How to mark which camera has film in it?

[domagojs]

Lately I've been noticing that since I regularly use three bodies, out of which two don't have that little window for the film in the back, I often don't know if I have a film inside a camera.Ah, where are the days I had only one camera and there were no such problems 🙂

So my question to the RFF community is how do you know if you have a film inside a camera or not?

 

[slidesandthecity]

As soon as the last roll is full, I put an empty one in.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Just turn the rewind knob gently clockwise. If there's film in the camera, you'll feel the pressure that tells you the camera is loaded.

Obviously, this only works for cameras that take 35mm and actually have a rewind knob!

😀

 

[flip]

Put the film box paper in the shoe.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Open the back. 😉

 

[charjohncarter]

Write on masking tape, then put on the bottom of the camera.

 

[roboflick]

I keep a word file on my computer that I keep updated with the film type in the camera. It's really the only thing I'm OCD about 😉

Nik

 

[oftheherd]

Write on masking tape, then put on the bottom of the camera.

That's how I do it. I have more than 3 camera bodies. I have to keep track some way. Of course, with auto exposure, sometimes looking at the ISO will help.

 

[Rodchenko]

I use my sig line

 

[chathaway]

thinking that if the frame indicator window is close to, at or above 1...there's prob film in there...

 

[Kenj8246]

Write on masking tape, then put on the bottom of the camera.

This ^. A roll of masking tape lasts a long time. 🙂

 

[yossarian123]

I use a note on my iPhone called "Film Loaded".

 

[dave lackey]

Put the film box paper in the shoe.

I just cut the end of the box top off to fit the hot shoe. Color coded and ISO all at one glance.:angel:

 

[taskoni]

Hot shoe paper is good. If you are Leica M user advance to next frame while looking at the rewind knob - the two red dots will turn if you have film in it 😉

Regards,

Boris

 

[sepiareverb]

I use the hot shoe also.

 

[roboflick]

Keeping track by sreed2006, on Flickr

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. I have two separate iPhone notes (the one sorted by cameras is shown here, the one sorted by film is similar), plus a spreadsheet on the computer, and if there's a place on the camera to put a box-end, I put the box-end there. It's too much, but I haven't messed up any film or forgotten what is where for a while.

The notes on iPhone is a great idea and faster than loading a document. I am going to start doing that
Nik

 

[ianstamatic]

Write on masking tape, then put on the bottom of the camera.

+1

Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters

 

[jwicaksana]

I usually advance the film a bit, if the rewind crank moves, I know it's loaded..

 

[domagojs]

Thx guys, what a great community!

I like all the advices, but the idea with sticking a piece of paper into the hot shoe is brilliant! I like it's simplicity and how analogue it is! Also, the note on the mobile phone is very simple and practical.

Thank you all for your support!

 

[mani]

At one point over the last couple years I think I was up to 11 or 12 film cameras, all of which were on the go at the same time - so it wasn't a case of whether they contained film, but rather keeping track of what was in them. I tried using notes or Reminder.app on my iPhone, but it annoyed me to write stuff down, so I designed my own app and used it in developer mode (so no need to go through the Apple approval process). Just a simple menu-choice for each camera.

Below is a visualization I did while developing - the film list wasn't finalized at the time.

When I needed to change phone I'd let my Apple developer account lapse, meaning I could no longer upload the app to the phone, so this weekend I decided I'd make a web-app along the same lines. The advantage being I'll just update the camera or film list whenever I want, with no need to recompile the application. Pity there's not more film-users these days, otherwise the app could've made me a millionaire*. 😉

*kidding