OM-2n Full frame prints - rough white border??

[jim_bob12]

<p>When printing full-frame from my OM-2n there is usually a rough white border just inside the film rebate. This gets more and more visible with higher contrast, and looks really bad... It is visible in scans and on prints.<br>

This is also sometimes visible on negatives from my OM-1n, but it is far less and only occurs in certain light situations.<br>

Can this be fixed? is it internal reflections around the film opening?<br>

As i like to print full-frame this is really causing a headache! any help would be gratly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks<br>

Jim</p><div></div>

[starvy]

<p>Jim,<br>

How old is your film stock and what conditions are the cameras kept in? Could this be dust or debris around the part of the camera that the film touches?</p>

[lwg]

<p>Looks like internal reflections to me.</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>I'm positive it's internal reflections, film is always new and processed within a couple of days.<br>

Any ideas how these reflections can be reduced or eliminated? The OM-2n is the older camera and seen a lot more action, 79 or 80 i think, but it looks fairly clean inside and works perfectly otherwise.</p>

[john_hermanson2]

<p>Very odd. Is that line on both edges of the film? Top of the picture? Then it's happening at the bottom of the film plane. Does it extend into the film leader area? Are you doing all your own processing? John</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>It doesn't extend into the film leader, but does show up on all four edges of each frame (usually far more obvious along the top) i do do all my own processing, but this doesn't affect my other cameras...</p><div></div>

[jim_bob12]

<p>I forgot to mention... in the corners the white line forms a cross - you can just see this in the top left and bottom right of this picture.</p>

[maury_cohen]

<p>I used to get a similar reflection that I tracked down to exposed metal on the interior edges of my enlarger's negative carriers. You may be getting similar refepctions off of the interior edges of the opening betwen the mirror box and film in your OM. Maybe painting that area flat black would do the trick.</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>I think you're probably right.. i'll compare the OM-1 and OM-2 and see if i can spot any differences.</p>

[john_hermanson2]

<p>Dad was a tech rep for Kodak and this type of question was often posed to him by professional labs. The dark uniform areas on the negatives along both edges of the film could occur (with film that is developed on stainless steel reels) that receive too much agitation while in the developer. John</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>That could be possible with the second example - this was shot a few years ago, i developed everything in a Jobo CPE2 back then. Now i always develop by hand and use semi-stand agitation, three inversions every three minutes, and plastic reels. I'll see what my next roll looks like. Thanks for all the suggestions - hopefully i'll get tho the bottom of this soon - and learn a thing or two as well!</p>

[tim_kohlman]

<p>It's on all 4 edges of the frames. This rules out the processing being the issue.</p>

<p>It's on both scans and prints, ruling out your printing.</p>

<p>That means it has to happen in the camera. since it's light marks (looking at the print) that means it's being caused by light.</p>

<p>The only thing that would explain your issues is internal reflections or light leaks. I'd put money on internal reflections since it's uniform, look for any bare metal around the edges of the film window, anything that looks reflective (even black plastic can become 'shiny' with age). Some carefully applied black paint could solve your problem.</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>That's my thinking too, which way does the shutter travel in an OM? right to left? Even with the good camera, you can occasionally see the same faint line on the right edge of the print - that would be the left edge looking in the back of the camer wouldn't it?<br>

The most obvious shiny bit looking in the back of the camera with the shutter open, is some (what looks like) glue holding a felt strip in place, there's one at the top too, but the glue is more obvious on the bottom. This is not present on the left and right sides though - so possibly not the main cause.</p><div></div>

[jim_bob12]

<p>The rough silver line that would be closest to the film (just above the film rail in the pic) isn't that obvious to the eye but has shown up in the picture quite a lot. This seems the most likely culprit, some carefully applied matt black paint may be the answer - i'll give it a go.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>This looks like what would happen if someone filed out a regular 35mm negative carrier and did not blacken the inside edges. I had a 6X6 carrier altered to have a 6X7 opening. The results were perfect. The work was done by Ken Ruth at Photography On Bald Mountain in Davenport, CA.</p>

[john_hermanson2]

<p>Try painting the edge of the film frame with flat black paint. It'''s a long shot, but the area is so uniform (and I did not realize it was on all 4 sides) that that is where I would start. John</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>Thanks John, that's what i've done - it looks a lot better but i'm not convinced it will cure it as my OM-1 looks very much the same, but doesn't suffer from the problem anywhere near as much. I'll post some results when i get around to developing this roll.</p>

[jim_bob12]

<p>Mission acomplished... all frames on the roll look ok, but i will print a few more just to be sure.</p><div></div>