This thread ruined my slides

[tom_halfhill]

No, this discussion thread didn't ruin my color slides. A piece of

thread in my camera did.

 

While playing tour guide for some out-of-town visitors, I shot three

rolls of Kodachrome 200 in my Leica M6 and mailed the film to New

Jersey for processing. I don't shoot color very often so this was a

special event. About two weeks later, the first box of slides arrived.

Eagerly I opened the box and looked at them. The first few slides had

a strange shadow line across the corner. Was it debris on the slide?

Nope. Was it a processing defect? Nope. Pretty soon I realized it was

the same shadow line in the same corner of every image.

 

I dropped the slides and grabbed the M6. I opened the back, set the

shutter dial to Bulb, and peered through the body.

 

Dang! There it was. A tiny blue thread, lodged across one corner of

the film gate. Either it entered the camera when I was loading film or

when changing a lens.

 

Then I realized the box of slides was only my first roll, and that the

thread had been inside the camera the whole time. Sure enough, when

the other two boxes of slides arrived a few days later, they had the

same defect.

 

Some slides are worse than others, depending on the composition.

Almost all vertical shots with sky are ruined because that's where the

thread is casting its shadow. See the sample photo.

 

Of course, I can probably fix the pictures if I scan them into

Photoshop, but that won't help the slides when I project them. Woe is me.<div></div>

[james_ogara1]

I had the same problem this March with my Nikon (sorry, Leicaphiles) F-4 when a hair from my beard lodged in the pressur eplate as i was working my way across rural Egypt. Alas, it only affected roughly the last ten rolls on the trip. Irritating, though.

[working camera]

Tom, nice pic shame about the thread ruining all the slides.

 

But remember the days before PS.

 

One option available these days (perhaps a little on the expensive side) is to fix in PS

and have the really good ones copied via a top end quality film recorder.

 

,the best Craig

[SolaresLarrave]

Tom, at least you found the thread. Imagine how you would feel if after inspecting the camera body and not finding a thing, you got again the same annoying thread in all your frames. Enough to drive you insane.

 

Nice pic, by the way. I mean it; pretty effect with the fence guiding the eye to the light tower.

 

Ain't you glad there is PhotoShop? I am. But also I'm glad you found the responsible for your troubles. Since you were guiding out-of-town visitors, I'm sure you can redo most of the shots, so not much is really lost. Thanks for posting, though. I'll revise my camera bodies more thoroughly from now on before loading film!

[mark-j]

Tom: My condolences to the thread, may it live a very short life. GREAT picture. Good saturation and composition. I would like to see some of the others from that part of the country.

 

Cheers.

[ronald_moravec1]

I learned several years ago to run my finger around the opening to dislodge these critters. Never did get one this bad, but I did have one standing straight up and not the film gate in my 111f. Inspect each and every time!

[alan_simpson]

I once had a very small insect trapped inside my camera and didn't realise until I had processed the film and was printing a few of the negatives. I'd been shooting the Houses of Parliament in London and was extremely surprised to discover that one of the prints showed what appeared to be a twenty-foot insect climbing up the side of Big Ben!

[bueh]

I'd like to see that picture, Alan.

[new hampshire john]

...but very nice pic, if it's any consolation.

 

How do you like the Kobalux, btw? I searched high and low for one and eventually just picked up the CV21/4 out of damned impatience, but still keep my eye out for deals on the Kobalux.

[sammer]

I always wear a hairnet when shooting to avoid such problems. I highly recommend.

[Robin Smith]

My only R breakdown happened when a hair lodged in the gate and jammed the mirror. I got the same hair appearing at the edge of each shot for the film before.

[roger_michel]

mammals are disgusting. bunch of monkey boys. leica made for reptile hands anyhoo.

[gee-bug]

In motion picture photography they have a procedure called "<a href="http://www.cinematography.net/CheckTheGate.htm">checking the gate</a>" where after a take they check to make sure stray hairs or other debris aren't in the film gate. It is probably a good idea to do this occasionally with a still camera too.

[zora_suleman]

Once saw a small insect walking across the screen of my

Hasselblad. With the 8x magnifier, scared the life out of me..

[joel_matherson]

"leica made for reptile hands anyhoo."

 

Oh, that explains the Lizard skin special editions then!

[tom_halfhill]

NH John: Yes, I like the Kobalux 21mm f/2.8. When I bought it, I owned a nonaspheric 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit. I tested them by shooting the same scenes with both lenses, using both b&w and color slide film.

 

I couldn't see any difference in the slides under an 8x loupe or when projected. In 8x10 and larger b&w prints, I could sometimes notice that the Elmarit was sharper, but the difference was very small. My test photos shooting directly into the sun revealed that the Kobalux was slightly more likely to flare, but again, the difference was very small. The Elmarit's 21mm finder is superior, but the Kobalux finder is acceptable.

 

In the end, I concluded that the Kobalux was plenty good enough for me, especially for a lens I don't use very often. I sold the Elmarit for about three times the price I paid for the Kobalux.

 

I've never used the Voigtlander 21mm f/4, but I hear it's very good. I'd rather have the faster f/2.8 Kobalux, though. It is also a well-built lens, all metal, with very smooth focusing. Too bad it's no longer available new.