Scratches on Negatives (35mm)

Is there a way to tell if scratches on Negatives are from Processing or from

the camera? Negatives have multiple (I mean a LOT) of short horizontal

scratches on print film negatives. I believe them to be from local 1 hour

processing (First time I have used a non pro lab in YEARS). This was a roll

of film shot as a camera test so no prints were made. The scratching is so

prolific as to have completely ruined the film. It is a test roll, so not

critical, but if the camera is causing the scratching then that IS critical.

 

If there is no way to tell the difference (and I don't believe there is, but

thought I would ask anyhow) I will go ahead and shoot and process a roll of

B&W at home to be sure it isn't the camera.

 

Thanks.

Sure there is a way to tell. Take another roll, or just run it through the camera and take it to a different crap-shot insty-development place. If the outcome is the same, it's your camera.

Get a cheap roll of film, rewind the leader in, and have the suspect lab process them.

No, John. He should change at least one factor. Best to take it to another (so called) lab. If the scratches are close enough to identical, it's his camera.

Jon's suggestion was a good one too, as it does change one factor; it doesn't run the film through the suspect camera but keeps the lab constant.

 

Your way also works, it utilizes the suspect camera, but changes the lab.

 

Horizontal scratches tell me it's the camera. I've had labs cause vertical scratches where either a maching or sometype of claws must "grab" the film and pull.

 

I'm guessing it's a camera problem.

Another trick you can do is shoot half a roll of cheap film. It doesn't matter what you shoot; you can even leave the lens cap on. Then rewind, being careful to leave the leader out. Then take the film out, pull it out of the cartridge, and check for scratches. Compare the half roll you shot with the half you didn't.

Run a roll of thick (chrome stock) film through dry, over and over. Remove w/o processing, strip the film and examine it under a bright light with a magnifying glass.

 

 

This will reveal camera scratching. However, 99.9% of negative scratches are from rollers on mini labs. When the emulsion is soft,crud on rollers digs into it. The scanners at the labs that do the printing can omit these scracthes, so the labs don't care about them.

Horizontal scratches caused by lab equipment are pretty common, especially at the busiest labs where they don't have time to clean the machines as often as they should. WalMart is one of the biggest offenders.

 

Shoot two rolls of film, take one to your crappy lab, the other to a lab you trust. If both sets of negatives show scratches in the same place, chances are good that they're happening in the camera. Otherwise, you can go back to blaming 1-Hour Fotoabuse......

Thanks.

I really expect it is the processing but I will do the chrome stock thing and see what I see.

 

FWIW the images were crstal clear. Photos of bricks etc. showed the film plane to be riding flat.

 

I was pretty impressed by the amount of scratching on the negs... and, of course, I won't use any sort of "drug store" or "Walmart" processing for anything else. I never have. I was trying to cut corners and learned what I already knew for $2.50!

 

Thank you again.