What's wrong? Film, development, lens, camera?

My apologies if this is the wrong category for this question, but I'm

really not sure what is wrong here... See the large circular spots in

the picture? Any one know what is the cause of it? Any input is much

appreciated, thank you.<br><br>

Taken with VC 15mm Heliar on M7, using Plus-X developed in

Diafine.<br><br>

<img src=http://www.pbase.com/regit/image/50262265.jpg>

<br> Here's another shot... <br><br>

<img src=http://www.pbase.com/regit/image/50262264.jpg>

<br> Although not every shot on the same roll has this ... <br><br>

<img src=http://www.pbase.com/regit/image/50262263.jpg>

Looks like air bubbles. I had this same problem once when trying stand development. I remember agitating vigorously to start and then letting it sit for an hour. I forgot to dislodge the bubbles. A sharp whack on the counter usually does the trick. On my problem role, the "bubble shadows" showed up mostly on the frames that were closest to the center of the spool.

Well, the last one looks more like flare to me, but the other ones definitely look like they

could be air bubbles. Another possibility is that they are mineral residue. If you look at the

negatives themselves, are these markings on the emulsion or in it? Sometimes if you have

hard water and you don't use something like photo-flo, you can get mineral deposits or

sediment left on the emulsion. It can often be cleaned off with something like Pec

emulsion cleaner. These don't look that defined though, so I think the bubble idea might

be accurate. Especially with a chemical like diafine where you are not doing much

agitation. One tip to help avoid air bubbles is to hit the tank firmly down on your hand

right after you have poured in the chemicals and done the first 30 seconds (or however

long) of agitation. That way you will be sure to get all the bubbles off the film. As for

avoiding mineral residue, make sure that you mix all your chemicals with distilled water,

and if possible wash with it too. If you cannot wash with it, then make sure you use photo-

flo that has been mixed with distilled water (NOT MINERAL OR SPRING WATER...for the

obvious reason that they contain the minerals you are trying to avoid).

Could also be the developer getting trapped at the top of the tank with only foam left on the topmost roll.

 

You could put more developer than required to solve this (check first that it only happens on topmost roll in the tank).

Regit, may I ask how you are getting the black edge that fades towards the image side? Is that a photoshop thing?

Air bubbles. Two (some say three) sharp whacks after _each_ agitation of the tank (Fuji method: 1st minute continuous, later 5 secs after every minute) are recommended. Make sure the topmost reel is locked in place so it won't move up and out of the developer thru agitation. (Tip: pile empty reels on top of the topmost to hold the loaded reels down!)<p>Nice pics, BTW. They can be saved in PS.

Hmm, just out of curiosity: How come the bubble pattern is horizontal in the first and vertical in the second (being a portrait oriented) sample...? Could you scan a strip including perforation and show us?

I'd put my shirt on bubbles.

Very nice photos. Especially the last one.

I would say this is development. This very well could be not only bubbles from not hitting the tank enough, but also from overagitation as was my case. I would recommend trying a roll with less agitation.

<br><br>

I had a similar problem until I changed my development routine. I believe Kodak calls for 15-30 seconds of agitation per minute then hit the tank on the counter firmly.

<br><br>

This problem went away instantly once I switched to Ilford's recommendation: 10 seconds per minute agitation, then hit the tank on the counter firmly.

<br><br>

Good luck!

Regit, what development procedure did you use, this would stop us guessing the cause.

Lutz is right. Are the spots on your negatives, or only show up on the positives?

Inadequate agitation ... think like a bartender. Invert three times and bang three times every thirty seconds. Chug-lug, chug-lug, cug-lug. Bang, bang, bang.

Also, if you put one reel in a two-reel tank, it can make quite a froth going up and down as you invert.

 

Also, be sure that the tank and reel are very clean, no residue of soap or photo-flo.

Clearly, bees have made their honeycomb nursery on your film. Surely, your Diafine killed their young. You are safe from bees.<p> Air bubbles are my bet too.

Thank you all for your comments and inputs; I'm utterly overwhelmed by the responses!!!

