Is there anyway I can tell if a 135 film has been exposed ?

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

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O.k I am about to move house and Mrs Badger has took it upon her self to pack some of my stuff, She has mixed some films together exposed and unexposed I'm pretty sure I have the right two films which were exposed but don't want to send them off for processing only to find out I'm wrong and pay for nothing. Is there anyway I could cheat even if it means destroying a few frames ? I'm guessing not but I thought I would ask . The leader is still sticking out which of course makes it even harder.

Thanks all
 
On all my film cameras, the leader of the film gets kinked by being attached to the take-up spool. Sometimes the kinking is rather slight but it is always there. Of course, if your camera is more gentle than any of mine that might not happen.
 
Not as useful as John's suggestion, but I always wind in the leader on films I'm sending to the lab so I know they've definitely been exposed.
 
john.margetts said:
On all my film cameras, the leader of the film gets kinked by being attached to the take-up spool. Sometimes the kinking is rather slight but it is always there. Of course, if your camera is more gentle than any of mine that might not happen.
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Thats a good point actually, all mine barring two do that exact thing, its worth having a look for

Peter B said:
Not as useful as John's suggestion, but I always wind in the leader on films I'm sending to the lab so I know they've definitely been exposed.
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I leave my leaders out to make processing easier, but I do tear off the very end of it, makes it easy to spot that its been shot.
 
I've always rewound the film back into the cassette once I've shot the last frame, even when I processed my own film. This was for two reasons, firstly it was obvious which film had been exposed, and secondly, I figured the fewer times I ran that film through the lightproof felt sealing strip, the less chance I had of it being scratched. Even though I loaded my own film at one time (re-cycling my used film cassettes), I still rewound it fully back into the cassette, as popping the end cap off to develop the film was one less time the film had to be dragged through the felt.
 
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I've had this problem too, though not in those circumstances. Usually my colour films get rewound into the cassette, not least to make clear they've been shot. For my b&w films, which I develop myself in a Rondinax, I do leave the leader out, but only half an inch, so my practice is directly opposite to Mr B's (and the film goes through the felt at least one more time in the Rondinax, too... which has on occasion resulted in longitudinal scratches :( ). Some of the other ideas are quite good, particularly tearing off the end of the leader...

But that's no help to the OP.

I did try the kink trick, too, but the kinks seemed to disappear after a few days sitting in the canister. I've certainly sent a couple of films off for processing that were unexposed... happily the labs only charged me for processing, not the requested scans.

If you had some b&w chems (caffenol anyone?), you could try cutting off a few frames in a dark bag/under the duvet and processing them?
 
Loading a few frames into a tank and developing in whatever you have as @ChrisR suggests is an option I have used in the past. These days I write on the leader with a Sharpie when I load the camera with date, an abbreviated camera name (and last digits of serial number when testing a new or repaired camera).

When developing several at the same time in the Jobo I also have a 3d printed gadget that lets me punch a new number in the film with a pin so I can keep track of which is which.
 
I always wind mine back in for the reasons mentioned, but I had a friend who always insisted on leaving the tail out after exposure. He'd use a hole-punch to put a hole in the exposed film - to me it was unnecessary (and a bit daft), but we all have our own ways I suppose. :thinking:
 
Another vote for winding the film all the way in.
 
Thanks all for the replies, Like an idiot I went through a phase were I diliberateley did not wind the film all the way back in . I had the intention of getting a batch of film together and then processing them myself all at the same time, this never happened but I kept them apart from each other. I'll have a look for a kink but unfortunately I have not shot any colour film for a while so I know these (two of them) are at least a year old. fingers crossed.
 
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Too late for the OP but I used to fold back the end 5mm or so on B&W that wasn't rewound into the cassette and always rewound colour all the way since that would be farmed out for D&P. Cameras usually put a slight kink in but not always. Better to D&P an unexposed film that to double expose one IMO - it'll be your late auntie Nell who gets a tree over her face...
 
50 years ago, give or take a week or two, I was taught to leave the leader out as it filled any small spaces in the felt light trap in the cassette and thus ensured light tightness. I have always done so with no problems. It also makes it easier to load the developing spiral.
 
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I was taught the same thing re leaving the leader out, but fearing scratches always took the top off the cassette to load the film into the developing spiral. My method of distinguishing exposed from unexposed is the low tech one of leaving the film in the box until I need it. I then know that any unopened boxes contain unopened cassettes, and any roll film still in unbroken sealing (plastic?) is unexposed. Although with roll film, the sticker tells you whether it's exposed or not anyway.

Perhaps preprinted labels to stick on 35mm to indicate exposed - or just a red dot (apologies to Leitz)?
 
Just in case I can't remember what I've done with a 35mm film, I just write an 'X' on the leader. I don't know what all this paranoia about the felt scratching negatives is about; I have been reusing my old Ilford cassettes since the 1970s and have never scratched a film by winding it through the trap on to a spiral. Perhaps it's because I don't use the empty cassettes as garden tools.
 
Probably doesn’t help now you don’t know which is which but when I leave the leader out I always cut the end off so it’s square. In my head it made it easier to load onto the reels (probably makes no difference) and I know which has been used
 
NickT said:
Just in case I can't remember what I've done with a 35mm film, I just write an 'X' on the leader. I don't know what all this paranoia about the felt scratching negatives is about; I have been reusing my old Ilford cassettes since the 1970s and have never scratched a film by winding it through the trap on to a spiral. Perhaps it's because I don't use the empty cassettes as garden tools.
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Back in the 1960s, Victor Blackman in his AP column was talking about bulk loading film. He said that they's tried it at the Daily Express, then threw in the comment that they did get more scratches... Possibly pressmen do use their cassettes for digging up news...
 
StephenM said:
Back in the 1960s, Victor Blackman in his AP column was talking about bulk loading film. He said that they's tried it at the Daily Express, then threw in the comment that they did get more scratches... Possibly pressmen do use their cassettes for digging up news...
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Don't forget, some bulk film loaders in those days featured felt light seals, and repeated use with those was reputed to cause scratches, hence the 'selling point' appeal of film loaders that were 'felt free'.
 
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