Film advance lever won't advance...

[danglybanger]

...thanks in advance for having patience enough to deal with someone who's too young to have dealt with a film camera before Here's my experience of trying for the first time ever.

...so I have a Ricoh KR5. According to the instructions...

8. Advance Film Advance Lever ( 11 ) two or three times. after depressing Shutter Release Button (9) each time. until the number'' 1'' is opposite the index line in Exposure Counter (12) (Fig. 9).

...depressing that button and moving the advance lever does... nothing. The lever just kind of stops. and the button pops out again. The film isn't advanced anyway...

If I take a picture, I can wind it back, but under no other circumstances. Am I missing something? Is something wrong with the camera?

thanks.

 

[d1a1s1]

Will it work without the film in the camera?

 

[danglybanger]

...it didn't seem to... Only after a picture's been taken. I'll try again when I've used up the rest of these exposures (though I already pretty much completely exposed the last roll I took out when trying to take it out of the camera anyway...)

 

[d1a1s1]

OK, now Im lost. I thought you were having problems loading the film. The instructions you quoted are to load the film onto the take up reel. Then your saying you have been taking pictures?

I think you need to start with an empty camera, a new roll of film, and page one of the instruction manual.

 

[danglybanger]

HAH.

ok, I can load the film onto the camera by using the little knob on the takeup spool INSIDE the camera.

Once the film is loaded and the camera is closed, I can't advance the film using the advance knob to clear the exposed film and get the counter to one.

The only way I can get the film to advance is to take a picture at that point. After I've taken a picture, I can then advance film.

But apparently I should be able to advance film just by pressing down that button and pulling the knob back.

So I want to know if I'm missing something, or if the camera is broken.

Does that make sense?

 

[fightheheathens]

i think your missing something...

the only way you can advance film is to expose it first.
after you put the film into the camera while the back is still open, you press the shutter release button (aka take a picture) and advance the film one frame to make sure all the sprockets are lining up
then you close the back take a picture, and advance the lever. you repeat this until you get to the little 1. then you actually start to compose and take "real" pictures.

basically inorder to move the film foward, you first have to trip the shutter.
that is achieved by taking a picture.

 

[danglybanger]

...ok , my instruction manual is blurred and had me convinced part 9 (shutter release button) was the one on the bottom of the thing (rewind release button for the record, according to the manual) so yeah. that totally wasn't working.

...I'll come back when I'm less embarassing thanks.

 

[RedDevilUK]

LOL

or as Homer would say Doh!!