind any more. (If you force it, you can break the film.) You don't even need to open the camera's back to

check.

 

As it has already been pointed out, if those are lab problems, the film type and frame counters on the margins of the

negative (or slide) should be messed up also.

[Jerry_]

As suggested above: take your camera and open up the back. Run your shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/250th of a second (camera in manual mode.... and see if the shutter is working.

 

 

 

 

And you should see the 'rewind' crank spin when you advance the film. By chance, you do not try to get 37 or 38 exposures out of a 36-exposure roll, do you? That practice will doom your camera for the sake of one extra shot on a roll.

[ian_watson1]

Why is that, Gerald? I know it can be very awkward to load the developing reel without handling the last frame or two if I do

that.

[vincent_peri]

"By chance, you do not try to get 37 or 38 exposures out of a 36-exposure roll, do you? That practice will doom your camera for the sake of one extra shot on a roll."

 

I've been getting 38 or so shots per roll for twenty years on a number of cameras - Leica, Pentax, Canon, and Nikon. No problems here.

[robert_hooper1]

I really don't think this is a camera problem. I think you did not load the film properly

 

You can check the function of the film advance mechanism simply by watching the sprockets move on the film take up

spool as you work the film advance lever with the back door open. At the same time, you can clearly see if the shutter

is opening and closing.

 

When you load your film, make sure you have pulled out enough of the tongue to engage the take up sprocket! If you're

in a hurry, you can overlook this very important step. This is a mistake for which I have beheaded a few of my

assistants. ;-)

 

After you have loaded your film properly, closed the back door, and have advanced to the first frame, tighten all the

slack in the film canister with the rewind crank until you feel significant resistance. Then as you shoot the next few

exposures, you should notice the rewind crank turning as the film advances out of the film cassette.

 

I know others have already mentioned this, but I don't think it can be emphasized enough.

[roland_vink]

One thing which catches me out sometimes: when I load a new roll with the lens cap on, I sometimes set the shutter speed to 1/4000 so the camera does not do "long exposures" when winding the film on. It's very easy to forget to switch it back to "Auto". In the viewfinder, the blue meter bar is tucked up at the top of the scale, just below "Auto", easy to overlook that it's still at the wrong setting. You shoot away, everything seems normal, except that everything is shot at 1/4000 instead of the reading set by the meter. The pictures all turn out black (unless the correct exposure happens to be 1/4000).

 

The thing which usually alerts me is when I'm taking a tripod shot at 1/2 sec and the shutter sounds instant, not 1/2 sec long. I'm much more careful to check the shutter speed dial now.

 

Try this: with no film loaded go through the entire range of shutter speeds, starting at 1 sec. You should hear a 1 sec lag between the shutter opening and closing. At 1/2 sec the lag will be shorter, and 1/4 sec shorter again. Once you get past about 1/60 sec you probably won't hear a difference, but at least you know the shutter is working more or less correctly at slower speeds. If you do this test with the back open, you'll also see the flash of light as the shutter opens. As you continue up the shutter speed scale, the flash should become shorter. Even at 1/4000 sec you should see something to indicate that an "exposure" was made (you may need to hold the camera up to a bright light).

 

Another thing to check is the DX film contacts in the camera are clean, I guess if they are dirty they could read the film speed wrong which might give you badly underexposed pictures.

 

Also follow Robert's advice above to make sure the film is loaded correctly. Good Luck!

[j_sevigny]

So your shutter works fine and your winder works fine, that only leaves the incorrect film loading as a possible problem. But the FM3 is like the easiest camera in the world to load.

 

Here's a wacky theoretical possibility:

 

Are you giving some "exotic" film like TMAX or Tri-X to a drugstore lab for processing. Running that film through C41 chemicals could result in blank negs.

[graham_line]

If you haven't seen the negs, to see if the edge numbers are showing, you don't know if the problem is you, the camera or the processing.

 

When loading the FM3A and its cousins, I drop the cassette into the left side, pul the film across and place it in the take up reel slot, then wind it forward a half-turn to make sure it 'takes'. Then close the back, gently tension the rewind lever, and wind the film forward two more frames, making sure the rewind lever turns. That's not 'wasting farmes,' that's making sure it's going through the camera.

 

Reported problems with the FM3A are rare around here. It's a pretty simple camera.

[jim_gardner4]

As has already been mentioned, if the film is completely blank it must be a processing problem surely. The FM3a has a mechanical and electronic shutter so for the sake of a couple of quid try another roll of film taking note of the suggestions above and use manual and auto (mechanical and electronic). I would be surprised if its a camera problem but if it is, please dont stick it in the draw never to be use again. New wiz bang cameras arnt always progress.

[manh_le]

With FE and MD-12, the loud noise produced by the motor drive convinced me that the film was advanced, but it did not. I did get couple blank

rolls similarly to your case. I found out that the blank roll was caused by the improper coupling between the motor drive and the camera. I

realized this on the second time, when I inserted the MD-12 at some tenth of frame. The first ten frames or so had proper images recorded on the

film, subsequent frames were all blank, including subsequent rolls of film. The very first time I had a blank roll I did not know why, because I

mount the MD-12 on the very first frame. The only way I could ensure proper coupling between the MD-12 and film body was to mount it before

inserting the roll of film. This way, I can see the film staff turning when the motor drive is in motion and the camera back open. I would never

mount the MD-12 mid roll.

 

This improper coupling is the only drawback I found so far with my now FM3A and MD-12. An inconvenience I can live with because I know

what to, and not to, do.

 

Yes, I understand the frustration and disappointment when seeing the blank roll of film. Hope that you find this info useful in some way.