[brainsweetiesss]

Hey guys,

I took my new ME Super with me on my holidays, first time shooting with it after replacing the light seals, didn't have time to shoot a test roll unfortunately. After finishing the roll I started rewinding but felt almost no pressure/tension at all, the tension was there only for 4 or 5 seconds and then it was gone, I know how the tension "feels" cause I shot a couple times with a Canon AE-1 (even though im a newbie), but this time it felt completely different. I kept rewinding for a minute or more just in case but still nothing.

Now i went to the toilet in complete darkness and opened the back door, when i touched the back, the film was all the way back in the canister... What's going on? Being honest loading the film was a bit of a pain with this camera, it has this weird and extremely annoying white plastic which makes it really hard for a newbie to load, but after trying for a minute or so i managed to load it "properly" i guess, i shot 3 or 4 times just to make sure the film was loaded and advancing well and it was. The film roll was a 36 portra 400 and after shooting 33/34 times i couldnt shoot anymore which i guess means the roll was actually finished? I dont really know if the counter goes any higher than 36, you guys tell me

I had some really nice and meaningful pics from Moscow and a good friend of mine in this roll, I hope i didn't **** up

TL;DR : Loaded the film well, shot a few times just to make sure it was advancing. When rewinding I didn't feel much tension, I only felt it for 4 or 5 seconds ( but i kept going). Opened the back door in the dark and the film was all the way back in the canister.

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Last edited by MarkJerling; 10-30-2018 at 04:31 PM.

[brofkand]

Most likely, the film was not properly loaded from the beginning.

[MarkJerling]

If the film is all the way in the canister and if you could not shoot anymore after 34 shots, and then rewinded normally, then it sounds as if everything worked as it should have.
Sounds like you'll have to develop the film to know for sure.

[stevebrot]

Most likely, the film was not properly loaded from the beginning.

Yes, that is the most likely cause. The usual symptoms (we have all done this) are:

• No abrupt resistance at what should have been end of roll (first clue)
• Getting 40 or more exposures before finally deciding to rewind
• Feeling no resistance after a few turns of the rewind crank
• No pictures

Now i went to the toilet in complete darkness and opened the back door, when i touched the back, the film was all the way back in the canister... What's going on? Being honest loading the film was a bit of a pain with this camera, it has this weird and extremely annoying white plastic which makes it really hard for a newbie to load, but after trying for a minute or so i managed to load it "properly" i guess, i shot 3 or 4 times just to make sure the film was loaded and advancing well and it was.

Some people have a difficult time with the "magic fingers", particularly after using Canon QL cameras with their super easy film load. The trick is to feed the film in between the fingers and not worry about it. Insert the film leader, advance the film until the sprocket holes are engaged, top and bottom, and close the door. Advance the film several times confirming that the rewind knob is turning until the counter is at "1".

The full engagement of the sprocket teeth is essential since the film transport drives through those teeth. The take-up spool does not pull the film.

I hope this helps. Do you have a copy of the camera manual? A PDF version is available for free at the link below. When opening the file, it will prompt for a password, use "Pentax".

Pentax Manuals | Manual Focus K-mount Cameras


Steve

[Eyewanders]

Hey guys,

I took my new ME Super with me on my holidays, first time shooting with it after replacing the light seals, didn't have time to shoot a test roll unfortunately. After finishing the roll I started rewinding but felt almost no pressure/tension at all, the tension was there only for 4 or 5 seconds and then it was gone, I know how the tension "feels" cause I shot a couple times with a Canon AE-1 (even though im a newbie), but this time it felt completely different. I kept rewinding for a minute or more just in case but still nothing.

Now i went to the toilet in complete darkness and opened the back door, when i touched the back, the film was all the way back in the canister... What's going on? Being honest loading the film was a bit of a pain with this camera, it has this weird and extremely annoying white plastic which makes it really hard for a newbie to load, but after trying for a minute or so i managed to load it "properly" i guess, i shot 3 or 4 times just to make sure the film was loaded and advancing well and it was. The film roll was a 36 portra 400 and after shooting 33/34 times i couldnt shoot anymore which i guess means the roll was actually finished? I dont really know if the counter goes any higher than 36, you guys tell me

I had some really nice and meaningful pics from Moscow and a good friend of mine in this roll, I hope i didn't **** up

TL;DR : Loaded the film well, shot a few times just to make sure it was advancing. When rewinding I didn't feel much tension, I only felt it for 4 or 5 seconds ( but i kept going). Opened the back door in the dark and the film was all the way back in the canister.

All of Steve's comments are right on. For a visual assist check out David's vid (this is part 2 of 2) - he begins loading film around 2 minutes into the video.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Not a Number]

A couple ways to check if the film is properly engaged on the take up spool and sprockets:

• Without pressing the rewind release turn the rewind crank gently. If engaged it should tighten and stop turning after you take up the slack on the spool.
• The rewind knob should turn as you advance the film.

