Was rewinding a roll of film when the crank broke off in my hand

Last Saturday I was out shooting with my old Pentax K1000 at a park near my house in Nashville. Got through a whole roll of Portra 400, hit the rewind button, and started cranking away like I've done a thousand times. About halfway through, the little metal rewind knob just snapped right off in my fingers. I stood there holding a broken piece of plastic and metal while the film was still stuck inside the camera. Had to drive straight home and spend 45 minutes in a dark closet carefully prying the film canister out with tweezers. Now I'm looking into getting a replacement part but I can't believe how fragile these old cameras are compared to my digital setup. Has anyone else had a random piece of their film camera just give out on them during a shoot?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony_fox901mo ago

Is that the original K1000 or one of the later versions with the plastic parts? I had a Minolta X-700 that the film advance lever just snapped off on a cold morning in Chicago, left me with half a roll of Tri-X stuck in there too. I swear these old cameras were built tough but the little plastic bits they used for the rewind knobs and levers are the first thing to go.

price.alice1mo ago

This actually happened to me just last month with my Canon AE-1 and I used to be one of those people who swore these cameras were built like tanks. I'd hear stories like yours and think maybe people were just rough with their gear or buying junk off eBay. Then I was at a friend's wedding shooting candids and the rewind knob on my AE-1 just crumbled in my hand like it was made of cheap plastic. It totally changed my mind about how these cameras are built, the metal bodies are sturdy but the little plastic parts they used for the knobs and buttons are clearly the weak link after forty years. Now I keep a backup rewind knob in my bag and I'm way more gentle when I'm rewinding, like barely any pressure at all. It's kind of annoying but I guess it's just part of using vintage gear, you learn to be careful with the fragile bits.