Something funny is going on... 40+ shots on a roll of 36

[Mr Will]

Yes; it was in the sprocket properly and the rewind knob was going round (before you all suggest that!)

Just put a roll of poundland's finest through my Bessa. Got to shot 36 and it wound on to 37 as normal, then 38, 39 and 40... At which point I started to question my sanity and fired off a load of frames to see if I could make it reach the end, which sure enough it did (several frames later, I guess about 43/44 total). It rewound quite happily, I heard it pop off the sprocket at the appropriate point the canister is sat in front of me now looking suspiciously normal...

So, place your bets now, what will I find when I get it developed?

1. 36 shots
2. 44 shots
3. lots of double exposures (how?)
4. Nothing but blackness
5. Nothing but white
6. Totally Hooley'd
7. Something else entirely

I will update you all in a few days time once I've been to the lab.

 

[Strapps]

Does your Bessa have a multi-exposure lever or something? My FE2 has a little lever that you push when you wind on and it disengages the film winder from the shutter-cocking doohickey (apologies for using technical terms). That could have an intermittent failure, possibly. Maybe.

I know when I've wound my own film, once you're up to about 40 exposures the canister gets pretty tight so as you didn't notice that, I'll place my imaginary bet on a few double exposures or overlaid shots where it's not wound on enough, closely followed by you sending your camera off for a quick CLA and check of the winder. Have you tried firing multiple shots with the back open to ensure it's winding properly?

 

[abdoujaparov]

44 shots, each one slightly overlapping the previous one.

 

[AshleyC]

2, 3, 6

Your wind on gearing isn't winding on enough?

 

[excalibur2]

44 shots, each one slightly overlapping the previous one.

I'd go for something like that as well

 

[FujiLove]

Poundland providing even better value?

 

[Steve Smith]

The last time I got to 44 it was because there was no film in the camera!


Steve.

 

[RumpFace]

If it's over length it might crash the process.

 

[Woodsy]

44 shots, each one slightly overlapping the previous one.

That'd be my guess also.

 

[Mr Will]

Well to add to the confusion, I ran a roll of black and white through it last night which worked 100% perfectly...

 

[robhooley167]

Maybe a bit of all of them, though I'd guess number 2 or the slight overlap.

 

[Mr Will]

Okay; the long awaited follow-up to this...

38 shots, no overlaps, no double exposures, worked perfectly. I guess the counter didn't reset all the way to zero :-S

 

[Strapps]

Talk about an anti-climax...

 

[Mr Will]

Yes, but on the plus side I do now have 9 identical pictures of my office window...