If the film was not locked on the take up you should be able to hear the leader moving past the pressure plate and stop before it gets pulled into the canister. If not, get one of those film leader retrieval gadgets - a camera bag essential.

Note: one trick to do multiple exposures is to take up the slack on the rewind knob. Hold the knob steady throughout the next steps. Press the rewind release button. Crank the film advance lever. Pressing the rewind release should disengage the clutch on the take up spindle and sprockets allowing the advance to cock the shutter without moving the film. The clutch should engage at this point and reset the rewind button.

[roberrl]

The OP has my sympathy - as a frequent user of ME and ME Super back in the day I approached loading a film in my newly acquired and CLA'd MX with confidence only to fumble about for several minutes all the while thinking this never used to be a problem .. maybe old age is creeping on.

[funktionsfrei]

Most likely, the film was not properly loaded from the beginning.

The ME Super has a small window below the film forwarding lever (on the right hand side of the camera's body), where you can check the film movement. This helps with loading film correctly.

[brainsweetiesss]

I've been thinking all day about this haha, I'm so sad about it.

I think I'll get off work and load some cheap Agfa 200, leave the back door open and start shooting to see if when rewinding I feel something weird going on. I really wanna know how it feels when rewinding properly because someone told me that the ME super rewinds the film in a slightly different way compared to other film cameras, don't know what he actually meant by saying this.

[womble]

It maybe because the ME Super was my first 35mm camera (in 1982) that I have never found the magic needles to be a problem. If you could not wind the film on any more before you started rewinding, all should be OK. If the film is not loaded properly, it will keep letting you wind on for ever...

[funktionsfrei]

leave the back door open and start shooting to see if when rewinding I feel something weird going on.

That's really not necessary. The problem is not rewinding, the problem is winding. And that can be checked without ruining a roll of film. Check the small window below the forwarding lever. If the orangish lines don't move, the film doesn't move.


You'll just have to check this when spooling in a new film, the first few movements of the forwarding lever (after closing the camera's back) must result in activity in the window. If it doesn't, re-open the camera's back and try to correct the film's insertion into the winding spool.

It's not that difficult, I managed that as a teenager, when the ME Super was spanking new.

[johnha]

Now i went to the toilet in complete darkness and opened the back door, when i touched the back, the film was all the way back in the canister... What's going on? Being honest loading the film was a bit of a pain with this camera, it has this weird and extremely annoying white plastic which makes it really hard for a newbie to load, but after trying for a minute or so i managed to load it "properly" i guess, i shot 3 or 4 times just to make sure the film was loaded and advancing well and it was. The film roll was a 36 portra 400 and after shooting 33/34 times i couldnt shoot anymore which i guess means the roll was actually finished? I dont really know if the counter goes any higher than 36, you guys tell me

If you mean you wound it 3-4 times with the back open checking for it winding, then closed the back and the winder jammed with the counter showing 33-34 - this suggests the film loaded and advanced to the end (consistent with 38-39 exposures). The frame counter stops moving at about frame 39, but the camera would still shoot and advance 'normally' until the film pulls tight. It normally takes about 25 revolutions of the rewind lever to rewind a 36 exp film.

The ways to check for film transport are as described, check the orange/black indicator under the wind lever shimmers or take-up the slack in the rewind knob and watch to see it spinning as you advance*.

* The last two rolls of Ektar 100 I've shot seem to require the slack to be constantly taken up to check this.

[stevebrot]

I've been thinking all day about this haha, I'm so sad about it.

One thing that I forgot in my previous comment is to ask if the pressure plate on the film door is present. Every so often cameras are sold used where the pressure plate is missing or damaged. If the plate is not proper, the film will bow up and not engage the sprocket cogs.


Steve

[noblepa]

No one seems to have mentioned the obvious. On any camera with a manual rewind crank, such as the ME Super, just watch the rewind crank as you shoot. Once the slack has been taken up, the rewind crank should turn every time you advance the film.

If the crank does not turn, then the film is not really advancing.

Also, when you load the film, check to make sure that the rewind button on the bottom of the camera has reset itself. It should do so after one or two advances. If it does not, the film will not advance properly.

[Not a Number]

No one seems to have mentioned the obvious. On any camera with a manual rewind crank, such as the ME Super, just watch the rewind crank as you shoot. Once the slack has been taken up, the rewind crank should turn every time you advance the film.

See below

A couple ways to check if the film is properly engaged on the take up spool and sprockets:

• Without pressing the rewind release turn the rewind crank gently. If engaged it should tighten and stop turning after you take up the slack on the spool.
• The rewind knob should turn as you advance the film

.