rewind knob not moving iiif

[ashley12234]

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I just got a leica iiif and put some film in it for the first time. I tried it w/o cutting the leader and i couldn’t tell if it was loaded right because when i turned the film advance the rewind knob did not move. I feared that i did it wrong so i undid the film. Turns out the film was actually advancing but the rewind knob just wasn’t moving. But i trimmed the leader anyways and tried loading it that way. I’ve been taking pictures however the rewind knob still isn’t moving... any suggestions on what’s going on, how to fix, or if it’s happened to you before?

Thanks, Ashley

[prk60091]

After loading the film tighten up the slack on the rewind knob and you will see it move every time. 
 

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[frame-it]

4 hours ago, ashley12234 said:

I just got a leica iiif and put some film in it for the first time. I tried it w/o cutting the leader and i couldn’t tell if it was loaded right because when i turned the film advance the rewind knob did not move. I feared that i did it wrong so i undid the film. Turns out the film was actually advancing but the rewind knob just wasn’t moving. But i trimmed the leader anyways and tried loading it that way. I’ve been taking pictures however the rewind knob still isn’t moving... any suggestions on what’s going on, how to fix, or if it’s happened to you before?

Thanks, Ashley

 

[nefarious]

Ashley, if it makes you feel any better, I had exactly the same problem with my new (1955) iiif!  I shot 40-odd well composed, time-invested shots before I was convinced that I hadn't loaded the thing properly!!  Having read more thoroughly I gained the intel that the rewind knob should turn as you wind on so I loaded again and all seemed well but the rewind knob only rotated for the first few exposures and then stopped.  That was earlier this lunchtime.  So I sat quietly and took the thing apart again and tried to work out what was wrong.  I watched the film going through (or not) on T-mode and then it dawned on me - I was not ensuring that the film leader was flush with the edge of the take-up spool.  As soon as I got this right, it loaded ok.  I took the camera out with a spare film and after shooting the first one and rewinding successfully, I even managed to load the 2nd film successfully in the street!!!  72 exposures later and I am a happy bunny, though my fingers are absolutely frozen!  Operating those beautiful metal dials and winders in freezing and windy weather leaves your hands raw!!

[giordano]

On 2/25/2020 at 10:22 PM, nefarious said:

I am a happy bunny, though my fingers are absolutely frozen!  Operating those beautiful metal dials and winders in freezing and windy weather leaves your hands raw!!

I had that problem 50 years ago and managed to find some thin but tightly woven cotton gloves. Thin enough to work the controls, but they kept the worst of the wind out. Between times I could just slip mittens over the gloves to stay warm. I just had to make sure the tip of the right index finger wasn't dragging on the shutter dial...

[250swb]

Silk glove liners, available from any good outdoor/hiking shop. They are made exactly for this sort of thing in cold weather, when you need to take your warm outer gloves off but don't want to touch a tripod etc. with your bare hand so they act as an insulation layer. Although thin they are surprisingly warm gloves anyway. 

[wlaidlaw]

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Wherever the contestants of Ru-Paul's drag race shop, might also have silk gloves. Of course they might be in fuchsia with sequins. 😀

Wilson

 

[willeica]

On 2/24/2020 at 8:17 AM, paulmac said:

What you need to do is, when you have loaded the film into the camera make sure that the sprocket holes in the film are actually engaging with the film drive sprocket - look down the gap on the advance side of the camera and you can see this.  What often can happen is the the teeth of the sprocket rest on the film between the actual holes in the film. The camera FEELS like the film is advancing but it's not!. 

 

Spot on Paul. This is what I do and you should see the film wrapping itself around the spool. I also tighten the rewind knob when I close the camera to allow it to turn with the wind on as a reassurance that the wind on is happening. This is all a matter of experience and after a while it becomes natural. As for the gloves, the Sealskinz ones with a magnets to allow fingerless use are ideal.

William

[wlaidlaw]

My father taught me to wind on the film with the back open until you can see both sets of sprocket holes fully engaged with the tractor sprocket, on the basis that it was better to lose 1 frame than the whole film. 

Wilson

[TomB_tx]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

My father taught me to wind on the film with the back open until you can see both sets of sprocket holes fully engaged with the tractor sprocket, on the basis that it was better to lose 1 frame than the whole film. 

Wilson

Good practice, but hard to open the back on the OP's IIIf. (Would work on a Tanack copy of IIIf.)

[wlaidlaw]

Sorry I should have said bottom open. My father was mainly a IIIa user for 35mm.