Film rewind trick

[mad_boy]

Dear fellow RFF members.

This must be a stupid/ignorent question.

When developing film yourself, it is easier when the film leader still sticks out of the cardridge after rewinding.
With my previous camera it was obvious when the film left the take-off spool and it was safe to open the camera.

With my M6TTL this is much more dificult to spot.
Does anyone of you have a reliable system to do this?

Mad_boy

 

[waileong]

M's are manual rewind. Absolutely easy to tell when the film has left the spool because the tension drops suddenly. Why don't you practice with a roll of expired film till you are familiar with the feeling.

 

[SDK]

As Waileong said, tension should drop as the film comes off the spool. Also you can listen to the back of the camera as you rewind. The film makes a faint popping sound as it disengages.

 

[Trius]

I always also put my ear nearer the camera and can hear the "snick" when the film leader disengages from the takeup spool.

 

[MelanieC]

I rewind my film all the way back into the canister so I don't shoot the same roll twice by accident.

For me it's easier to pry the canister open to get the film out than pull it back through the slot (and I've heard tell this can also help one avoid scratching the negatives). Fuji canisters are particularly easy to open using one's teeth, I have discovered, while Kodak can be difficult (thicker metal).

 

[troym]

I also put the camera close to my ear when reloading so that I can hear the "snick" of the film releasing from the take-up spool after rewinding.

You might also consider just rewinding the leader all the way into the canister and buying a leader retrieving tool to pull it back out.

I rewind my film all the way back into the canister so I don't shoot the same roll twice by accident.

I leave the leader out but bend it after rewinding so that I don't reuse the roll by accident.

 

[terrafirmanada]

I also leave the leader out and bend it (like troym). I find this is a useful guide to getting a nice straight cut on the film when I am loading it onto a spool.

 

[Trius]

I also put the camera close to my ear when reloading so that I can hear the "snick" of the film releasing from the take-up spool after rewinding.

You might also consider just rewinding the leader all the way into the canister and buying a leader retrieving tool to pull it back out.



I leave the leader out but bend it after rewinding so that I don't reuse the roll by accident.

I crease the leader straight across and work it until the narrow part of the leader breaks off, or cut it with my pocket knife. No chance of mistaking it for unexposed film, plus it's now ready to wind onto a reel.

Leader retrievers get lost; after supporting the Leader Retriever Manufacturing Company for years, I gave up.

 

[rtphotos]

If I am finished shooting a roll, I rewind the film completely ensuring that I won't make a mistake and re-load it back into my camera. Film canister is opened with a can opener for processing. (Careful with your teeth, MelanieC!!) 🙂

I also don't recommend you pulling your film thru the felt trap to remove it from the cannister as this would increase your chances of scratching the film.

If I want to change film mid-way thru a roll, I rewind my leica M camera till I hear the "snick" sound and wind one additional revolution of the rewind knob. This will leave the film leader out approx. 1/4 to 1/2" and makes it easy to remove from the camera, yet allow me to reload the cannister later without resorting to a "film retriever".

Hope that helps! rt

 

[Finder]

I always rewind the film into the cartridge so I cannot shoot it again.

The idea of the cannister felt scratching the film is a bit of a myth. If it did not scratch it as you shot and rewound the film, why would it scratch it the third time through? (I don't believe in third time unlucky.) Scratches come from the camera's film transport system - Fuji and Kodak has been making film for so long, they have solved any problems of cannister damage.

 

[rtphotos]

Hi Finder,

It's not the cannsiter felt that I am afraid of, it's the sneaky grit that is caught in the felt.

Sometimes a while goes by between my shooting a roll and processing it. Sometimes a very long while. 🙂 I also load my own film and some of my reusable cannisters go thru alot before I retire them. I can see that commercially loaded film would have less of a issue with grit, but I load my own tri-x.

Thus, I prefer to limit the possibility of my film being exposed to a piece of grit that may have deposited onto the film trap when I wasn't lookin' (before, during or after a shoot). Why take a chance? 🙂

rt (who lives in a fairly dusty and sandy locale, heh!) 🙂

 

[Dougg]

Folding the leader is something I'll try. I've been messily tearing the leader off, leaving til later the neat scissors cut before loading on the reel. I've never started to load a roll having a torn-off leader... pretty good clue it's been exposed. 🙂 I also tend to put exposed rolls in a different pocket than the fresh rolls, just to apply a little organization to the effort...

 

[Vagabond]

I also put the camera close to my ear when reloading so that I can hear the "snick" of the film releasing from the take-up spool after rewinding.

I leave the leader out but bend it after rewinding so that I don't reuse the roll by accident.

I've used this technique and have never had any problem with scratches or mistakenly reloading the film back into the camera. When loading it into the Paterson reel, I'll pull out a small length of film at a time until it's all loaded and then cut the end will a scissors. It seems to work well while loading in the changing bag. I'm sure that I would end up with a big curly knot of film if I did it any other way.

 

[SteveM_NJ]

As with most things involving the human aspect, everyone has a little different technique when it comes to nearly everything.
If this were a poll, I'd have to answer - rewind slowly, listen to it "snick", feel the tension decrease, (keep it here for reload if needed, so far i never did reload/reuse) then let it go completely inside the canister so not to reload double expose. I keep a can opener in the darkroom, pop the end off, slide the whole spool out. one clean roll ready to go into the steel reel.

Ask a hundred users, get a hundred answers.

 

[amateriat]

I'm with Melanie on this one (although she clearly has far-better teeth than I); when shooting a goodly amount of film, and particularly when things are happening quickly, it'a a lot easier for me to differentiate between fresh and exposed rolls (and since mine is frequently a mix of stuff I have souped at a lab and stuff I soup myself, it's best to handle all rolls the same way) by having the film completely rewound into the cassette.


- Barrett

 

[vladhed]

I leave it sticking out but bite the skinny leader off with my teeth so that I don't mistake it for a fresh roll. When I go to develop it I first trim the end properly with a pair of scissors, but then take the film out by opening the canister (in a changing bag), so as not to scratch the film by pulling it through the felt yet one more time.

 

[amateriat]

I leave it sticking out but bite the skinny leader off with my teeth so that I don't mistake it for a fresh roll. When I go to develop it I first trim the end properly with a pair of scissors, but then take the film out by opening the canister (in a changing bag), so as not to scratch the film by pulling it through the felt yet one more time.

Oy...there we go using teeth again...Vlad, have you met Melanie? 😀


- Barrett

 

[mad_boy]

Thanks guys,

That is a lot of advise in a short time scale.

If I understood it well:
- Listen to the snick at the back of the camera.
- Take the film out.
- Fold it once with my fingers
- Fold it a second time with my teath.
- Rip part of the leader off
- crumple that part, cut it with a knife and throw away
- Rewind the film into the canister by giving it one more turn,
- Open the canister with a can-opener held with my teath
- Use a &*$()* leader puller to find the leader.
- And that's it!

Yep, that must work.

Thanks again.

mad_boy

 

[Dougg]

mad_boy that sounds like great therapy... 🙂

 

[Artorius]

I am new here, but not new to processing, or Leica. I rewind all the way into the can. I usually roll my own, so when I'm in the DR, I just pop off the cannister end, and put it onto the spool.
Glad I found this forum. Haven't had a leica in my hands since 1975. Just got me a New/Old M3. Been digital so long I forgot what a real film RF camera felt like.