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I am very new to photography. I bought a Zenit 12xp and color film for it. I loaded the film in the camera but I can't take any photos. When I take a picture and remove the film and hold it up to the light, I don't see anything. Is there something I missed?

osullic
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kulaksız
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  • when i take a picture and take the film off and hold it up to the light i don't see anything – kulaksız Jan 09 '23 at 14:20
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    The user manual for your camera is available online. It's also available in French. Ensure you read it and understand how to use your camera properly. Have a look at this short introductory video on film photography too. If you are still having problems, I'd advise finding a local camera store if possible, and ask one of the assistants there for a few pointers to begin. – osullic Jan 09 '23 at 14:33
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    Twenty years ago, this kind of question would have been a joke. Today, it's a serious and reasonable question for folks who've grown up with digital... – Zeiss Ikon Jan 10 '23 at 12:04
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    It may be worth adding that the thing you expected to happen does exist, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_film (or colloquially "polaroid"). But it needs that specific kind of film and camera. – tevemadar Jan 10 '23 at 14:33
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    @ZeissIkon Times, they are a changin :) I was out taking pictures with my film camera the other day and my friend's son was baffled that he couldn't see the pictures right then and there. (He's 16) – LightBender Jan 10 '23 at 20:30
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    @LightBender I think that kids today have more experience with instant than conventional film thanks to Instax being marketed as party favors and stickers, a reversal from how it was during the heyday of film. – user71659 Jan 10 '23 at 20:56
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    "Is there something I missed?" Yes. Yes, there is. – Martha Jan 12 '23 at 00:01
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    I am reminded of a story of a little boy who planted some seeds -- and then kept impatiently digging them back up to see how they were doing. – JPmiaou Jan 12 '23 at 13:41
  • @JPmiaou With seeds, one could actually do this and see them developing into a plant. Some patience advisable, of course. – fraxinus Jan 12 '23 at 16:35
  • There are now no longer any photos. It's intended to be light tight for a reason. – Davidw Jan 13 '23 at 02:41
  • It's like "I talked to my 5-year old how some people are not nice but they still were disturbed by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre". – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jan 13 '23 at 10:47

1 Answers1

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It seems you've significantly misunderstood how film photography works. You missed the key step of film development (also known as film processing).

The entire strip of film is sensitive to light – and extremely sensitive to light, at that. The camera itself can be thought of as a simple light-tight box, protecting the film from light. Once the film is loaded, then every time the film is advanced, more unexposed film is drawn out of the film cassette. When you take a photo, the shutter opens for a set amount of time – usually a tiny fraction of a second – allowing in just enough light for an image to be formed on the film inside. But the film is still sensitive to further light exposure at this stage. If you open the back of the camera, or pull the film out of the cassette, you are flooding all visible film with light – so much so that the film will be entirely overexposed, will not produce any usable photos, and cannot be salvaged. Once film is exposed to light, this cannot be undone.

The text in bold above talks about an image being formed on the film, but it's not a "real" image at this point; it's an "invisible" latent image. To turn the latent image into a real image, we need to perform the key step in film photography, i.e. the film must be developed. That means putting the film through some chemicals, which will turn the latent images on the film into visible negatives/positives. Again, this has to happen in complete darkness. The film will also be fixed so that it can now be exposed to light without any further exposure of the film. It's at this point that the images on the roll of film can be examined and scanned/printed/projected.

So, the process should be: Load film in your camera, take all the photos to use up the full roll of film, rewind the film back into its cassette according to the instructions for your camera, remove the film cassette from the camera without any film being visible, and take it / send it to a photo lab for developing.

Take a look at this video which shows the method of developing traditional black & white film, and another video showing the process used for colour film in a commercial photo lab.

osullic
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    The used up film might be a good for practise though. When loading the film, being fast and doing so without much light require at least a bit of practise – Zibelas Jan 11 '23 at 10:20
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    @Zibelas that is not required when loading film. Most film cassettes assume you won't be using the start of the roll anyway. – OrangeDog Jan 11 '23 at 15:07
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    This is also why they tell you to take a couple throwaway shots when you first load a new roll of film, because the end of the roll is usually fully exposed in the process of loading it. (Unless, like me, you've learned how to load your camera in the dark by touch, to get a few extra shots on the roll.) – Darrel Hoffman Jan 11 '23 at 15:07
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    @DarrelHoffman what was really annoying was when the last picture you squeezed out of the roll was half-film and half-leader. – Weather Vane Jan 11 '23 at 16:37
  • @WeatherVane That's only the case with a camera that winds the entire roll into the camera when loaded and then winds it back into the film cassette as it's exposed one frame at a time. – Michael C Jan 12 '23 at 07:56
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    It's not so much that it has to be developed, it's that it has to be fixed following being bathed in developer. Developed but unfixed film can still be exposed to additional light and developed repeatedly for some interesting effects. It's the fixer that makes it no longer light sensitive and thus observable without instantly fogging it. – Michael C Jan 12 '23 at 08:06
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    I felt really sad for the OP the moment I saw that question in a notification. Thanks for the answer. A sad lesson. – Russell McMahon Jan 12 '23 at 10:09
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    @MichaelC True, but that may be more detail than necessary for a beginner. Most people (even before film cameras were mostly supplanted by digital) don't need to think about the various rounds of chemicals that go into developing film (particularly if it's color film), and just refer to the whole process as "developing". – Darrel Hoffman Jan 12 '23 at 14:33
  • I was like "well, probably a single half-commercial shop exists somewhere around", or at least I can buy chemicals online. I am surprised to find more than one (at least 5 emerged from a quick search) different places with their own labs that do film processing in my city. All of them do b/w and C-41 color, some do E6 positive color as well. Prices are well in the hobby range (~3-5-6-10 euro for a standard 35mm film). At least one place offers rather expensive optical printing on paper. – fraxinus Jan 12 '23 at 17:22
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    I feel old that children now have zero concept of how film photography works. With the prevalent of digital cameras and all. This was something you used to learn at 8 years old while watching cartoons. – DKNguyen Jan 12 '23 at 20:04