Just wound film past halfway open shutter

M

MHcell

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10:49 PM
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May 16, 2009
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Hi,

The panic now prompted me to my first post. Just returned from vacation (Athens) with the Zorki 4K (and DSLR). Fired the last shot of the roll. Shutter sounded odd, but did not think much of it. I rewound the film, opened the back and could see out through the lens! The shutter was stuck halfway open (also no lens cap). Is the roll destroyed? Can you give me some hope?

It was the only roll of film I shot. A hard lesson.
 
With no film in the camera and the back open fire off a few frames and see what's happening...if the shutter stays the same the roll could be toast if not you might have a fluke thing going on or a sneak preview of what's to come...

Sorry...I misread your Headline...if the shutter was open, even slightly, while you rewound the roll...it's a goner...I would still investigate why it stayed open...
 
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Thank you for the fast reply. I suspected it would be gone. Could not reproduce the shutter thing (scarry). Might just have to melt down the Zorki for revenge.
 
Happened to me once on an Olympus35 RD (or was it the Yashica Elctra 35?). The roll had a ghost running thru it...
Since then I always wind my film with the lens tucked against my tummy.
 
Shutters had become self capping well before I got into photography. Nevertheless, I still do what I was taught then: I never rewind without a cap on the lens. Now, though, I might switch to Martin's Tummy Technique.
 
In one possible situation, say the diaphragm was set at the smallest setting, the room was not too bright, the film speed low, you wound quickly, and some of the time the path to light was blocked by your hand-- you may salvage something.

Years ago when sometime the film was torn off the spool and the camera opened, if it was B&W, it was toast. Color film is more opaque, and often if you closed the camera quickly, you could salvage most of the roll. I would not have expected that, perhaps you will get an unexpected relatively positive result.

I also had a shutter blade come loose on a Nikon, was flapping around, but salvaged some images, the motor drive kept things moving quickly.

Processing is cheap enough, give it a shot.

Regards, John
 
Matters have cooled down now and I think I will forgive the Zorki ;-). As I learned the hard way now I will follow your advice and never rewind without covering the lens (There are some perils with film, unexpected for the digital generation).
 
MHcell said:
Matters have cooled down now and I think I will forgive the Zorki ;-). As I learned the hard way now I will follow your advice and never rewind without covering the lens (There are some perils with film, unexpected for the digital generation).
Click to expand...

In many years, I can think of only a time or two when the shutter failed this way.

Now, the new Nikon AF cameras that failed out of the box because the camera was metering wrong, resulting in 6000 miles of driving and 30 lost rolls of negative film and 25 of E6 that had to be pulled a stop--

A replacement Zorki is much less costly than the bill Nikon stuck me with. ;-)

All lost film seem to be masterpieces though, mine came with the addition of five weeks of travel, and about $9,000 in expenses.

I do not know whether to prefer to think the photos were great or all terrible. ;-)

I would recommend a "make up" trip, am sure in Athens there are lots of great experiences, new and old, to soothe the wounds. ;-)


Regards, John
 
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I just had this happen on my FED 5. And I had taken some beautiful pictures. In fact, I think I was going to get a Pultzer prize for one of them. ^)%@#&*!!!!!!!!!!! I opened my FED to take out the role and the the shutter was half open. I fired a bunch of shots and each time the shutter only closed half way. I then wound the shutter, put it in B mode, fired, and shutter closed completely. Wound shutter again and put it on at a diff speed and shutter worked fine. I still have to develop the roll. I hope I can salvage something.
 
Never heard of a "self-capping" shutter. What is that?? Needless to say, shutters were always meant to be closed when the exposure was over -- that's why cameras have shutters.

However, about caps -- it's no secret that a rangefinder camera with a focal-plane shutter can be destroyed (or at least the shutter can) if it's left facing the sun with no cap on. Same effect as a magnifying glass on a piece of paper. The lens focuses the sun's rays, and presto!! -- a hole in the shutter. Of course, that's a CLOTH focal-plane -- a metal one might just get VERY hot.
 
dll927 said:
Never heard of a "self-capping" shutter. What is that?? Needless to say, shutters were always meant to be closed when the exposure was over -- that's why cameras have shutters.

However, about caps -- it's no secret that a rangefinder camera with a focal-plane shutter can be destroyed (or at least the shutter can) if it's left facing the sun with no cap on. Same effect as a magnifying glass on a piece of paper. The lens focuses the sun's rays, and presto!! -- a hole in the shutter. Of course, that's a CLOTH focal-plane -- a metal one might just get VERY hot.
Click to expand...

Another thing to look for when you buy one-- I think I have a couple, I hear there are patches, but I ruined a roll of film in Paris with a FSU camera I had bought a few weeks earlier.

Sometimes you can spot the pinholes showing against the reflection from the pressure plate.

John
 
When there are holes in the shutter you can easily see them by removing the lens, opening the back, and holding the camera in front of a very bright light.

Karl
 
Assuming that you can open the camera back, of course. With a bottom loader you either have to go by reflections from the pressure plate, by putting in a bit of film, shining a flashlight into the camera and waiting, or by taking off the cover.
 
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