Why is that my film came out of focus?

Holga question, foam came undone and is wound up in my film spool? Help?!!?

• Hello. I recently bought a holga and today I was winding my film and it got near to impossible to wind. Turns out the foam from the left side came undone and got wound into my roll of 120. Then, on my next roll the foam on the right side did the same dang thing! Yikes! My film is wound tightly even with the foam in it so I'm hoping that when they unwind the film at the lab most of my exposures will still be fine. I'm sure a frame or two is gone, but I would like to salvage the majority of the film if possible. Has this happened to anyone, what happened with your film? Also, should I put new foam in it or will it be fine with just putting a small piece of cardboard underneath the film spool? Thanks!

• Answer:

  The same thing has happened to me. It's likely that the film will be flashed on the ends, as the foam prevents the film from winding under the end caps of the spool, which keeps the light from exposing the edges. I've experimented with using window seal foam to replace the missing foam with some success, but it tends to fall out at some point because the adhesive doesn't hold well enough. If you have a piece of cardboard from the box the film came in, fold it under so you have a double thickness of cardboard. This method works best if you take a piece of cardboard about 1/2 inch x 3/4 and fold under the extra bit so it is square. The result is a wedge. Put cardboard into the film compartments on the bottom. Place it so that the single thickness of cardboard is on the front (front being the lens side of the camera). This is hard to describe. Maybe I will make a video demonstrating the technique. I have other how- to videos for lo-fi cameras on my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/kaituba Check out my website for more info on Holga, Diana and other plastic cameras. http://dianacamera.com/