karenm49•5d agoProlific Poster

Lost 3 rolls of film from a family wedding because I didn't check the seal on my camera

Last month I shot my cousin's wedding in Austin with my old Pentax K1000. I was so careful about the shots, got the couple kissing, the cake cutting, all that. Dropped the rolls off at the lab and waited a week. When I picked them up the guy said all three rolls were completely blank. Turns out the light seal foam on my camera back had rotted away. So the whole time I was shooting, light was just pouring in. I felt like an idiot. Now I check that foam on every camera I buy, even if it looks fine. Has anyone else had a camera fail on them at a big event like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

pat_hall875d ago

You just gotta pop that back open and shine a bright light through the door before you load anything. I had a similar screw up with a Nikon FE2 at a buddy's outdoor ceremony years ago. The whole first roll came out looking like a foggy mess from that exact same rotten foam problem. Now I keep a little strip of black gaffer tape in my bag just to seal the hinge on old cameras as a backup. It's a bummer but at least you know for next time, those seals are the first thing that go on any vintage gear.

julia_fisher285d ago

Wait, you mean the foam actually rotted so bad that it fogged up the entire first roll? I mean, I've heard of those seals going bad but that's wild, I didn't realize it could mess up the images that badly.