Film Spool Fool

Ok, my first roll with the Bessa R (my first manual camera):
After taking all those nice pictures, I start to rewind the film and notice that there is quite a bit of resistance. Normal, I think, it's manual. So I try a bit harder and it seems to go, until I hit some resistance again.

I check all possible controls on the top of the camera, but can't find anything helping rewinding.

So I try harder again and the rewind lever advances a bit more, it was actually the *sound* it produced that made me think that something was wrong.

So I stopped and opened the back of the camera and saw all those little pieces of ripped film sprocked falling out of the camera.

The camera itself is still working fine, the film was shredded beyond salvation, but at least now I know you have to press the little black button on the bottom of the camera before rewinding.
 
This is called the school of hard knocks! However much people tell you how to do something, the only valid experience is your own mistakes! Over close to 50 years of using cameras I have most likely done everything wrong at least a couple of times!
a/ not checking the rewind button - multiple times, usually when you are in a hurry.
b/ not pushed the rewind button and stripped film in the perforations (only last week with a Nikon Rf using Nikon reloadable cassette. Film somehow jammed in the cassette.
c/ Mixed up films and shooting 32 ASA as 400. usually once every year.
d/Pulled the base-plate off without rewinding. Once last year as I forgot which of the three M2's was at the end of the roll!
e/ Shooting with the lens cap on. Never- as I immideately loose my caps so that solves the problem.
f/ Pouring in the fix first rather than the developer. Once and that was a long time ago.
g/ Not reading the label on the chemical can. It was not Sodium Metaborate, it was meta bisulphite and thus 15 rolls came out blank (2006).
h/Not checking that the lens is properly locked on - a couple of time including once seeing my 21/2,8 Asph dive straight down into a gravel/sand flower bed and once having a Super Angulon dropped in a river!
i/ not having film in the camera you think was loaded - rarely as i have one place for loaded cameras and one for "empties".
j/ Not checking that the tape is properly on a film when using reladable cassettes and having it going "flap flap" on the take up spool. Maybe once a year!
k/Pulling one camera out of the shoulder bag and having camera #2 snarled in the strap and hearing the "thud" as it hits the ground. A couple of times, but not lately.
This is a partial list and reading it again I wonder "how do I ever get any shots!"
Now for the rest of you. What is the dumbest thing you have done. This can be construed as a teaching tool for beginners. The only thing that is sure is that they will find entire new ways to screw up .
 
Tom A said:
d/Pulled the base-plate off without rewinding. Once last year as I forgot which of the three M2's was at the end of the roll!
Click to expand...

Tom - i can help you with that one - just send one of the M2's down here... 😎

- ever since i discovered hood hats, i have never forgotten to take the lens cap off.

- i have had film break partway during rewind. the first time it happened was oh-so-many years ago. i was so sad and cried (hey, i was only a little kid). it was so traumatic that now when something feels 'wrong' during rewind, i check in the changing bag/dark room. most of the times it's fine but once in a blue moon it has happened.

-the number one thing i forget to do is wind the film on a TLR. i have now put a rubber band around the body to help remind me 😉
 
dumbest thing

dumbest thing

I think the dumbest thing I ever did was to rewind the film in the wrong direction. It got pretty hard to turn at the end. The guy at my usual lab gave me so much grief!
 
Luckily, these mistakes usually happen early on and as you do more and more, I think you naturally develope habits that prevent them from recurring.

The dumbest thing I ever did? Might be hard to single out just one, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with photography and probably doesn't need to be shared here.

Gary
 
I can honestly say this has never happened to me - from the beginning I used the technique mentioned with the twist of folding a small amount of the end of the leader down to make it much easier to thread in the spool. Then, of course I close the back when I know it is catching and always rewind to feel the tension then watch for the winder to turn. This works well in the dark to for loading HIE.

But will admit I recently ran a roll of Ektachrome 120 through my Mamiya RF and noticed after about 4 frames that I had a R25A red filter on. The viewfinder showed no indication of the red tint of the slides - strange!
 
I did rack my brain for more stupid things to do with film and cameras!
continuing alphabetically:
L/ Loading reloadable cassettes in a haste and not realizing that a couple had been loaded with the emulsion side the wrong way around. Talk about thin negatives!

M/When working with three or more bodies, it is convinient to shorten the strap on one body and hanging two cameras on the chest - kmown as "short strapping". never jump off a wall or a car-roof with this combo. One camera usually flies up and then comes down on the 'bottom" one. A 21 Leica finder on the bottom camera was completely squashed flat and neither the lower top plate or the upper baseplate looked very well. I did this several times. It was in my youth and experience did not stay long with you.
I suspect that I will go through the whole alfabet doing this!
 
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