m_k31

Processing film in my darkroom I'm getting blurry spots along the edge of my negatives.
They appear as darks spots on the scans, white spots on the negatives.
Photos of both negatives and scans are attached here.

It is only along the edge of the negatives, never in the middle.

They are blurry, cloudy spots. Always random, not every frame from every roll has them. Some rolls I process don’t have them at all.

Appears on Tri-X and HP5 both so isn't film-related.

I used to get this problem with the plastic Paterson reels and tanks so I switched to stainless steel and I’m still getting this problem, thought with less frequency.

 

Processing / Chemistry Details:

Sprint Standard Developer / Sprint Speed Fixer / Sprint Block Stop Bath / Sprint Archive Fixer Remover.

Pre-Soak with Distilled Water.

All Chemicals mixed with distilled water, including developer.

Only the final rinse is done with unfiltered water.

Normal to vigorous agitation.

 

Any help is appreciated!

<p>brand new, right out of the box, Fuji X Pro 1. this aberration is in the exact same spot on many of the photos but not every single one. is this a dead pixel? hot pixel? stuck pixel? what is it and what causes it?<br>

should i return the camera?<br>

<img src="http://transit2.cargocollective.com/1/2/83304/3893566/Screen%20Shot%202014-01-02%20at%2010.34.23%20PM_2048.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://transit2.cargocollective.com/1/2/83304/3893566/Screen%20Shot%202014-01-02%20at%2010.35.00%20PM_2048.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://transit2.cargocollective.com/1/2/83304/3893566/Screen%20Shot%202014-01-02%20at%2010.34.45%20PM_2048.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Thanks for all the responses. The developer is fresh, not reused. The<br />film is developed for the Kodak recommended length of time (400asa<br />tmax for 6 1/2 min at 72 degrees in tmax developer) and has good<br />density and contrast. The neg looks very dark and flat in the examples<br />due to my scanning workflow which is to do a straight scan without<br />setting black and white levels in the scan software. I 'process' the<br />image and do all adjustments after the image is scanned. So what you<br />see is the 'middle gray', pre-adjustment scan.<br>

The fixer is a new mix and I processed a few rolls of 35mm from the<br />batch last week with no problems so I doubt that is the culprit.<br />However i discovered my fixer remover is quite old and maybe exhausted<br />as is my photo flo, which is expired. Could these be factors in these<br />negs? When I squeegeed off the excess water before hanging to dry it<br />was a bit dark gray in color as if some chemicals weren't fully rinsed<br />or something. I've never seen that before.<br>

I suspect my agitation technique needs improvement during development.<br />Does this uneven development mean I need more, and maybe more<br />vigorous, agitation?</p>

<p>tmax film and developer. paterson plastic tank. i agitate 10 sec for every min by tilting the tank back and forth 90 degrees in each direction but don't fully invert the tank 180 degrees. streaks are between frames. definitely on the negative, not a scanning issue. definitely enough developer in the tank.</p>

<p>can anybody tell me what causes this? there is a long stain that runs the length of the roll on the emulsion side only. i've been processing my own film for the last year and this is the first time i've had this happen. i had three rolls in the tank and and they all turned out this way. i looks like water streaks but it isn't.<br>

<img src="http://payload79.cargocollective.com/1/2/83304/3893566/DeadHorseBay_05.12_R2_F008_tempweb_2048.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="574" /></p>

<p>this one has the same streaked stains and two large dark areas in the sky.<br>

<img src="http://payload79.cargocollective.com/1/2/83304/3893566/DeadHorseBay_05.12_R2_F005_tempweb_2048.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="571" /></p>

<p>yep, it was absentmindedly left in checked bagged on an international flight. so i am sure that is the problem. i am just lucky all of my film wasn't in the same bag as i had some irreplaceable shots from places i might never travel again. i now request a hand check of all my film with no exceptions, no matter the speed, exposed or unexposed, rather than have them go through any xray, even for carry on. so far i've encountered no resistance from airport security but i've only flown domestic since then. thanks for the feedback.</p>

<p>a couple of more examples here. always in a different spot, always closest to the light source that is just outside of the frame. HELP! what the hell is this?<br>

<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eHeS8QDNMy8/TvvIVmCFp_I/AAAAAAAAFS0/b8UeM6KKmZw/s720/photonet4.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="576" /></p>

<p><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zrKSO3_f-9M/TvvIVqk1S4I/AAAAAAAAFS4/crpEYi7Ab8I/s720/photonet5.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="561" /></p>

The bellows are in great shape. And the focus was set to infinity on these shots so the bellows weren't extended at all.

 

If it is flare what would the light be bouncing off of inside the camera???

