Processed film came out blank? Nikon F-501

MarkStern

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So I finished a roll of film today with my Nikon F-501 (named N2020 in the states).

After having the film processed I was told the film was blank and probably hadn't advanced through the camera. However I did rewind the film and i was sure having done so that the whole film advanced through the camera.

What other things could have caused this to happen?

Maybe a problem with the shutter?

If i have started a new thread unnecessarily I apologise.

I did a bit of searching but didn't find anything that helped.
 
New camera?
Has it worked before?
Can you set off the shutter with the back open and see it open?
Can you run it on a long exposure and hear it open/close?
 
New camera?
Has it worked before?
Can you set off the shutter with the back open and see it open?
Can you run it on a long exposure and hear it open/close?

All of these are good questions.

Perhaps you have a sticky shutter.
 
Have you seen this film?

If the frames are blank, but the markings and indications on the sides of the filmstrip are visible, then you have a camera problem (busted shutter, failure to advance, etc). If the markings and indications on the sides of the film strip are NOT visible, the film was processed incorrectly and the processor is trying to blame you.
 
Not a new camera.
Has worked before, hasn't been used for a couple of years though.
Yes I can set off the shutter with the back open and see it open.
Yes I can run LE and hear the shutter open and close.

I don't have the film but from what i can remember there wasn't any markings on the film. Completely blank.
 
If the film was literally blank, then your camera may or may not be broken, but the film was definitely processed wrong. Unless it was a roll of certain very specific brands that don't come with identifying marks and frame numbers designed to be developed in. I forget those brands, but I think they're strange, cheap, eastern european things.
 
If there were no markings, no frame numbers, no printed film type- there was problem with the developer.

An N2020 has a manual rewind knob. Load the camera, take up the slack on the rewind knob. Take the lens off, set the shutter to a slower speed so you can watch it open and close. As the film advances, you should be able to watch the rewind knob spin. If all that works, I would shoot the roll and have it developed somewhere else.
 
Since the shutter is working...sacrifice a roll of film....load it, fire off the shutter for at least half the roo and open the camera back without rewinding and see if the film is advancing.... Also looking through the back of the camera see if when you change shutter speeds that they look different
 
Unfortunately I have no film left at the moment. I am planning to shoot a roll tomorrow simply to make sure this doesn't happen again, and will have it processed in a different store.
They had a new girl working in the place, maybe they let her process the film and she messed it up. They did refund me the cost also but i don't know if that's normal as I haven't had this happen before.

If i get the same results tomorrow then i guess it's the camera, or I am an idiot.

Cheers guys!
 
If you shot a perfect roll of black and white film and they processed it in colour chemistry you will get a completely blank result.
 
Can it be that when you installed the film, it didn't actually "catch on" with the "teeth"? It's happened to me before with my F501. IF that was the case, the camera was working fine but your film wasn't moving at all.
Regarding the rewind knob, there were also times when I thought I felt resistance rewinding it but it wasn't actually rewinding anything. If you've left the camera untouched for a few years, it's worth having it serviced (overhaul). The lube could have gone dry. The circuit board may have been corroded. The rubbers may have cracked up. Mine had to be serviced for the mentioned reasons after it spent probably a decade in the storage.
 
I guess it is possible that it didn't catch on. It would mean admitting fault but at least I would know it's not the camera.

I'll get the guy in the shop to give it a once over today.
 
Shot a roll today. It came out fine which means I am probably to blame.

Thanks everyone that helped.
 
If it's color negative, try overexposing a stop. It'll open up shadows without really affecting highlights.
 

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