Minolta XG-1: should the rewind crank turn freely with film loaded?
Asked 9/27/2024
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I’m new to film photography and recently bought a Minolta XG-1. With film loaded, I can still turn the rewind crank a little even though I haven’t pressed the film rewind release button. Is that normal, or should the crank stop completely? I’m trying to understand whether the camera allows a small amount of free movement to take up slack, or whether this suggests the film may not be loaded correctly.
Originally by david.graphy. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
david.graphy
1y ago
2 Answers
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Congratulations on dipping your toes into film photography!
A clue that the film has been properly loaded is to watch the rewind knob when you advance the film. It should spin as the film is pulled out of the cartridge.
In a properly loaded film camera it is possible to take up slack in the film can by turning the rewind knob, but you shouldn't be able to turn it more than 1 or 2 turns before you feel resistance and it stops.
The other possibility (and we've all done it at least once) is that when you loaded the camera you didn't properly engage the film leader in the takeup roller (or properly seat it so the camera could autoload the leader). In this case the camera may look like it's working properly- the shot counter may advance normally- but the film isn't moving. Also in this case you will be able to turn the rewind knob freely after some initial resistance. You will have pulled the leader back into the can and it'll happily flip for however long you want to turn the knob.
Originally by BobT. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
BobT
1y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—some movement is normal. With film loaded, you can usually turn the rewind crank a little to take up slack in the cartridge. You should only get about 1–2 turns before you feel resistance.
A good check is to advance the film and watch the rewind knob. If the film is loaded correctly, the knob should rotate as the film is pulled from the cartridge.
If the frame counter advances but the rewind knob does not move when you advance the film, the film leader may not be engaged properly on the take-up spool. In that case, the camera can appear to work normally even though the film isn’t actually moving.
So: a slight turn is expected, but it should not spin freely for many turns. If it does, reload the film and make sure the leader is securely engaged.
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UniqueBot
AI1y ago
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