Canon EOS Elan 7NE custom Film advance

[uvasid]

This seems like it should be simple; I know how to use the midroll rewind custom function to get the film leader to stay out. I would like to use this feature in case i want to switch film types due to shooting situations/moods, etc. What I don't know how to do is advance the old roll that I rewound back to the frame I left off on; does anyone know how to do this with this model? It seems like it should be simple, but I cannot find anything in the user manual or Canon's website.
Thanks!

[Peter_AUS]

You put the film back in and keep the lens cap on and put something over the viewfinder window usually found on the camera strap and cycle the camera through until you are one frame over where you left off on the film. e.g. if you took 10 shots on a 36 roll, then you would move it along until you advanced ti 11 frames. This allows for not getting it back in the same spool socket and gives a little leaway to the film so you don't expose over an image already taken.

Does that make sense to you.

[straightarm]

when you advance the partially used film, set the camera to manual exposure and select the fastest shutter speed. Make sure you have a lens cap on if you have a lens on the camera, or the body cap on the camera if no lens is attached. If you don't set the camera to manual, the camera might try and give you 30sec exposures for every frame.

I'm not sure that Peter's point about covering the viewfinder is necessary. Light can't get past the camera's mirror on to the film.

Simon

[another view]

Might want to carry a Sharpie marker with to write which frame number you're on right on the film canister, that way there's no guessing!

[Outdoorsman]

I too shoot the 7N (mine is not the "E" model though).
I keep a little packet of film cannister-sized labels in my bag, along with a pen. I add a frame or two to the current frame count. I mark on the cannister label what frame I should advance to, i.e. "advance to frame 18, idiot".
Yes, absolutely do cover the viewfinder when advancing the roll! You can easily check the light spillage by putting on the body cap, turning on the camera, activating the meter and then aiming the viewfinder at something bright. Then cover the viewfinder with something. Watch the values change. I always make sure I'm on my fastest shutter speed when I advance a partial roll to minimize adding any exposure to the used film. On our 7Ns, it's 1/4000.
I really wish this camera had an eyepiece shutter instead of that little rubber thingy that you have to constantly swap with the eyecup. I gladly would have paid a few dollars more!
Still loving this camera anyway - how about you?

[uvasid]

Awesome, thanks for the quick replies everyone. I had a feeling that would be the answer but i wanted to make sure. Now I can start again using the three rolls with the marked # of exposures on the side . And to answer Outdoorsman's questions, this camera is awesome. I have used it to take some night shots of the San Antonio skyline and historic buildings and love the way the metering works.

[straightarm]

Yes, absolutely do cover the viewfinder when advancing the roll! You can easily check the light spillage by putting on the body cap, turning on the camera, activating the meter and then aiming the viewfinder at something bright. Then cover the viewfinder with something.

But when you trip the shutter, the mirror rises, blocking off the viewfinder.

So how does light entering the viewfinder get past the raised mirror, and onto the film?

Answer it doesn't.

Simon

[Outdoorsman]

Hmm, interesting. Why do the pro models have eyepiece shutters then? And also, why do they give us those little rubber viewfinder covers with the camera straps? I don't know the answer, but if the manufacturer says light can leak to the film/sensor this way, then I would *assume* this is the case. I don't have any way to check this, having no digital SLR to do a "scientific" or timely test of this. Can anyone out there check for us? I think the answer would benefit everyone.

[CaSousa]

I also shoot with an Elan 7NE. In addition to putting the shutter speed up to 1/4000 and covering the viewfinder, I put the aperture up to f/27. That way I KNOW no light is going to make it onto the film.
Also, put the lens on manual focus, that way the camera doesn't try to tell you there isn't enough light.

I use this feature so much I don't even set the film rewind to 'normal'... I always rewind to leave the film leader out.

-Chris

[straightarm]

Hmm, interesting. Why do the pro models have eyepiece shutters then? And also, why do they give us those little rubber viewfinder covers with the camera straps? I don't know the answer, but if the manufacturer says light can leak to the film/sensor this way, then I would *assume* this is the case. I don't have any way to check this, having no digital SLR to do a "scientific" or timely test of this. Can anyone out there check for us? I think the answer would benefit everyone.

Normally you have your eye next to the viewfinder, which pretty much blocks any light entering via the viewfinder and fooling the meter. If however, you're using a tripod, your eye won't be next to the viewfinder, so there is a slight chance that stray light might enter via the viewfinder and thus fool the meter, hence the shutter or cover.

Simon

[Outdoorsman]

Normally you have your eye next to the viewfinder, which pretty much blocks any light entering via the viewfinder and fooling the meter. If however, you're using a tripod, your eye won't be next to the viewfinder, so there is a slight chance that stray light might enter via the viewfinder and thus fool the meter, hence the shutter or cover.

Simon

I also wanted to bring up a point about the mirror. The mirrors in our cameras are "pellicle" mirrors, right? And if you check the specs, sometimes they will list the mirror as being a "quick return half-mirror" with 60% reflection/40% transmission or something similar. This means that the mirror is not blocking all the light that hits it. Why? I assume (and by looking at the mirror) that there are "things" behind the mirror that must receive some light to help the camera operate in some way.
As for me, when I shoot with a tripod, very often my face is right next to the camera. Not touching it, just keeping an eye on the scene as I shoot it. The only time my face isn't next to the camera is when I have the eyepiece cover on the viewfinder or when I have to point the camera in a position where my face simply can't be against it. Like getting an overhead view of a sports huddle, for example.
Where is the meter in the camera? On which side of the mirror? I was under the impression that the meter is underneath the mirror, so that when metering off-the-film (flash metering, etc) the mirror won't interfere with the metering. If OTF metering happens with a meter in the pentaprism area, then the mirror still must allow some light through for the camera to measure.
This is getting very interesting- and I'm also a bit humbled that I don't know my camera quite as well as I thought! ;)

[Sebastian]

Light will NOT leak through the eyepiece! The pro models have eyepiece shutters to block light from affecting the METERING, which is typically housed near or in the prism. And only when the eye is away form the viewfinder, like when using a remote or timer. Read the manuals people, or at least google. If the viewfinder was a light leak don't you think people would have raised hell years ago? These aren't Holgas for crying out loud.

[Sebastian]

And for what it's worth, I could count all the times I actually bothered with covering the viewfinder on one hand, if the hand had three fingers. I don't even bother unpacking those cheesy covers anymore, wiith manual metering it's just a waste of time. If you shoot timed stuff or remote stuff on program modes or in Av or Tv or something, then by all means use it, but setting the focus and exposure manually while composing the shot is much more effective and makes sure the camera doesn't change its mind at the last second.