Film A moral question ...

What would you do with a roll you found in a camera you bought used?

  • Develop it!

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • Throw it away. It's none of your business.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Unroll it, hold it into the light, then throw it away. Protect whoever forgot to take it out.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1
Location
Switzerland
Name
Matt
In my latest acquistion (another Nettar, I'll post about it soon), I found an exposed roll of Ilford HP5. Now, this film hasn't been on the market when the camera was made, so it points to the fact that the camera has been used by someone long after it was first bought. I'm intrigued for no good reason - and tempted to have the roll developed. It's B&W, it might have survived the considerable time it was stored in the camera.

Yet I feel I somehow shouldn't do that - but there's nothing to prevent me from doing it, not even legally.

What's your take?

M.
 
I would develop the film. If there's anything on it, I would then try to contact the proper owner of the film. It may not be possible, but at least you made the effort.

I purchased some 4x5 film holders on ebay once. Two of them had film in them. I developed them, and found photos of a baby. Even though all babies look the same, I contacted the seller in an attempt to find the proper owner of the images. He stated the holders were from an estate sale he attended, and he did not remember where, exactly, he had purchased them.

So I filed the sheets away just in case I get contacted sometime in the future.

I also am in possession of a photo album from the 1930s - 1950s I am still in efforts to find the rightful owner as it also contains letters with names and addresses in it. I may never succeed, but it won't be for lack of trying.

Of course, if the images show anything illegal (kiddy porn, a potential crime, stuff like that), you should immediately turn it over to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
 
I have thrown away exposed film that came in a camera because it wasn't worth the bother to develop. However, when I got a digital camera with an SD card, I couldn't resist the impulse to peek at the images before I reformatted the card. The images weren't very interesting; I'm glad I didn't spend time or money to develop them. Perhaps I had no qualms about viewing them because I did not know the people in the photos. It was like walking past an unfamiliar house at night and seeing inside because the curtains are open. A quick glance won't hurt anything. :whistle:
 
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