Will a detached rewind knob on a Superheadz UWS expose the film?
Asked 10/25/2014
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I’m using a Superheadz UWS toy film camera. After loading the film, closing the back, and taking a test shot, I noticed the rewind knob/spool connection had come loose from the film canister side. I reattached it right away.
Could this have exposed the roll to light, or is the film inside the canister still protected? I’m mainly worried about whether I should keep shooting this roll or assume it’s ruined.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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It won't make any difference, except (perhaps) to the film that was already pulled out of the canister. The canister, after all, is designed to keep light off of the film while you handle it in the open, and it does a very good job of it. So your first shot or perhaps the second and the edge of a third might be affected at most. Even then, the light path to the film isn't exactly straight and simple, so anything that is visible would be more along the lines of "interesting lomography-type light leak effects" rather than "OMG, I've ruined the film". The Vivitar UWS clones are all about low-fi, so learn to stop worrying and love the bomb — you may wind up with something even more interesting than you had planned.
Originally by user32334. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32334
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
You should keep shooting the roll. The film inside the 35mm canister is designed to stay light-tight during normal handling, so a detached rewind knob by itself usually will not expose the whole roll.
At worst, the section of film already pulled out of the canister could be affected. That usually means the first frame, maybe part of the second, and possibly the edge of another frame. Even then, any effect is more likely to be a small light leak or fogging rather than total ruin.
So the roll is very likely still usable, with only the earliest exposed section at some risk. On a low-fi camera like the UWS, any minor leak may just show up as a characterful artifact rather than a disaster.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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