I'm not able to take pictures with my camera

[anitadlmar]

Hello. :blushing:

I would appreciate any advise you can give me.

I bought a Pentax K1000. I have bought 3 films and I've had the same issue with all of them. The film is properly installed, however when I get them revealed the film itself is completely blank. Like no picture was taken at all. The film just advances, but it never really produces any image.

I thought it might be damaged, but a I took it to a shop and they tested it shooting a new roll, and all the pictures appeared perfectly once the film was revealed.

So, I don't really know what is it that I'm doing wrong when I take the pictures :c

 

[Joeywhat]

Are you sure it's properly installed and that it's advancing? I guess it wouldn't hurt to open it up mid roll and check, considering what has been happening.

 

[weepete]

Expose properly.

 

[BlackSheep]

What do the negatives look like when you get them? Are they all black or all clear? Or something in between?
Are you able to scan the negatives (or even take a photo of them with some light behind) so we can see them??
Oh and are you developing your own film, or getting it developed by a lab?

 

[Danmunro_nz]

Sounds like a camera problem. Remember these cameras are getting old. I have not long got myself a K1000, I have not yet used it, I have replaced all the light seals as they were perished. I also checked the shutter worked at every setting, also tested the meter by comparing it to my 7D. Turns out its spot on with the 7Ds meter at every setting I tried. So I am confident it will work reliably. Also check you aperture stops down as it should and that its not stuck.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[Derrel]

You MIGHT NOT be getting the film threaded and properly and securely wound-on to the film take-up spool. During normal operation of the camera, the rewind crank, on the top left of the top deck, should revolve COUNTER-clockwise when the film is advanced; the normal procedure is to open the camera and thread the film into the take-uop spool, close the back, and then advance and shoot "blanks" until the frame counter goes to 1.

A way to assure proper advance is, after loading, turn the rewind crank clockwise, until you feel the film get tight, then stop. Then, after you shoot a frame, watch and make sure the rewind crank turns "backwards" when you advance the film winder lever with your right thumb! If the film is PROPERLY loaded, you only need to make this check one time, maybe twice...if it's "ON THE SPOOL RIGHT", the film WILL advance and be exposed, with a normally working camera.

I used to work in a camera store, and have helped many people with FILM LOADING procedures; it's a pretty common issue.

 

[vintagesnaps]

It sounds like that may be the case, that the film never advanced and when you thought you were rewinding you were just turning the cartridge round and round...

This would waste a little film but might be worth a try - when you get the end of the film attached onto the spool, leave the back of the camera open and watch as you push the shutter release button and push the lever to advance the film a couple of times - then you could see that the film actually has attached and is advancing.

You'd then have to allow for the film that already advanced so on a roll of 24 maybe you'd only get 20 or less exposures. When I've done this (with an old camera that I was having trouble with) I've usually advanced the film a couple of more times after I close the door. I don't do this on a regular basis, have just done it on occasion with a wonky camera.

You could look at Film Photography Project | An Internet Radio Show & On-Line Resource for Film Shooters Worldwide I think they have a video on how to load film.

 

[anitadlmar]

OMG!! thank you everyone that responded! My pc crashed!! I can finally read all your replies thank you really

The thing is the first two rolls were installed by the guy in the shop, and both films were developed by them.

The first film had like two photos completely black, after this the entire roll was all clear. Like you know, a new film. Like it was never exposed or something.

On the second film there was two pictures that came out. The rest of the film was completely clear again, like no exposure had been done to it.

After i wasted those two, the guy installed a third one and he took all the pictures. He developed them, and they all looked great. No issues whatsoever.

So I know for a fact that I am the one making the mistake.

Regarding the rewind crank, ,it sometimes turns, ,and sometimes it doesn't. The guy in the shop told me that it was sort of broke, because when he shoot the third film sometimes it moved and sometimes it didn't. But the development of the film was proper. All the pictures looked really nice.

I do think that it maybe that the film is not being properly installed, or that somehow it's slipping and it's not held tight. However, that guy at the shop was the one that installed it the three times, and I guess he knows what he's doing, plus when he shot the film, everything went okay.

So yeah..haha I'm pretty lost. I bought a fourth film, and I'm trying to read more into proper handling of the camera, plus exposures. So hopefully I can advance.

Would love some feedback, Thank you again for your kindness and responding. XOXOXO

 

[Gavjenks]

It's possible that you're vastly underexposing all of them if his turned out okay. But that still seems unlikely, unless you admittedly know nothing at all about what you're doing with exposures. If you think you know what you're doing and you're paying attention to the meter, and your settings are somewhat sanely normal (e.g. close to sunny 16 rule settings), then it's not that.

One possibility might be that you had the camera in rewind mode the entire time, so that the advance lever was disengaged? Mine won't let you advance normally while in rewind though, but it's a different model. And also, if you rewind mechanism is broken, then that might be possible even if it normally wouldn't be.

Also camera shop guys aren't perfect. There's some chance they installed it badly the first two times. Especially if it might have something broken and you have to jiggle something abnormally to get it to work, then it's possible that they just lucked out the third roll.

I suggest, like other have said, getting a new roll to sacrifice and just looking at what happens inside with the back open while you do stuff.

 

[limr]

K1000s are getting old, yes, but they're built like tanks. Mine is 20 years old, has been in pretty much continuous (if not always heavy) use, has its fair share of scrapes and dings, and is still working without problems.

I agree with everything else said so far. Watch the rewind knob while advancing the film. Pay close attention to how smoothly the film advances or if there are any funny sounds coming out of the camera while advancing. It's an SLR so you'd notice if you left the lens cap on, so we can rule that out And it won't let you trip the shutter until you advance the film, so there should be no accidental double/over exposures. Could just need a good cleaning and lubricating if the advance or rewind knobs are sticky.

If all else fails, ditch this one and find another one on e-bay. They're not expensive.

 

[peter27]

I have a K1000 and this is how I load: I insert the tapered end of the new film in the slot of the film spool, lower the rewind crank into the film roll and take up the slack carefully with the rewind crank. Then, with the back still open, I advance the film and check that the rewind crank rotates anti clockwise and that the film wraps itself smoothly around the film spool. Then I close the back and repeat until the film is at 0. All the time the little handle on the rewind crank is out because it makes it easier to see if the crank is turning properly. Once I'm happy, I fold the arm back in and I'm ready to go.

 

[anitadlmar]

well, i gotta say i don't know that much about exposures...this is my first camera..ever :meh: i do read all i can get my hands on..and i've tried to use that sunny 16 rule the three times i've tried..

i will read more into it and hopefully i can get it working..thank you all for your replies !!

i'll let you know if i can pull it off..<3<3