bad film back? exposed films :(

[g_t3]

Just bought a used Bronica SQ-A with a 120 film back. I took it out for a test

photo shoot past weekend and shot three B&W rolls. I came back home and

developed them myself.. to my dismay, all three rolls were exposed. I did all

the reading on the manual prior to going out so I am *almost* sure that I have

the operations correct. I am also sure that films were not exposed during my

development process. So what had gone wrong?? Could it be a bad film back? Or

is there any other reasons associated with the camera? I need a few advices

from the forum so I can investigate. I did notice that the flim back's outer

shell seems not to be closed tightly when the back cover is snapped with the

film insert.

 

Thanks a lot for everyone's help in advanced.

[RobertChura]

It is normally my intent to expose film when I go out to shoot.

 

Assuming you meant overexposed, it sounds like you found the problem with the outer shell.

 

What do the negs look like? Are there any markings of film edges or are they all light or dark?

[dave_thomas8]

Your description is a little vague. Here is a scan from a negative suffering a bad light seal along the end of the back shell opposite the hinge. http://www.pbase.com/dw_thomas/image/67730400.jpg

 

Answers to the following questions that might point to further analysis:

 

Are the negatives really black or are there light-struck but uneven areas with some image visible?

Do the numbers and printing on the edge of the film show?

Do you have a manual for the camera to check your control settings?

 

(I'm wondering if the shutter is stuck or set in a time exposure mode -- but I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are seeing on your films.)

 

DaveT Relatively recent SQ-A owner

[alexander_gisoldi]

If the negatives came out completely clear then I might have a suggestion because I bought a Bronica ETRS and one of my first rolls came out clear. The problem was that I had loaded the film in upside down and nothing came out. Just a thought. Dave showed you pics of light leaks so that should eliminate that problem if you have it. A sticky shutter not opening could also be the problem. Good luck.

[g_t3]

Sorry for the confusion, what I meant was the negatives had come out all clear.

I checked the instruction again and I am pretty sure that I had installed the film the right way.

 

Alexander, when you mentioned that you had installed the film upside down, did you mean you had installed the film spooler the wrong way?

 

I have attached an image file that was a cut out from the Bronica SQA manual. The image is not cleared as appeared in the manual so that might have caused my mistake in installing the film. I installed the film in the direction of the RED arrow as shown in the image. Should I be installed the film in the direction of the BLUE arrow instead??

 

Thanks!<div></div>

[dave_thomas8]

Yes -- the blue arrow - the printed side of the backing paper should be against the pressure plate. The black side of the paper should be facing out (toward the lens).

 

DaveT

[g_t3]

Hi Dave, Thanks a lot for the confirmation. Now I feel such a relief it was only my mistake and wasted three rolls -- there is probably nothing wrong with my gear then. Will go out and shoot ONE and only one more roll this time. :)

 

By the way, the 120 film I bought here (in China) has the paper in black on both side :) . I guess for 0.85 USD per roll, I shouldn't complain too much.

 

Thanks -- I also thought hard about this and made a stupid mistake in thinking that clear developed negatives were exposed... In fact, it should mean that they were NEVER exposed. That is where a mistake in conclusion led to the wrong assumption.... :)

 

Thanks for everyone's help!

[dave_thomas8]

"By the way, the 120 film I bought here (in China) has the paper in black on both side "

 

Ooops! I would think though that only one side has printing on it. At any rate, the orientation shown in your diagram should work if you follow the blue arrow route. The SQ-A problems I've seen so far were light leaks in the back seals, a common problem you can fix yourself with a seal kit from "Interslice" (Jon Goodman) on *bay. And one back didn't index the film, just wound a whole roll through without stopping. The seller took it back.

 

Enjoy your SQ-A, I'm having a blast, especially with the square format.

 

 

DaveT

[g_t3]

Will try a roll this weekend and see. Wondering if Jon Goodman has some leatherlette (sp?) replacement for my SQ-A. The bottom leatherlette of the camera body is missing... will look up on ebay

 

Dave, thanks again!