damaged negatives with FP4+--how did I goof?

I developed a roll of FP4+ in D:76, 1:1 last night. Shot it with my

FE, 55/2.8 AIS micro. Throughout the entire roll, there's like a

band of fog or something running through the center of the

negatives. I've developed my own film several times and I don't

know how I goofed on this one. Didn't expose the film to light;

measured 1:1 ratio/temperature etcetera. Can anybody cue me

in on what went wrong? I'm posting an example here. Thanks

for any help. (It's a used FE i just purchased, with the 55/2.8:

can the shutter be messed up?)

It looks solarized to me, I'm pretty sure its a developing problem not camera related. Light has got onto the film sometime after the developer and before fixer. I normally only see this on my prints that get binned before the fix bath.

 

What kind of tank are you using??

I'd guess that it's a processing issue (or in the extreme a film issue, though unlikely),

because I don't see how the camera could cause this. I am not an expert, though, so don't

trust me too much.

Ben, I'm using a metal tank, metal reel, with a black rubber

snap-on top. If light got in though, why would it not have affected

the top of the roll? After I dumped the developer, I washed the

negs for about a minute before applying the fixer. Could this

have caused it? But really, I'd bet money I didn't get any light in

there...

Why did you wash the negs for a minute before fixing? A 30 second dunk in a stop bath would do better, but I don't think that wash is the problem. No light leak or strike I can think of would affect just the centers of the negs. If this problems persists, you'll simply have to run tests with exposed and unexposed films, and check every step VERY carefully. Let us know the final outcome.

The negatives were exposed to light before the completion of fixing, during or after development.

It appears to be a light leak in the development, as evident by the solarization. It could've been the the top not on securly, but I think more likely the top having cracks around where the stainless tank presses against it. Mine develop those about every year or so, and are replaced.

 

Peter

No, I think the film is just inadequately fixed. Put it back on a reel and re-fix it for an ADEQUUATE amount of time in FRESH fixer.

I would bet on Bad Fixer...the Solarization look is probably just induced by your scanner.

 

What Fixer are you using? How old of a batch is it? Mix a fresh batch and drop a section

of your spoiled film in and see if it clears afte a few minutes. If it does, then you'll know.

 

jmp

"A band of fog or something running through the center of the negatives"

Is the fog kinda brownish or yellowish? Or is it neutral gray like the rest of the film? I'm

betting it has a brown or yellow tinge and that would be incomplete fixing. As previously

suggested, go back now and re-fix. If you do it in a tray you should be able to see it clear

before your eyes. That's my take on this. Good luck! (Oh, be sure to re-wash also!)

I once got neg solarization (Sabattier effect) when opening the tank's top during the stop bath (don't ask...) I still have the roll - some pics actually look good. Since the film was wound up on the spiral, the effect is uneven, but can be seen as clearly higher edge densities and the typical tones that remind of print solarization. I was using a plastic tank - it's entirely possible that your problem is, in fact, solarization of the neg during development.

Hats off to Andre and John for solving the mystery; the fixer was

too old. I remixed some fresh stuff, refixed the negs, and they

turned out perfect... THANKS IMMENSELY, gentlemen... Here's

an example.