Sweaty hands in changing bag

[alexander_gisoldi]

I just picked up a changing bag yesterday. While at the store yesterday I had

no trouble loading my reel and tank. Today I tried again at home with a new

roll of 120 and struggled for an hour with no luck. It must have been hotter

than yesterday because my hands were totally sweaty and the film got mushy and

wet. After battling a bit longer I took out the roll in my darkkroom/bathroom

and loaded it on my reel in seconds flat with no problem--so much for a

changing bag. My question is whether the hour I spent sweating all over the

roll of 120 has affected it in anyway. Does the heat from the changing bag

and the moisture from the sweat detrimentally affect the roll--like fog it? I

sure hope not! Any input you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

in advance.

[William Kahn]

Only way to know for sure is to develop the roll and see. It probably wouldn't hurt to pre-soak the film in distilled water....

[john_shriver]

Get an old "natural fiber" changing bag, rather than the nasty synthetic ones they sell now. It takes a LONG time to get sweaty in a big 3 foot square Burke & James.

[alexander_gisoldi]

Well, I processed the roll and there is indeed fog--lots of it. Frames 1,2,8,9 and 10 of a 6x7 roll. Severe crinklage--if that's a word on 9 and 10 and tons of black fog. So sweat and heat must indeed fog a roll. Only frames 3-7 came out unfogged. Now I wonder if the changing bag is not light tight or if my tank is the culprit. I know I'm responsible for crinkling up the film, but the fog? I've done many rolls of 35mm in the same bathroom in the same tank for much longer time in the dark than today and never got any fog so it's got to be the heat/sweat and/or light leaks in the tank or new changing bag. Thanks all.

[randall ellis]

I would guess that the oils in your skin were the culprit rather than heat. They could have changed the pH where they got on the film, prevented the developer from sinking into the emulsion, or any number of other things. I've had film in a closed car for hours (in Florida) and not had any problems so I doubt that the heat from your hands was enough to cause problems.

 

I hate changing bags, and only use them when there is no other option, which is very infrequently. Try a changing tent, or a large bag with some supports inside to keep the bag off your hands.

 

- Randy

[jonathan_walker]

Are you sure your darkroom is totally light tight? If not that's where the ofg comes in.

 

i'd recommend a Photoflex Changing Room ($60?) it's the best. Very little sweat b/c it's rigid and holds its shape.

[sheldonnalos]

I've botched a roll of 120 doing the exact same thing in my changing tent. I've started to be a little more careful - washing my hands beforehand with cold water and drying them thoroughly, trying to handle the film as little as possible when in the changing bag, and knowing when to give up and go to the closet if the film starts to soften.

 

What causes the film to get all messy and fogged is a couple things. If it misfeeds on the roll because it's soft it can touch itself and prevent the developer from reaching it on the reels. If you crinkle the film, the stress on the emulsion will actually form a mark on the negative. You sometimes see this if you are too rough pulling a sheet of 4x5 film out of a holder and make a little crease at the end of the sheet.

[bruce_karnopp1]

I have two suggestions - you may not like either one.

1) I use a Changing Room. I also use ultra reels with very large flanges (about 3/4" which really makes loading 120 a snap)

2) One of the very few things that are better about getting old is that the oil and sweat on the hands decreases dramatically. I noticed that as I got into my late 60s, I had no more problems with sweat or oils on my hands as I did when I was ten years old.

 

So when you get old, this problem will diminish (although a great many other problems become common).

[larrydressler]

I use thin cotton gloves when using my changing bag. It sure helps.

 

Larry

[alexander_gisoldi]

Well the theory about a light leak in my bathroom or in my tank or in the new changing bag is a bust because I loaded another roll of 120 tonite in my bathroom and after processing it came out fog free. A little scratched on frames 9 and 10, but no fog. And I know my changing bag is light tight because after loading my tank in the bathroom I realized that I had forgotten to put the rubber gasket on the lip of the tank so I opened the tank in the changing bag and put it on--no fog. So the question remains... Is the PH of my sweat so acidic as to fog the last roll before this one? Just philosophizing and trying to rule out things.

[Gary Naka]

Few ideas of the changing bag

 

- One hour is TOOOO long inside the bag. You have to know when to stop, it will only get worse if you keep going.

 

- Get a LARGE bag rather than a small bag. Larger bag has more air volume.

 

- Air it out as much as possible before using it.

 

- Put something in the bag, like a cardboard box, to hold it up. This creates a larger volume of air inside the bag than a flattened bag.

 

- Try to get YOURSELF cooled off before using the changing bag. If you are warm, your hands will heat the air in the bag.

 

- Put a small towel in the bag.

[pete_andrews10]

Fog isn't usually caused by sweat or humidity. My guess, Alexander, is that your make-shift bathroom/darkroom is the culprit. After all, why would you use a changing bag if you had a perfectly light-tight darkroom available?

 

I've had the same problem of 220 film becoming sticky and floppy through humidity in a changing bag, but not 120. The problem turned out to be a bent stainless reel that I hadn't noticed was damaged. Anyway, when I eventually did get the film loaded onto another reel it came out fine - no fog, and only a few "half moons" which, luckily, were well away from the frame area.

[bobbyc]

Sweaty hands will not fog your film. I don't have a 100% light-tight darkroom, so all my

films ( 35mm, MF and LF) are changed in a synthetic changing bag, which I bought, used,

several years ago for $15.00 ( It has some rips in it but works fine so far). In the

beginning, I was not good at loading and unloading film in the bag, so I would struggle for

a while and it

would get hot/sweaty. I have ruined film this way ( scratches, mostly). Now, after changing

thousands of rolls and sheets of film, I have become quite proficient in using the bag and

it takes me only a few seconds to get the job done right. When I am out in the field doing

LF work, I use the bag in the car or in the field to change film. I agree with the previous

poster and reccommend " natural fiber" bag over synthetic for the hot weather. For winter/

snow/rain, the synthetic is appropriate because it retains heat and is waterproof ( for the

most part; although I would not reccomend changing film underwater).