sprouty Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Can anyone tell me what the cause of the dark streaks on this negative might be caused by? I had this developed at my local shop. Usually they do good work, so I'm wondering if this might have been something I did or if it was them. It's not on the whole roll only on frames 2-9 then on the 10th it's gone. It re-occurrs to a lesser degree on 14, 16 and 22?? Any help would be appreciated. Regards,<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djl251 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I don't think its your shop. It looks like you've got yourself a pesky light leak. In your camera. Same position every frame, top of picture corresponds to the bottom of the camera, even the margin is exposed. How could this happen? I don't know, somebody help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Possibly- shutter is not closing completely or fast enough, and fogging frame as it's wound? If it's EXACTLY the same place on each frame (as it looks), it nearly has to be something that happened in the camera. If it shifts about on the frames, it could have been light leak when wound up on the reel- it should get closer together at one end of the film. On the frames above, you can't see it on the 2nd from left, but it might still be there, just concealed in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprouty Posted June 12, 2003 Author Share Posted June 12, 2003 Just re-checked the negative and it looks like it's exactly in the same spot in each frame that it occurs...and not that it matters perhaps but the camera (an M6 TTL) was bought new less than 2 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry_lehrer Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Steve The shutter has nothing to do with it. The edges are exposed too. It's your camera. What model Leica is it? Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy_b Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I had the same problem with a Nikon F3 a few years ago. In my case, the "light leak" came froma missing "very small" ASA adjustment button. I think you should get the camera checked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy_b Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Just to add to my previous comment, the 'light leak' also did not occur on all frames. I believe that my hand/fingers covered the leak in the photos that were okey. After I replaced the button it never happened again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles barcellona www.bl Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 To me it looks like back door is leaking and needs attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_becker2 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Leitz leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_piper2 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 1) It's a camera body leak. 2) It's important to remember that the leak is may not be near the film gate, even though the blob covers part of the frame. It can be anywhere from the lip of the film casette to the point where the film wraps around itself on the take-up spool. The fogging on frame x may occur when the film has been wound on to frame x+1 (or while the camera is still on frame x-1). 3) the leak may not even be in/on the bottom of the camera (even though the fogged portion IS near the bottom). I had an M4-2 with a troublesome leak once. The fogged spot was in the middle of the frames and intermittent. I finally tracked it down to a beam of light shining in through the hole around the rewind ® lever on the front and shining all the way down through the camera to the near-bottom of the film. It was not fogging a frame when I took the picture, but only after I'd made the exposure and wound the film one notch. The intermittent quality could be because it's a very SLOOW leak that requires several minutes/hours of exposure to build up a noticeable fogging. If you shoot off 5-6 frames fairly rapidly you don't give the leak time to do its damage. But when you put the camera aside for a day or so, then the film sits in one place long enough for visible fog to show. This is what tipped me off to the location of my M4-s' leak - the fogging was always worst on the LAST frame I'd taken before setting the camera aside for a while - and since I always wind the film after shooting, that last frame was in between the film gate and the take-up spool while the fogging was taking place. Once I'd figured that out I just held the camer up to bright light and looked through the bottom until I caught a glimpse of the leak - shining high up inside like a cathedral window. The rest was easy at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorn ake Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Might not be the camera. I got something very similar to this (first six or so frames with edge to center leak mark) on a roll of film a while back. I recognized the marks as similar to a time I mistakenly open the bottom of my Leica before rewinding the film - how I feed myself I wonder sometimes. That roll had these marks towards the end of the roll only - only those images that would be exposed to the light while the film was rolled up in the camera. So I went back to my local lab, and the guy there said yes they did have a problem - one film canister was opened briefly with the lights on. Again, the first six images were slightly exposed because they are the images that would be exposed to the light on an opened finished roll. The other images get less or no light leak because they are protected by being wrapped by the preceding length of film. So talk to your lab or shoot another test roll trying to recreate similar conditions. No worries.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_amiet2 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 Stephen, I would immediately put another (test) roll through before embarking on expensive camera service. I have had faulty film cassettes do just what you have shown. Light traps on 35mm cassettes are not foolproof. Fogging in strong direct light can penetrate deep into a roll before it is even loaded. A test roll is a cheap precaution. Good luck with it. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajabbi Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 I agree with John. It could be the trap on that particular casset or the top or bottom snap-on lid could have been faulty. It's much cheaper to check that out than to send in your camera for repair, only to find out that the trouble was elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprouty Posted June 13, 2003 Author Share Posted June 13, 2003 Thanks for all the help guys. I hadn't considered that fact that it is in exactly the the same spot before it was mentioned above (and therefor not a processing issue). And I've already ran several rolls of film through it. I just haven't developed any of it, so I guess I'll go drop it off today and see what it looks like. I'll post again once I find out what the issue is. regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 I suppose it could be leaking through the cassette's lips. The film makers used to make a much bigger deal about "load and unload in subdued light" than they do now. Leaving the leader out when rewinding keeps the space between the lips filled. If your lab uses a hand held leader retriever to fish your leader out of the cassette that could possibly be causing a problem too. I'm not a big believer in the Japanese custom of packaging film in clear plastic containers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 The film is wound around a reel in the cassette, and if the light leaks in through the cassette opening, the spacing will not be uniform- where the film is wound tighter, it would put the marks closer together on the film. It would also be noticably worse at one end or the other, and progressively & uniformly decreasing as you go from one end to the other- it wouldn't show up on a half dozen frames, then skip 20 frames and show up again. The answer up above, a light leak as the camera sits around, sounds the most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert knapp md Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Send it in along with the film. It looks like a minute light leak that can be fixed quite easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpayton Posted July 24, 2003 Share Posted July 24, 2003 Did you travel with this film? I've read several articles that say security scans in airports can streak film. Especially 800 speed or faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprouty Posted July 24, 2003 Author Share Posted July 24, 2003 Tami, I actually found the leak. It was a defective bottom plate on my M6. You can see it here: http://www.photo.net/photo/1586224 (Sorry but I'm having a bit of trouble posting a direct link) Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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