# Film completely being removed from the 35mm canister?



## SillyGoose

In the process of rewinding the film back into the canister, the film came off of the canister and I can't seem to insert it back into rewind.
Is the film now ruined, or is there something else I can do about it.


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## Derrel

If the film came "out" of the cannister and was exposed to daylight, it is ruined. Did you open the camera back and actually get a look at the film? Because if did literally "see" the film itself with the camera opened, that's very,very bad...


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## SillyGoose

Wasn't exposed to any day light. Not sure if I understand the second question clearly.. I did see the film with my own eyes when I opened the camera. Opened it because I was wondering why it wasn't rewinding.


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## vintagesnaps

Do you mean that the film came out of the canister?? or did it come loose from the spool? I don't see how film would come out of the canister unless you got ahold of the tail end and accidently pulled it or it somehow got caught on something (although I'm not sure what, I haven't had anything like that happen). 

I've accidently popped open the back of a camera before I rewound the film completely and slammed it shut right away so didn't have much of it get exposed. Chances are (a good chance unfortunately) that some frames were exposed while you had the camera open but any film that was already in the canister would probably not have been affected. 

Had you rewound the roll much when this happened? I forget what camera you're using.


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## SillyGoose

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZANKDQQWi...00/DIY+Film+Canister+Bag+Address+Tags+(3).jpg
Not my picture.

Film got completely removed from that. I have no clue how. 
This is the first roll of film since I got my camera.
I have a Vivitar V3800N.


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## pez

Weird. Never had that happen, and I used to load my own cassettes for years and years.


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## SillyGoose

What can I do to fix this issue?


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## gsgary

SillyGoose said:


> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZANKDQQWim4/UhuUzmjL77I/AAAAAAAAnUE/U1UhkFhkZVc/s1600/DIY+Film+Canister+Bag+Address+Tags+(3).jpg
> Not my picture.
> 
> Film got completely removed from that. I have no clue how.
> This is the first roll of film since I got my camera.
> I have a Vivitar V3800N.



Did you try to rewind the film without pressing the release button or lever ?


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## curtyoungblood

Are you planning on developing this yourself or sending it off to a lab?

If you're developing it yourself, then take the camera into the darkroom, remove the film, and proceed as normal.

if you're sending it to a lab, you probably can't fix this. You'd need to take the camera into a closet (with absolutely no light), take everything out of the camera, take the canister apart, respool the film, and reassemble the canister. However, when you remove the bottom, you're probably going to bend it, which will make it difficult to reassemble properly.


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## bhop

This roll sounds like a goner.


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## Light Guru

SillyGoose said:


> Wasn't exposed to any day light. Not sure if I understand the second question clearly.. I did see the film with my own eyes when I opened the camera. Opened it because I was wondering why it wasn't rewinding.



If you saw the film with your own eyes before it was developed then it was exposed to light.


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## Derrel

I've accidentally opened a camera back or two, or three, or six....with film all on the takeup spool...usually the first two wraps are totally ruined, but as you go deeper and deeper into the film wound on the 35mm takeup spool, the frames are less affected and not totally ruined. I agree, if you are self-developing, go into the darkroom, or put the camera into your changing bag with the developing tank and film spiral, and wind the film onto the spiral, then put it into the developing tank, cap the tank, and develop the film. You have little to lose, and potentially a lot to gain; maybe you will get an incredible, super-duper awesome light leak frame!

My experience is that FACTORY loaded film has one heck of a strong tape holding the film end to the spool or core inside all brands of 35mm factory-loaded cassettes of film. BULK-loaded stuff OTOH, well, it depends on who did the loading and who taped it on, and if it was taped directly to the spool's CORE of a reloadable 35mm film "cartridge", OR--if it was taped to the *tag end of a once-used 35mm film* that had been clipped off, and thyen a new bulk load taped ONTO the original tag...I mention this because of the photo you linked us to: that is one cheapskate way to "bulk load" and re-load a factory film load a few times...I have done it many,many times myself.


