why to rewrap with lens cap on ?

[spiderfrank]

Hi everybody,
reading the owner manual of my Kiev camera (well... a generic Kiev manual downloaded by internet), the say to keep the cap on the lens rewrapping the film.
Why?
I forgot to do this but I had no problems at all... What can happen if I don't have the lens cap on?

Thank you
Franco

 

[Florian1234]

There's something going on with the shutter then. I think it is opened while transporting the film back into the can. So you have to put on the lens cap or hold the hand on the lens (that's my way actually, since I don't have a lens cap) to avoid the already exposed film to be ruined by another exposure.

 

[Spyderman]

There's something going on with the shutter then. I think it is opened while transporting the film back into the can.

No, but it might happen that by accident it would leak light, and all your film would be spoiled.

If your film was OK, then you probably needn't do that.

 

[Florian1234]

Thanks, Ondrej, to point that out. I thought I read something about the shutter in the Fed-2 manual. :angel:

 

[spiderfrank]

I think it should be something different, not the "open shutter issue", because when I push the button to disengage the take-up roll, it don't act in the shutter... And if the shutter could be left open, it should be a BIG problem during the normal use of the camera, and we know it's not so

 

[Sylvaticus]

This used to be good advice for any camera while rewinding film, to avoid spoiling the film from light leaks if there happened to be a problem with the shutter (an unknown pinhole, a scrap of film in the works ...). And you always had the cap on anyway to avoid burning a hole in the shutter in direct sunlight. Just belt, braces and safetypin sort of thing.

 

[nikon_sam]

WHAT???
If there's a problem with the shutter leaking light while rewinding the film what about the fact that the film is behind the shutter before, during and sometimes after the original exposure...
If light leaks through the shutter it happens all the time not just while rewinding...

 

[BillP]

From a purely practical point of view I tend to put the lens cap on because when rewinding I feel I am more likely to put my dirty great fingers over the lens than when just holding to shoot.

Regards,

Bill

 

[FrankS]

There is a chance that as you wind on the film and recock the shutter to prepare for the next exposure, that the 1st and 2nd shutter curtains may separate and allow a light leak to hit the film as this slit is pulled back up to the top of the shutter crate. If you wind on/cock the shutter with the lens cap on, your film will be okay, even if the 2 curtains separate slightly during this process. On a Kiev and Contax, the 2 curtains are supposed to lock together, but if not set up right, they sometimes do not lock. Putting on the lens cap is just insurance to protect the film if the curtains do not lock together properly. If the camera is working properly you do not have to do this.

 

[spiderfrank]

"if the camera is working properly you do not have to do this" : it's exactly my point, it is an excessive precaution, isn't it? Or there is something else that I don't know? Many people here dismounted a lot of old cameras, is there anybody who found any serious possibility to have a problem with the curtains when you arrive at the end of the roll? (more then at mid roll, I mean)

 

[tripod]

Excessive? It doesn't cost you anything. With older cameras, stuff happens. If the pictures are important and you want to eliminate the possibiity of them getting ruined while removing them from a wonky Kiev, why wouldn't you put on the lens cap?

 

[spiderfrank]

Excessive? It doesn't cost you anything. With older cameras, stuff happens. If the pictures are important and you want to eliminate the possibiity of them getting ruined while removing them from a wonky Kiev, why wouldn't you put on the lens cap?

"wonky" ??? Nahhhh.... A good Kiev is solid like the rock of Gibraltar! 🙂

 

[wolves3012]

"if the camera is working properly you do not have to do this" : it's exactly my point, it is an excessive precaution, isn't it? Or there is something else that I don't know? Many people here dismounted a lot of old cameras, is there anybody who found any serious possibility to have a problem with the curtains when you arrive at the end of the roll? (more then at mid roll, I mean)

Depends. If you have shots that you cannot afford to lose then it's just an extra layer of insurance. No, it isn't neccessary on a properly-working camera. I tend not to change films when out, so I usually rewind and remove films at home. If I had critical shots I'd probably even rewind in the dark, just in case. Rare I bother though and I've never had a problem. If the shutter blinds aren't closed then there's a big problem anyway. Every shot relies on them closing and staying closed or else the film will fog, at best, when you wind on.