The quandary of which camera I took the pictures with

<p>This question is addressed to those who send their film out for processing. Say you have three rolls that were shot with 3 different cameras. When you get your picture/scans back how do you know which batch came from which camera? Sure, you may remember it but does the developer tag the prints and rolls in some way and how?</p>

<p>Typical procedure:<br>

Each roll is written up by the clerk at the receiving location is inserted in a bag. The bag has places to write the owners name and address and phone number. The bag is checked as to color or black and white and number of prints to make and a space is provided for special instructions. At the lab, a dispenser contains adhesive numbered labels. One label is applied to the bag. A duplicate, having the same number is applied to the roll.<br>

The film machine operator extracts the tongue from the film cassette and affixes the adhesive label to the film. In high volume labs, the film will spliced to another film making up a long roll of film costing of hundreds of rolls spliced together. The splicing machine photographically exposes a number on the film. Additionally some splicing machines apply a heat sealing splice with a unique number. All identifying numbers are imprinted on the bag or applied as an adhesive label.<br>

The developed film with its identifying number sent to the printing station. The roll is inserted into the negative gate of the printer. The negative is scanned and the data analyzed by the printer software. Color filters are adjusted for each frame as well as the exposure time. The printer also prints an identifying number on the back of the print paper. This labeling identifies the prints to the corresponding bag. Additionally code printing on the back of the print tells what corrections to density and color were applied. This data can be used by a printer operator should manual color or density corrections be needed in a re-make or re-print operation. <br>

You can look at the back of the pictures and the bag and identify which prints belong to which bag via a unique number. <br>

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<p>how do you know which batch came from which camera? </p>

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<p>A simple way is to shoot a slate tag with the camera name on it for the first frame of the roll.</p>

<p>This, I think, is the only trick that can work. I shall adopt it forthwith. Alan's detailed account is helpful, of course.</p>

<p>If you are lucky enough to have a Contax N1, G2, or Minolta 7, this info is imprinted on the film itself. The Contax imprints on either the first frame (all exposure / EXIF data for up to 40 images on the roll), or between the frames, depending upon custom function option set. The Minaolta Maxxum / Dynax 7 imprints the camera ID and data packet ID on the 0 frame, and stores all this data to a memory card !<br />Both allow you to set a Camera ID number too, in case you are lucky enough to own more than one Contax or Dynax 7.<br />Beyond the scope of this post, but thes 2 cameras are among the best 35mm film SLR's ever made, but of which little is written on the web.</p>

<p>My Nikon F4 sports the MD-23(?) data back, which can imprint data on or next to the negatives. I have several veteran cryptanalysts working on deciphering the manual; as soon as they have a working text, I will be able to use the back.</p>

<p>I emailed The Darkroom about this question. Here is their response but I don't know what they mean by "twin checks".</p>

<p>"Thank you for contacting The Darkroom.<br /><br />what we do is we take "twin checks" that have a a 4-digit number on them and put one on your film and one on the bag to be matched back up after processing. What you can do is write a number on the roll of film (ie: 1,2,3..) and we will put the twin check with the corresponding number and write the number on the envelope when packaged at the end, you would have to have your own record of which number corresponded with which camera. We don't use the bar code on the film. <br /><br />So, yo would number the film and make a note on your order form, "please keep film matched up with corresponding number that is written on canister".</p>

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<p>A simple way is to shoot a slate tag with the camera name on it for the first frame of the roll.<br /><br /></p>

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<p>A good idea in principle but not for 6x12 or 6x17 cameras which only get six or four images per roll!</p>

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<p>Here is their response but I don't know what they mean by "twin checks".</p>

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<p>The twin checks ARE the adhesive labels Alan described thus, "At the lab, a dispenser contains adhesive numbered labels. One label is applied to the bag. A duplicate, having the same number is applied to the roll."</p>

<p>It may not have been clear, but one of the twin checks is attached to the film surface as it is being removed from the order envelope. This twin check stays attached to the film during processing. After processing, the lab matches up the numbers to make sure the right roll of film gets back with the right order envelope. It works exactly like a coat check booth in a restaurant. They give you a numbered receipt and they pin the matching number to your coat. When you return, you give them the receipt and they find a coat with the matching number.</p>

<p>You don't really care about the twin-check system, it's strictly an internal lab accounting system. But it sounds as if the lab is offering to copy a special number, one that YOU write on the film cannister, onto the order envelope.</p>

<p>If you let the lab handle things, you are basically relying on a receiving clerk to understand what your note means, and to write your roll number onto the order envelope. This might work 90% or 99.9% of the time, but what if the normal clerk is out sick, and a part-time employee fills in? Maybe they forget to look for special instructions. If I didn't peronally know the lab, I would feel more comfortable photographing a slate.</p>

<p>Yeah Steve, but on a practical note, how many people get confused what roll was shot from their <strong>three</strong> 6x17 cameras.</p>

<p>Scientific photographers have been known to make varying numbers of small file cuts on the edge of the film gates of cameras to tell them apart!</p>

<p>Three of my Nikon F2 bodies, which I got from a wire service friend after he got out of the business, have the gate notched -- one notch on Body 1, two on Body 2, three on Body 3. I can tell the shots from my other F2 (which I had before I got these three) because it isn't notched.<br /><br />Not everybody did it but this was pretty common practice back in film days among professional shooters with multple bodies. It was very helpful when you knew you were having a problem with one of your camera bodies and needed to know which one it was. Also at newspapers where you might have had several photographers all turning film in to the same darkroom (alothough the notching codes got more complicated if you wanted to both ID a camera as yours and which one of yours.)<br /><br />You can do it yourself -- lock the shutter open and hold the camera facing up so the filing drop to the ground rather than into the camera. But unless you're really good with a file, better to let a camera repairman do it. Or just shoot a slate as recommended above.</p>

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<p>Yeah Steve, but on a practical note, how many people get confused what roll was shot from their <strong>three</strong> 6x17 cameras.</p>

 

 

 

 

 

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<p> Absolutely. All it takes is a few seconds before the rolls get mixed up. In-camera solution is the only sure way but for film cameras that is rare. The slate solution is certainly effective but not too practical when you are out and about.</p>

<p>My old Kodak 35 actually had small notches on one edge of the film aperture that exposed a pattern onto the frame edge during exposure.</p>

<p>I have been using Konica cameras for many years. Many of the Konica models have built-in notches which slightly increase the image area and which can tell you which Konica model made the image. </p>

<p><strong>Thank you</strong> for the notch idea! I have a new (to me) Nikomat EL as well as the Nikkormat FTn that I've been using for a decade now. I always tag my scans in Lightroom with the camera that shot them, which worked fine when everything was a different format (35mm, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9) but this system broke down once the two Nikons got in the mix (not to mention my wife's FM2) and I wait until I have several cans of film to mail across the country to NCPS. I think I just may try this out—I'd never heard of the idea before.<br>

Btw, <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2303/2145101272_920bba7ea1_z.jpg?zz=1">here's a good photo</a> I found of some (somewhat excessively large) notches.</p>

 

<p>I haven't done it many times, but the exact shape of the frame is usually different enough to tell one camera from another. Some corners are more round, others more square.<br>

<br />That might not work between similar models, though. I usually try it with cameras from different companies, and maybe years apart.</p>

Yeah I noticed the Konica notches too.