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## vintagesnaps

If the film is still in the camera, as Derrel said some if it might be salvageable if it was still wrapped around the spool tightly. If you want to try to get it developed you'd need to get in a completely dark room or use a changing bag to get it out of the camera and into a light tight container (like those used to develop film at home). It depends, some labs may be able to develop it even though it isn't in a cartridge anymore, but probably taking it to a drugstore may not be the best option.

How much of it do you think got rewound before you opened the back of the camera? I'm wondering how much of it might have been exposed to light. I guess it depends on what was on the roll, is it something you really want to try to salvage? or was it just practice and might be better to start over with a fresh roll? 

But - figure out why the film didn't rewind properly (and people on here could help you with that). I've never had anything like that happen, that it came totally out of the cartridge. Seems like the film pulled but didn't rewind and you don't want that to happen with your next roll.


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## minicoop1985

I've had this happen. Well, not exactly. I've had film shredded by the camera, then opened the back, stared for a minute, then OH SH*T. I'd bet this roll is a loss. Is this a roll for a client? If so, offer a free reshoot and call it film error if that's what really happened. This is why I MAINLY use digital for clients, but have a habit of talking up film with photographically inclined clients and screwing myself into doing their work on film.


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## gsgary

I think the goose has flown


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## Canoneer

Guess it's worth talking about anyway.   If you open up the camera and see the film is still stretched across, close the camera immediately.   Then, put it in a changing bag where it is protected from any light to open the camera, remove film, and in the case reported by Silly Goose, roll up the film holding only the edges and put it in a light-proof container like the black ones used by Kodak with the gray cap.  Tape the container up and label it and hand it over to the developer.  

If you don't have a change bag then use a large heavy double closed winter coat all zipped and buttoned up with the neck opening clothes-pinned shut.   Working in dim light, just in case.  

Lately I've been opening cameras in the changing bag with the film not quite rewound so as leave a bit of film leader sticking out of the cassette.    I scratch the camera name & number on the leader as a reminder of what camera the film came out of.   One of the hassles of having too many cameras and forgetting what was where.


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## StoneNYC

If you opened the back of the camera for more than say 5 seconds, even the stuff that's wrapped deep in will probably be ruined.

I'm not making fun of you, but you seem to not understand the basic concept of how film works, when the shutter opens, light comes through and hits the film, and exposes it. That image then needs to be developed in chemistry to be permanent. If you expose the entire roll to light before the film has been chemicals processed, then you "over expose" the images that were on the film and so you ruin the film. 

Opening the back in daylight and looking at the film is a silly move you silly goose you.. 

Next time, if you don't have a dark bag, wait until night time, turn off all of all the lights in the house, and go into the darkest room and then sit in the darkest closet with the door closed, take your camera and a flat head screwdriver. 

Then using only your feeling fingertips and no light whatsoever, you open the back of the film take out the film spool/canister and stick the screwdriver into one side of the canister, as you turn the screwdriver it will start to roll the film back into the canister, try and go in the "logical" direction, ya know away from the opening side. That will roll it all back inside.

Once there's no film sticking out anymore, then it safe to turn the lights on and look at the camera and trying figure out what went wrong.

If the sound is not roll back into the canister when you're turning the screwdriver, then you have snapped something inside of the canister, in this case it's best to take the whole camera down to your lab, not a local pharmacy, but I mean a real lab where they have a real dark room, and ask them to take the film out for you and develop it for you. If on the other hand you have your own dark bag and developing chemicals, you can just take it all apart and loaded into a spool to put in a developing tank and develop it yourself, but either way you do not want to expose the roll to light before it has been processed. Remember that the shutter speed is something like a fraction of a second usually, so if you open the back you're ready exposing the light for more than a second which usually will ruin at least the portion that is exposed to the light directly, the stuff that is wrapped up will slowly also absorb light and become ruined so that's why I said five seconds, because eventually the whole entire roll even deep inside it's wrapped up will become exposed given enough seconds of time.

I hope some of that made sense.


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