Boy did I feel like a huge louser today at the camera store. Took the 35mm camera in to be looked at/repaired. It's been acting up for a long time and since I nearly always use the digital cameras I just kind of let it go. But with our trip to Florida next week, I felt it was time to get this sorted out once and for all. My idea was to see what the problem was and decide if it made more sense to just purchase a new/used body. We've got a Canon AE-1 and I wanted to get another one because I love it so. The bodies aren't too expensive so it made sense to go this route if the camera was too far gone.

So we take it up to the repair counter at the camera store, and while we're explaining our problems, the repair woman looks through the lens and does other very pro-looking inspections. Then she stops and emphatically indicates there is nothing wrong with the camera.

"What about the light meter?" I ask.
"Nothing wrong."
"But it is very on again, off again about advancing the film."
"Seems to work fine, maybe you're not loading the film correctly."

I used this camera regularly for years while I was in school. Mr. Risk used this camera when he was in school. Why is it that sometime between school and the present we both lost the ability to load film correctly? All I can say in my defense is that I haven't used the camera nearly as much since I finished school and maybe I just wasn't comfortable with it's quirks anymore. Bill is a fairly old camera (it's name is Bill because that was the label the previous owner had on the case). Bill is a bit fidgety.

So now we don't need to buy a new body.... which is GREAT! We looked around at lenses and we're hovering on the cusp of possibly buying a really awesome macro lens for it. We did buy a brand new case because the old one was crap.

On the way out of the store (after spending ages coveting more cameras, paper, printers and equipment) I bought a roll of film for testing. I tried loading it into the camera, doing everything right, closed it up, advanced it some more... and the same problem. The film wasn't advancing. So I went back over to the repair desk and said to the same woman "See it's not advancing now."

Of course when she took the camera and fiddled with it everything was fine.

"You hate me now don't you?" she stated.

No, I just hate looking like an idiot.