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I am a complete newbie to film cameras and I'm experimenting with my dad's old Olympus Accura zoom xb700.

I put the film in and the S moved and everything, then i took a picture and it showed "1" instead of S and thought great, i did it! Then, I do not know what the hell I did, I think i fiddled with the rewind button on accident and now the camera won't turn on and it says "S" again instead of 1.

I opened the back of the camera (which I've just learned was a very big mistake) and the film is still laid out, it didn't go back into the little canister.

Can someone please help me

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  • Now you have ruined roll of film you can use to test the cameras loading and rewinding functions. Fist thing to do when you get a camera is try to find the manual and join a forum of other folks that have the same camera.
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 29, 2021 at 18:25
  • Also, do a search on YouTube for your "new" camera. youtube.com/watch?v=CyUSnzSaUOY
    – Alaska Man
    Jan 29, 2021 at 18:37
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    The entire roll is probably not ruined! Asuming the camera doesn't unwind the entire roll first, which most cameras don't do. The first few frames are lost, but the roll can still be used for creating pictures, not only loading and rewinding.
    – osullic
    Jan 29, 2021 at 20:38
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    Do you know if the batteries in the camera are good?
    – osullic
    Jan 29, 2021 at 20:45
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    When you pressed the rewind button, did the camera do anything? Did it make any noise?
    – osullic
    Jan 29, 2021 at 20:46

1 Answer 1

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You didn't rewind your film because you could still see it. When you open the door the counter resets. That is standard with all cameras. It is a mechanical lever. So, if you want to determine whether or not you film is still usable you will need to reload it and listen for an extended winding sound. If it winds for more than 5 seconds then it is pulling all the film out. This means that the whole roll was exposed to light when the door was opened prematurely. So toss it. However, if it is like most cameras, it will only wind for a second when loaded; just enought to engage the sprockets. In that case, simply take 5 wasted shots to get past the light leaked beginning. Now you can continue to shoot as normal. Note: Make sure you have new batteries and don't open the back. If the camera will not turn on after new batteries and reloading, chances are the loading gears were stripped. When you remove film from these cameras you have to be careful not to strip the gears. They will sometimes lock in advance position and not spin backwards. If this is the case, take it to a local camera shop and ask the 'experienced' owner to get your film out.

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  • Worth re-mentioning - as I commented on another answer, it's quite clear from the video link that Alaska Man posted that when the camera operator closes the camera back after loading film, switches it on, and shortly afterwards takes a photo, this camera does not automatically unwind all the film out of the canister. This red herring may be confusing for a film newbie.
    – osullic
    Jan 31, 2021 at 0:02

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