Hi,
You've made a very common error...nothing to be embarrassed about. Wait
'til you hear my story!
The frame counter is activated by the advance lever whether film is present
in the camera or not. (Fire off a few shots "dry" - without loading film -
and you'll see). So, the frame counter is no proof that an exposure
actually been made on film.
When loading, make sure the end of the film roll is threaded all the way
through a slot, not just into it. Some
photographers thread it through two slots. Then, with the back still open,
advance the film lever one frame and fire the shutter to make sure the
film's advancing and the sprockets are engaged in the sprocket holes. Close
the back and...finally...gently wind the rewind crank backwards until you
feel resistance. As you advance through the roll, check for rotation of the
rewind knob. If it's rotating, the film's loaded properly.
Some will tell you that advancing one frame before closing the back "wastes"
a shot. So, who cares? I learned my lesson the hard way. I was in a
hospital delivery room 20 years ago, patiently awaiting the arrival of my
baby daughter. Hours earlier than expected, my wife went into the final
stages of labor and the birth was imminent. Hurredly, I tossed a roll of
Kodachrome in my Leica -- as I had a thousand trouble-free times before --
and began firing away one breathtaking shot after another (yes...I did pause
to comfort my wife).
Well, you know what happened, don't you? In my haste, I had failed to make
sure the film was securely threaded through the takeup spool and not one
shot was actually taken. Irreplaceable photos of the miracle of my little
girl's birth were never made because I was careless. "Waste" a shot, and
make sure the camera's loaded correctly, my friend. Some photos are once in
a lifetime opportunities.
Craig R.
Boston
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brett Lucas" <bbrettl@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 12:21 PM
Subject: [OM] Re: Film loading question
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