Opened the back of my film camera before the roll was fully rewound — which frames are likely ruined?
Asked 11/18/2023
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I finished a roll on a Yashica FX-3 Super and started rewinding it to remove the film. I thought it was fully rewound, but when I opened the back, some film was still outside the cassette and got exposed to light. Will the part that was already rewound into the canister be safe? About how many frames near the end of the roll are likely to be lost?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
2y ago
2 Answers
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Why wouldn't the film that was already rewound be ok? The film inside the cassette is protected from light, don't you agree?
How much film remained outside the cassette? That's the film that was entirely flooded with light. Consider that each frame is 36mm in width, along with a gap between frames of approx 2mm. Also consider the "leader" portion at the start of the roll, where there are no pictures to begin with.
Originally by user38159. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38159
2y ago
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The film that was already rewound into the cassette should be fine, because the cassette protects it from light. The risk is to the film that was still outside the canister when you opened the back.
Anything fully exposed across the camera back is likely ruined, and any frames partly wound onto the take-up spool may be partially fogged or lost. How many images are affected depends on how much film was still out: each 35mm frame is about 36mm long, plus a small gap between frames. If only a short length was still outside, you may lose just the last few shots; if more was out, more frames will be affected.
The leader section at the start of the roll normally contains no photos, so that part doesn’t matter here. In the end, the exact result will only be clear after processing, but the already rewound portion should not be damaged.
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