diff --git a/src/machinevisiontoolbox/Sources.py b/src/machinevisiontoolbox/Sources.py
index efe1366a..0babdf03 100644
--- a/src/machinevisiontoolbox/Sources.py
+++ b/src/machinevisiontoolbox/Sources.py
@@ -448,6 +448,7 @@ class VideoFile(ImageSource):
     :param filename: Path to video file
     :type filename: str
     :param kwargs: options applied to image frames, see :func:`~machinevisiontoolbox.base.imageio.convert`
+    :raises ValueError: if the video cannot be opened or its first frame cannot be read
 
     The resulting object is an iterator over the frames of the video file.
     The iterator returns :class:`~machinevisiontoolbox.Image` objects where:
@@ -502,12 +503,20 @@ def __init__(self, filename: str, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
         # get the number of frames in the video
         #  not sure it's always correct
         cap = cv2.VideoCapture(self.filename)
-        ret, frame = cap.read()
-        self.nframes = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_COUNT))
-        self.shape = frame.shape
-        self.fps = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FPS))
+        try:
+            if not cap.isOpened():
+                raise ValueError(f"Cannot open video file {self.filename!r}")
+            ret, frame = cap.read()
+            if not ret or frame is None:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"Cannot read the first frame of video file {self.filename!r}"
+                )
+            self.nframes = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_COUNT))
+            self.shape = frame.shape
+            self.fps = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FPS))
+        finally:
+            cap.release()
         self.args = kwargs
-        cap.release()
         self.cap = None
         self.i = 0
 
diff --git a/tests/test_video_file_errors.py b/tests/test_video_file_errors.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..841fb346
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_video_file_errors.py
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+"""Video-file initialisation failures and capture lifetime."""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
+
+import cv2
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
+import machinevisiontoolbox.Sources as sources
+from machinevisiontoolbox import VideoFile
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("contents", [b"", b"not a video"])
+def test_invalid_video_file(tmp_path: Path, contents: bytes) -> None:
+    filename = tmp_path / "invalid.avi"
+    filename.write_bytes(contents)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="Cannot open video file") as error:
+        VideoFile(str(filename))
+
+    assert repr(str(filename)) in str(error.value)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "opened, readable, message",
+    [
+        (False, False, "Cannot open video file"),
+        (True, False, "Cannot read the first frame"),
+        (True, True, "Cannot read the first frame"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_failed_video_probe_releases_capture(
+    tmp_path: Path, opened: bool, readable: bool, message: str
+) -> None:
+    filename = tmp_path / "invalid.avi"
+    filename.touch()
+    capture = Mock(spec=cv2.VideoCapture)
+    capture.isOpened.return_value = opened
+    capture.read.return_value = (readable, None)
+    capture.get.return_value = 0
+
+    with patch.object(sources.cv2, "VideoCapture", return_value=capture):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match=message) as error:
+            VideoFile(str(filename))
+
+    assert repr(str(filename)) in str(error.value)
+    capture.release.assert_called_once_with()
+    capture.get.assert_not_called()
+    if not opened:
+        capture.read.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_valid_video_probe_preserves_iteration(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    filename = tmp_path / "valid.avi"
+    writer = cv2.VideoWriter(
+        str(filename), cv2.VideoWriter_fourcc(*"MJPG"), 10, (16, 16)
+    )
+    if not writer.isOpened():
+        writer.release()
+        pytest.skip("MJPG video writer unavailable")
+    try:
+        for intensity in (40, 200):
+            writer.write(np.full((16, 16, 3), intensity, dtype=np.uint8))
+    finally:
+        writer.release()
+
+    with VideoFile(str(filename)) as video:
+        assert video.shape == (16, 16, 3)
+        assert video.nframes == 2
+        assert video.fps == 10
+        frames = list(video)
+
+    assert [frame.id for frame in frames] == [0, 1]
+    np.testing.assert_allclose(frames[0].array, 40, atol=2)
+    np.testing.assert_allclose(frames[1].array, 200, atol=2)