<blockquote>

<p><em>You might have flare here. Reflections from a strong light source either in, or just outside the frame, reflecting off something inside the camera.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>- this is something i hadn't thought of at all. these being night shots, in all of them i am careful to frame with any major light sources not in the frame but JUST OUTSIDE OF IT. this problem is very pronounced in the part of the frame nearest the light source as you can see in the photos below. here are a couple of other shots with this sort of framing and the same problem. could that be it???<br>

<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t_SDKmhMJis/TvOYN2TXNcI/AAAAAAAAFSk/KzKdoc4J1po/s720/photonet2.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="572" /></p>

<p><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KOFulHge284/TvOYN2HrcrI/AAAAAAAAFSo/MVI3H2SPSME/s720/photonet3.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="572" /></p>

<p>Does this problem occur with the back rotated to portrait?<br>

-yes<br>

Are you using the mirror lock-up socket on the lens?<br>

-no<br>

You say this happens with multiple backs, does it happen with different lenses, too?<br>

-yes<br>

When was the last time you had a CLA? Old or new battery?<br>

-1 year ago for CLA. new battery</p>

 

<p>the last few rolls of film i have shot with my trusty RZ67 Pro I have come back problematic. there is unwanted light hitting the frame in a very specific way. (photos attached to this post). the extra light hitting the frame has very sharp edges, almost as if it is a double exposure that is not lined up. but this is not the case. these were not double exposures. i only seem to get this problem doing longer exposures at night; 2-8 seconds. it is more pronounced closer to a light source in the frame where a sharp, straight line appears. in one of the photos attached you can see that there is also extra exposure that runs off the edge of the frame to the right.<br /> i have tried other backs with the same results. is this a light leak? is the light baffle and/or mirror out of sync allowing light to leak in during the shutter cock/film advance process? i am really stumped on this one. suggestions?</p><div></div>

<p>good call, brooks. the two rolls with the band in the middle are older rolls that may have done some oversees traveling before being opened and exposed. i'm not exactly sure how long i've had these rolls. i traveled internationally a couple of months ago and these could be leftover from that batch. again, 400 ISO tmax. but the one good roll from this developing session was definitely a brand new box.</p>

<p>xray damage just might be the problem.</p>

<p>thanks for the responses.</p>

<p>yep, that's it - the gray band about 1/4 wide down the middle of the film from end to end. you can see it in the shadow areas of the roll on the left, too, but less pronounced than the roll on the right.</p>

<p>out of the 3 rolls, the one without the band was on the top, the two with the band on the middle and bottom.</p>

<p>my liquid levels definitely submerge all rolls in the tank. i do agitate for the first 30 seconds and every 10 seconds for each minute following. i don't vigorously agitate and don't fully invert the tank. i tend to gently tilt the tank about 90 degrees each direction but not a full 180 degrees. i've had trouble with a full 180 degree inversion in the past - the bottom part of the roll at the bottom of the tank received uneven development due to the liquid filling the empty space at the top of the tank when turned upside down, leaving the bottom roll partially uncovered with liquid for part of the agitation cycle.</p>

<p>i tried further fixing, but as John A predicted, refixing didn't help. it definitely looks like a light-leak issue but i can't imagine where it would be coming from. it is highly unlikely to impossible for me to spool two rolls of film in precisely the same position allowing a light leak to run the length of the roll in a straight line. the tank is new and haven't had any trouble with many other sessions. processed some 35mm rolls tonight with no issue.</p>

<p>improper spooling is a top contender for the culprit but the stripe is so uniform and in the same spot on both rolls - that makes me doubt that it could be the problem, too.</p>

<p>still stumped.</p>

 

<p>tried some moonlight long exposure stuff at the beach and developed the film at home. (turns out the exposure wasn't nearly for long enough but that's not the issue.) after processing the film, out of which only a couple of frames turned out, i see a long, dark band than runs the length of film down the middle, from end to end. (photo attached.) not only in the frames themselves, the band is on the ends of the film roll and between frames. my initial thought was that since my exposures were way too short, and aperture small, this was the only part of the film that light hit and started to expose. but that doesn't explain why this band is at both ends of the film roll.<br /><br />further confounding, i developed three rolls in the tank at the same time and two of them have this band and one doesn't. the other roll that does have the band down the middle (also in the photo but less pronounced) was taken with a holga camera weeks ago so it's totally different. the third roll was of normal, daytime exposures and it is completely fine. the fact that 2 of the 3 rolls from two separate cameras has this band in the exact same spot on the film alarms me. could this possibly be a processing issue? or something related to underexposure? i can't figure out how it could be a processing error since the third film process in the same tank at the same time is fine. ever seen anything like this? i'm stumped but i'd like to figure it out so it doesn't happen to something important.</p>

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