 

To Michael: I do rap the tank after adding the chemical, perhaps, I may be more on the gentle side :) I see what I can do the next time :)

 

To Stuart: The last shot is to show that there is no shadow, sorry for the confusion. The markings are not on the emulsion so I guess air bubbles should be the most probable cause. I also use wetting again and run it through a new Pec Pad before drying... Admittedly, my weakest chain is that I don't use mineral water for mixing :( I'll try not to be too cheap the next time :)

 

To Ilan: I do normally put more developer than required. I guess I didn't disloged the bubble enough this time.

 

To Jamine: The fading edges are in fact the works of PS, more specifically, using one of the effect in the Photokit package.

 

To Lutz: Thank your for the tip about the reel about agitation, I'll give that routine a go. BTW, I use single reel tank. Also, how do you save these in PS? Healing tool? Finally, I have no idea about the orientation of the bubbles. It perplex me as well now that you mentioned it... Unfortunately, my scanner (LS-50) can't do full-frame :( ... sounds a bit like DSLR talk :)

 

To Jonathan: Thank you for the validation, at least I don't have to worry about equipment repair cost :)

 

To Monkey: Thank you for the kind words :) Shooting with 15mm can be a lot of fun :)

 

To Stephen: I'm using Diafine and as such, I don't agitate alot. Once after pouring in the developer and twice mid-way through developing. I think air bubbles could just be it.

 

To Huw: My apologies for leaving out the procedures. I'm using Diafine/Iford rapid fixer and wetting agent, and Jobo 2040 tank. Basically, I just load the reel and start adding the developer. Rap the tank twice and agitate once. After 1:30 min, I'll agitate twice. Same applies to Solution B of Diafine, development time is 3min for both A and B. After solution B, I'll rinse it with water and add in the fixer and fix it for 5min, continuous/slow agitation for the 1 min, 2 agitation each min. After which, wash it for 5min, soak in wetting agent for 1min. Finally, run through new Pec Pad and hang the film dry.... I don't think I miss anything here.

 

To Bill: The spots are in the negatives... not watermark though; i.e. I can see the spots when I hold the negative against the light.

 

To Frederick: Any recommended music to go with the procedure? :)

 

To John: I'm using single reel tank and I do wash and make sure it is dry before next use. Occasionally, I would also clean the tank with methenol after 30 rolls or so.

 

To Andew: Air bubbles seems to be call... I'll go along with it :)

 

Again, thank you all for your kind advices :)

Regit, I've never personally had an example of bubbles during development, only seen it in text-books. Yet I haven't rapped my (plastic) developing tanks since the day many years ago when I cracked one. I use the rotating tool to twist the spiral and dislodge air bubbles when the developer first goes in. Once the film is wetted, any newly-formed bubbles tend to linger at the surface of the liquid, which is above the top of the spiral. This may be a crucial factor too. Are you being overly economical with the chemicals?

Hi Jonathan,

 

I change the fixer once every ten rolls; as for developer, from what I've gather, Diafine is pretty hardy and apart from topping up consumed developer, I have to admit that I keep reusing them.

 

I'll put one more roll through it with suggestions made here, if they didn't help, I'll run another roll through new solutions and see if that helps. Thank you for the prompt.

Regit, that's not what I meant. Are you putting sufficient millilitres of liquid into the tank so that it really covers the spiral?

Hi Jonathan,

 

My mistake. Yes I do normally put more than the stated capacity... I may try developing in a Rondinax tank and see if the difference in agitation method can cure the problem.

This is a classic example of overagitation, per Kodak bulletins dateing to the 1960's. The network effect is due to turbulence of the developer through the film reel.

 

If they occur, bubbles are relativel small, and appear as, round white dots (cleared due to lack of development). Bubbles are rare except in newly mixed or aerated developer, and easily dislodged by tapping the tank on the table after the first agitation.

Regit, Healing Brush meets Noise Ninja... ;-)<div></div>

I've never seen air bubbles like this. Could it be they are mineral residue, from poor drying, as suggested before? Looks to me like if these were air bubbles, then the development would have suffered greatly. I think this may be too much wash aid, agitated, and left for a while, and didn't get rinsed properly, or maybe, just maybe, hyper-concentrated photo-flo, and the negative didn't get squeegeed, just left there to dry.

Hi Lutz, I'm truely impressed by the PS work you've done!!! Amazing what computer can do these days :) I'll play around more with PS :) Thank you for the prompt.