i shoot with (or have been trying to…) an old Chinon CM-4. the shutter releases and the film advances, but when i took a role to get developed there was absolutly nothing on it, looked exactly the way it did when loading it. my exposure lights work so i know it has nothing to do with the battery… what i’m wondering is if you would be able to tell me if this is a film issue or could there actually be something wrong with my camera itself? thanks, in advance! and a bigger thanks for such an inspiring blog!

December 31st, 2010

i shoot with (or have been trying to...) an old Chinon CM-4. the shutter releases and the film advances, but when i took a role to get developed there was absolutly nothing on it, looked exactly the way it did when loading it. my exposure lights work so i know it has nothing to do with the battery... what i'm wondering is if you would be able to tell me if this is a film issue or could there actually be something wrong with my camera itself?

thanks, in advance! and a bigger thanks for such an inspiring blog!

sayitsname

Well, if your film was blank it is highly possible there is something wrong with your camera. When you open the back and pop the shutter, do you see it opening and closing? A light leak would cause your film to be black, not blank - blank is a sign of zero light exposure. I would try another test roll and if it comes out blank again, you may want to consider getting it repaired.

sayitsname said: wow! thank you everyone! i’m gonna take some time and investigate!
justingonyea said: Just in case - youtube.com/watch?v…
matte-finish said: Or the film was loaded wrong (some cameras are really hard to load). I always advance the film and use the first shot just to get it loaded correctly on my camera that’s really difficult.
woluf said: May I just say to make sure the film was in correctly as well. That can cause blank rolls and has happened to me once or twice by accident when not correctly checking the film was securely in and able to wind on.
istillshootfilm posted this