Can changing lens expose film roll?

[Roman A Clef]

Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place but here goes.

I have a Leica iiif and a summitar 50mm lens. I also have a few Jupiter lenses.

I changed lens during a film several times.

I have found the first 10-15 negs on the film totally wiped out which makes me think the film was exposed when changing lens.

I have tried to research this and wonder whether that is the case with screw mount lenses? I also wonder whether having the shutter cocked was wrong when I changed the lens.

I have previously had the camera cla'd by peter at CRR and just dont believe he would have missed a fault as he is meticulous.

Has anyone got any ideas?

John

 

[anjoca76]

Unless you have shutter curtain problems, I can't see how this would be a problem. You should definitely be able to change lenses without exposing your film.

 

[Vics]

What do you mean by "wiped out?" Are the frames clear or opaque?

 

[Monochrom]

Hi, when you have a lens on the camera it still gets light going inside...it´s nearly impossible to cut light from entering...so it´s possible you have some sort of problem in your curtains...

Sometimes you can get odd things because of development.

Bye!

 

[anjoca76]

Hi, when you have a lens on the camera it still gets light going inside...it´s nearly impossible to cut light from entering...so it´s possible you have some sort of problem in your curtains...

Sometimes you can get odd things because of development.

Bye!

True, light does enter, which is why I try not to change lenses in full sunlight, but nevertheless your negatives should not be wiped out in any way. And even if you have tiny pinholes in your curtains, that still should not be enough to completely expose your film. I suspect you have something else going on.

 

[hepcat]

What do you mean by "wiped out?" Are the frames clear or opaque?

To add to Vic's question... If the film is clear, and you can read the frame numbers and film type, the shutter curtains didn't open. If you have "frames" on the film and they're black, but you can still read the frame numbers and film type, then the shutter stuck open and over-exposed the film to the point of being opaque. If you have a light leak, then the entire film, sprocket holes and all will be black, typically in some uneven kind of pattern.

If your film was exposed to ambient light while processing, the entire (usually "top," depending on whether it was tank or machine processed) of the roll will be fogged

Tell us what your film looks like. That'll help diagnose what happened.

 

[Roman A Clef]

Yes I think there is more afoot too.

The negs are clear apart from a small amount of picture but, generally clear. The writing is on the edge of the neg still

I wonder whether I wound the film too tight when i put it in the camera in the first place. I say this as at the end of the film after 36 or 37 shots, the film itself was loose and i wondered whether it had come away from the film canister. Because of this I took it out of the camera in the black bag but then discovered that it had not come away from the film canister.

With regard to developing. I did nothing different there that I can think of and the film development container appeared secure.

It is very strange.

John

 

[Sparrow]

Clear film would mean too little light not too much ... or the developer was a bit too old

 

[Roman A Clef]

Hi, it was new dev and the second half of roll was fine.

 

[yanchep_mike]

Hi,
are you using an exposure meter, sounds like under exposure to me.

 

[Roman A Clef]

yes I am and the second part of the film was fine

 

[yanchep_mike]

Maybe you have a lazy shutter and not opening in the beginning, (both curtains run at the same time) and after some exercise it gets going, just try another roll, and exercise the camera before you load the film.

 

[hepcat]

Yes I think there is more afoot too.

The negs are clear apart from a small amount of picture but, generally clear. The writing is on the edge of the neg still

I wonder whether I wound the film too tight when i put it in the camera in the first place. I say this as at the end of the film after 36 or 37 shots, the film itself was loose and i wondered whether it had come away from the film canister. Because of this I took it out of the camera in the black bag but then discovered that it had not come away from the film canister.

With regard to developing. I did nothing different there that I can think of and the film development container appeared secure.

It is very strange.

John

Your negatives, then, are grossly underexposed. That could be caused either by a shutter that isn't opening, or sticky aperture blades that are stuck on f/16 or f/22 even though the aperture ring may turn.

Check your shutter speeds one at a time by shining a flashlight into the film chamber and then activating the shutter. You should see an natural progression from slow speeds to fast, and you should see light through the shutter curtains at every speed.

Also check your lens, off the body, by rotating the aperture ring fully from wide open to fully closed and back, one stop at a time, and seeing if the blades open to the corresponding position of the ring.

It may be that some piece of gunk was causing havoc and it's fallen out... or perhaps "things" just needed exercise to distribute the lube properly or who knows? The best cameras are those that fix themselves.

If your problem persists, though, keep that roll of film and send it with the camera back to your camera repair person so he can figure out what happened.

 

[softshock]

You might try doing a test roll for exposure then. Keep the aperture at the same setting as well as the ISO & vary your exposure time. Shoot something bright as you aren't looking for proper exposure, just a reference of shutter.

 

[Monochrom]

Hi, i think it may be speeds...you said the second half of the roll was fine, then it could be that, many times these cameras have some sort fo lub problems...for instance now my m1 (Converted to m2) is getting odd slow speeds...i must open it again since that lighter fluid lub does not work for me, i like other kind of lubricants 🙄

BTW don´t ever worry about changuing lenses under light...it should happen a thing with it.

😉