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How to Stretch Film Tightly

When shooting with film you need to load the film into your camera and tighten it so it lays flat against the film door pressure plate. If the film is not laying perfectly flat, the image it records will appear out of focus. This problem does not exist with digital cameras, as the digital sensor doesn't move and remains perfectly flat from corner to corner. Using proper film loading techniques will add a level of consistency to your photography.

Things You'll Need

Roll of 35mm film

Instructions

- 1
  Hold the film camera in your hand and pull up the rewind film knob located on the top left of the camera. This will open the rear film door.
- 2
  Place a roll of film in the left side of the film compartment and draw the film leader tab across the rear of the film cavity and thread it onto the "take up" spool.
- 3
  Keep the film door open and press the shutter release button and crank the film advance lever. As the film advances observe to see it is winding onto the take up spool evenly.
- 4
  Close the film door, press the shutter release one more time, crank the film advance lever.
- 5
  Lift the small handle and the film rewind knob and turn the knob in a clockwise rotation to tighten the film. The film will only require a small amount of tightening if you have loaded it correctly. Stop winding when there is enough resistance to prevent the knob from being turned. At this point the film is tightened the correct amount, any additional pressure on the knob may result in the film ripping inside the camera.

Photography