Well defined sctaches on Contax 645 negatives

Good morning,

 

I attach here 2 negatives where you may see 1 colored scratch (!) on 1 negative and 2 scratches on the second one: a black one(left side) and a white one. When there are 2 scratches, the distance between both seem to be equal. Photos taken with a 80mm f2 Zeiss lens.

 

Your explanations are most wellcome!

 

 

I notice now that on some negatives, there are 2 scratches, always at the same places.

on other negatives, from another roll, there is only one, always located more or less in the middle, like the one below:

If you turn the camera through 90 degrees, do the scratches then run horizontally ? If so, all I can think of is some kind of roughness in the film transport mechanism. Can you feel the scratches on the actual negatives if you pass your finger over them ? This might suggest emulsion damage. HTH

If you turn the camera through 90 degrees, do the scratches then run horizontally ? If so, all I can think of is some kind of roughness in the film transport mechanism. Can you feel the scratches on the actual negatives if you pass your finger over them ? This might suggest emulsion damage. HTH

 

Good question, but no I can't see nor feel the scratches! They are so thin. Strange, very strange

Does the film transport through the camera in the same direction as those lines ? If it does, the film is probably getting scratched by grit on the film pressure plate

Yes but despite a close look at the pressure plate and the insert in general, I can't feel nor see any tiny thing that could scratch the negative. I checked that before posting of course.

Did you squeegee the film ? Even careful squeegeeing can still scratch film

Smoothly between my fingers as I do with 24x36.

Moreover, the lines are very straight, perfectly straight. And then, why 1 long scratch or 2 scratches with an exact same distance between the 2?

It looks like a scanning artefact to me. A single speck of dust on the scanner sensor would do it.

 

BTW, looking at the camera pressure plate is useless. There's a layer of backing paper between the pressure plate and the film. If they really are camera scratches on the film, they'll be from the gate or guide rollers, but they look like scanner tracks to me.

Do you see the scratches on the negative? If so, invest in an out of date roll of film and run it through the camera to see if you can track down the source of the scratch. Rodeo Joe's scanner suggestion is great. I never would have thought of that.

You can't see it with a naked eye, you need a magnifying glass. The scratches are really very thin.

 

If you look at the 1st negative above (the trees), how comes 1 scratch is black, the other one white?

This is a big crop. You can see 2 scratches: a big black one on the left side in the water and a much discreter one on the right side (see the stone)

Are the hairs and dust on the original neg, or are they from the scan ? If the latter, maybe the scanner needs attention.

Your first image actually has four lines, two black and two white. It needs to be expanded to see the other two and they don't run the full depth of the neg but one is just to the right of prominent black line, and the other is just to the right of the prominent white line

 

Was the film 120 or 220 ?

Your first image actually has four lines, two black and two white. It needs to be expanded to see the other two and they don't run the full depth of the neg but one is just to the right of prominent black line, and the other is just to the right of the prominent white line

 

Was the film 120 or 220 ?

120

Are the hairs and dust on the original neg, or are they from the scan ? If the latter, maybe the scanner needs attention.

 

You won't believe it but I just discover that on 1 negative, there is absolutely nothing to see on the emulsion even with a magnifying glass. So, the straight line almost in the middle must come from the scan but then, why not at all times, sometimes yes, sometimes no?

 

Why is this line not on all the negatives? Why do the others have 2 lines and at another place in the picture?

 

I go crazy.

Are the hairs and dust on the original neg, or are they from the scan ? If the latter, maybe the scanner needs attention.

it doesn't happen with 24x36 negatives, never. Nothing!

120 film rules out scratches from the camera so perhaps as Joe said it's from the scanner. Which scanner is it, it's age, and what is the software ? Multi Sampling might make those lines disappear. If your scanner supports Multi Sampling, you could set it a "2" to start with and see what happens

120 film rules out scratches from the camera so perhaps as Joe said it's from the scanner. Which scanner is it, it's age, and what is the software ? Multi Sampling might make those lines disappear. If your scanner supports Multi Sampling, you could set it a "2" to start with and see what happens

 

my scanner is Epson V600 Photo

Here's a link ... Epson V600 glass cleaning. . .

 

You may have to do some cleaning to the internals of the scanner. The above link will get you started but not how to do the complete job you will likely have to do

 

Dust and pollution gets on scanner mirrors, lenses and sensors over time and needs cleaning off. If those components remain dirty, scans will suffer

It looks like a scanning artefact to me. A single speck of dust on the scanner sensor would do it.

 

BTW, looking at the camera pressure plate is useless. There's a layer of backing paper between the pressure plate and the film. If they really are camera scratches on the film, they'll be from the gate or guide rollers, but they look like scanner tracks to me.

 

It looks like you nailed the solution. Please find below a new scan of the second negativ above. Where is the scratch/line gone? I did nothing else except doing exact the same scan.

Here's a link ... Epson V600 glass cleaning. . .

 

You may have to do some cleaning to the internals of the scanner. The above link will get you started but not how to do the complete job you will likely have to do

 

Dust and pollution gets on scanner mirrors, lenses and sensors over time and needs cleaning off. If those components remain dirty, scans will suffer

 

Thank very much although you overestimate my handy skills. Will have a closer look when I am ready for suffering a bit:eek:

Dust on the sensor will produce a straight line in the direction of travel, but usually fuzzy rather than sharply defined. It will also appear in every frame, but not necessarily in the same spot, because registration of the negative in a flatbed is subject to variation.

 

A bad sensor cell could be bright or dark, but always in the same cell and unlikely to go away. A data error or loose connection might be at fault, and could be intermittent. In either case, reloading and scanning the film would put the defect in a different location.

 

My prime suspicion is damage during processing or handling. You would need a 10x magnifier and oblique light to see a scratch like this on film. It would be in the same position each time you reloaded the film and scanned again.

 

What happens if you scan without film present. That may exaggerate any problems with the scanner or optical path.

Dust on the sensor will produce a straight line in the direction of travel, but usually fuzzy rather than sharply defined. It will also appear in every frame, but not necessarily in the same spot, because registration of the negative in a flatbed is subject to variation.

 

A bad sensor cell could be bright or dark, but always in the same cell and unlikely to go away. A data error or loose connection might be at fault, and could be intermittent. In either case, reloading and scanning the film would put the defect in a different location.

 

My prime suspicion is damage during processing or handling. You would need a 10x magnifier and oblique light to see a scratch like this on film. It would be in the same position each time you reloaded the film and scanned again.

 

What happens if you scan without film present. That may exaggerate any problems with the scanner or optical path.

What do you mean by damage during processing or handling?

What do you mean by damage during processing or handling?

The white line was probably a bad scan, due to a data error or bad pixel. The dark lines are probably scratches on the negative due to handling before or after processing.

 

Commercial processing machines can scratch negatives due to debris on guides and rollers in the film's serpentine path. If you process your own film, use of a loading guide often leads to scratches on the film. In the day, I used only my fingers to cup the film slightly while loading the (stainless) reel. Scratches also occur when developed film is spooled tightly to fit inside a tube or envelope, for example when 35 mm film is stuffed inside a film can. Scratches can also occur if there is debris in the film path in the camera, particularly the rollers and film gate. The backside is protected by the paper strip.