In the really cold, dry weather of winter it is a good idea NOT to use the camera's motor drive unit for two reasons.
First, the sudden jolt of the motor can break the film which gets brittle because of the cold. It would be a good idea to carry along a film changing bag should this occur, as your exposed film will be "stuck" inside your camera until you can unload the film in total darkness, thus rendering the camera useless for a while. The camera could get cold in the car, and an accidental bump of the shutter button could ruin your outing. Second, the dragging of the film across the film plane can cause static electric discharge sparks which appear as tiny lightning bolts on your film. Even indoors where it is warm, the dry air of winter can give you unwanted static sparking on your film. Been there, done that, never again. In both of these situations, simply use your thumb to s-l-o-w-l-y advance the film manually through the camera to reduce the possibility of disaster. Indoors, it is beneficial to ground the camera with a wire to the cold water pipe to prevent the flash of in-camera lightning as you walk across the carpeting. Been there, done that, will do it again! John B. Corns Owings Mills, Maryland _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved
