Loading the film into the camera

The steps shown here are for loading the Pentax K1000 camera used at SCHS. The K1000 is the lowest cost manual camera on the market. It was discontinued in 1998 and will slowly be replaced by a Kalimar K-90 which looks almost identical.  Follow all of these steps exactly and be aware of warnings that will save you sorrow later.

(1) Pull UP on the rewind knob on the left side of the camera. This will open up the back of the camera as you see in this photograph.  Be sure you pull up far enough. If the back does not open it means you did not pull up far enough.

(2) The film that we will use in this class is called TRI-X and is made by Kodak. Be sure you have a 24 exposure box and not a 36 exposure roll. The 36 will work, but it is harder to take all of the pictures in one class period and it is VERY hard to load onto the film container for processing. Open up the box, take out the plastic container (keep this for storage) and remove the roll of film with the leader sticking out.

 (4)  Place the film into the left side of the camera. IF the film does not slip easily into the open area pull UP on the rewind knob again to make space for the film. Push the rewind knob back after the film is in the pocket. IF it does not go all the way in twist it until it seats into the film container all the way.  The leader is pulled to the other side of the camera and is ready to place in the take up spool. On an auto load camera simply pull the leader until it reaches the red dot and then seat the film holes on the little teeth in the take up mechanism.

(5) Insert the narrow end of the film leader into the take up spool slot or opening. It will go in a short distance and then STOP. It has hit a spring like mechanism that it must be PUSHED past. Hold the spool steady with one hand and PUSH the film in deeper until it either goes all the way inside the spool or it comes out the other side. This is the most common error. IF it is not in far enough it will pop off when taking pictures and you will get nothing on your film and waste the $3 it cost you.

(6) Push the shutter release if needed and then use the film advance to wind the film until the entire leader is wound around the take up spool like you see here. Let the camera do the winding for it will do it backwards from what seems logical.  Make sure the teeth are properly placed in the holes on the film on BOTH sides of the film. Next use the rewind knob to take up the slack - to tighten the film in the camera. Turn the knob in the direction of the arrow until the film slack is taken up. Do not pull so hard that you tear the film or begin to pull it off the take up spool.

(7) Close the back of the camera and immediately take THREE pictures. IF the film has been loaded properly the rewind knob will TURN every time you crank the film advance lever.  IF it does not then check to be sure the slack was taken up. If it was and the knob still does not turn then open up the back of the camera and check to be sure the film did not pop out of the take up spool. The film advance lever is on the right side of the camera and will not advance the film until the shutter has been released. Be sure to take at least 2 pictures. This will remove the exposed film from the leader and put fresh film in front of the shutter ready for your first photo.

(8) Set the ASA or ISO number on the shutter speed dial to 400 for our Tri-x film. This number will be different for each type of film. Next set the shutter speed to 1000 if it is a nice sunny day or 250 if it is overcast. This will be close to our needed shutter speed and will make exposure easier.

 (9) Set the aperture on the ring closest to body of the camera (on the lens - it has numbers like 2, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16) to an aperture of f16. This will let in the least light and is a good starting point for setting up exposure.

When you are finished taking pictures DO NOT open up the back of the camera until you have rewound the film back into the cartridge. To rewind the film you first MUST release the film by pushing the little button on the bottom of the camera. Pushing this in allows the film take up spool to go backwards. Failure to do this will cause the film to rip and be destroyed.  Once the button is in you may turn the rewind knob in the direction of the arrow. There will be roughly 26 complete turns for a roll of film. When the film is back into the cartridge you will hear a clicking sound and the rewind will get easier to turn. Then you may open up the back and pull out the film. Put the film in the storage container that was in the original box. If you do not it will leak light into the opening and fog your film (turn it black). Always load and unload a camera in shade and never in direct sun for it will also cause light leaks and fog your film.