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Using an FM2 (at 10th exposure) and cap on the lens, I accidentally press the shutter release. This create a blank shot.

Is there a way I can reuse that frame, if the counter is now at 11th frame?

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    \$\begingroup\$ You can avoid this problem in the future by not using lens caps on lenses attached to the camera and by advancing film before firing the shutter, rather than after. \$\endgroup\$
    – xiota
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 6:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ Might be safe to assume that a lens cap on an SLR would have been noted early enough if the shot had been intentional in the first place :) \$\endgroup\$
    – rackandboneman
    Commented Jun 17, 2019 at 10:33

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No. After you advance the film, you can't re-expose a previous frame on a Nikon FM2. the inaccuracy of the film advance mechanism plus the uncertainty of the position of initial starting point makes this a nearly impossible, as Alan Marcus points out.

If you don't advance the film on a FM2 after an accidental exposure with the lens cap on, you can use the double exposure feature of the camera to re-expose the same (unlit) frame.

To do this, pull the multiple exposure lever (1) in the direction of the arrow shown in the photo, as you wind the film advance lever fully (2). The frame counter will not advance; only the shutter is ready to be released again. Although the finger pulling the multiple exposure lever will automatically slip off the lever as the film advance lever is wound, multiple exposure operation will have been performed correctly.

multiple exposure on a Nikon FM2

After winding the film advance lever fully, you can take a new shot, illuminating the same frame on the film again.

Note that this assumes that the cap on the lens or the viewfinder did not leak any light on the film during the first exposure. This is especially an issue of the camera is set to (semi-)automatic exposure. The lens cap will cause a long exposure, increasing the risk is light leaks. Otherwise you'll end up with some light artefacts on your final image. (Thanks to Michael C to mention the risk of light leaks through the viewfinder).

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    \$\begingroup\$ In addition to potential gaps between the cap and lens, light can also leak in via the viewfinder and possible gaps at the edges of the mirror flipped up against the viewscreen/focusing screen. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Jun 16, 2019 at 0:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'll add it to the answer. This is especially an issue of the camera is set to (semi-)automatic exposure. The lens cap will cause a long exposure, increasing the risk is light leaks through the viewfinder. \$\endgroup\$
    – agtoever
    Commented Jun 16, 2019 at 6:45
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Sorry to report that the inaccuracy of the film advance mechanism plus the uncertainty of the position of initial starting point makes this a nearly impossible task. If you rewound the film back into the cassette and attempted to reposition the unexposed frame for a retake, most likely an adjacent frame would be double exposed. Best advice is to let this unexposed frame alone.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This is the correct answer, the answer that was chosen as correct is great at explaining how to avoid the problem but it is not an answer to the question "How to recover a single blank shot from a film camera" \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 17:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ @AlaskaMan People are supposed to accept the answer they found most helpful. "Here's how to deal with this next time" seems more practically useful to me than the literal "Sorry but now you can't fix this." (Speaking as somebody who +1'ed both answers.) \$\endgroup\$
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 20:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ For completeness sake, I'll add this to my answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – agtoever
    Commented Jun 16, 2019 at 6:48

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