Hi

I have just received some B&W films back from a professional lab. When you look at the negs, on the emulsion side there is 'ghosting' of the film sprocket holes up on the image area of the film on both top and bottom. Any ideas what has caused this ?

Thanks

-- David Burke (Davo_burke@yahoo.com), August 09, 1999

Answers

Improper agitation.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), August 09, 1999.

Tim is right: excessive agitiation. I suggest you abandon this "professional" lab and start developing your film yourself.

-- Peter Hughes (leonine@redshift.com), August 09, 1999.

Exactly. They agitated the hell out of it which forced the developer through the sprocket holes causing overdevelopment in those areas. Do it yourself and save time,money,and aggrivation.

Liz

-- Liz P. (Lizzz0@aol.com), August 12, 1999.

O.K. folks, enlighten my ignorance. When David Burke says "ghosting" I assume he means that the image of the sprocket holes is present as a secondary image on the exposed image area. I am familiar with overagitation, having dumbly done it myself, but I have never seen that particular problem, and the physical mechansim which would produce that secondary image effect escapes me. Or am I misinterpreting what David meant??? All enlightenment greatfully received.

-- Richard Newman (rnewman@snip.net), August 12, 1999.

Sorry, folks, you are all mistaken! Too much agitation will cause streaking accros the entire film, not just around the sprocket holes. Professional labs use roller transport machines so 'agitation' is not a factor. The real culprit here is LIGHT LEAKING from the back of the camera. The foam rubber gasket that seals the back of the camera is deteriorated and 'rotting.' Press your nail into the seal and you will find that you get black goo on it. You must send your camera in for repair. This is usually a very cheap fix, but there may be other problems in a camera old enough to show gasket rot. Make sure to check the shutter and the meter for accuracy. Good luck.

-- Michael D Fraser (mdfraser@earthlink.net), August 12, 1999.

ok - here's a bit more detail. The Camera was new at the time (4 weeks old). Films before these were ok (I have one in the camera at present and will obviously check this with interest once finihsed and processed). Basically, the sprocket holes have been increased in size and show on the negatives. Some of them are centred around the hole s themselves, whilst others take a slight diagonal path up into the film image. The ghosting marks are black.

-- David Burke (Davo_burke@yahoo.com), August 13, 1999.

Still sounds like light leaks. The diagonal ghosting along with vertical almost guarantees that it is from light leaks. Over agitation should produce streaking in a uniform direction. Run a roll of C-41 through it (leave it in the sunlight for a while and note the frame numbers.) Take it to a 1-hour lab. They use roller transport processors exclusively and cannot over agitate the film. You don't need them to make prints, just process the film. Because it is a new camera doesn't mean it can't have a problem, but at least it should be under warranty.

-- Michael D Fraser (mdfraser@earthlink.net), August 13, 1999.

Most of the time I see this problem, it is a direct result of a light leak, or more likely, the opening of the camera back before the film is rewound. Improper or over agitation will be more noticeable on the interior of the frame.

-- David Rucker (themark@airmail.net), August 13, 1999.

Maybe they are "MICKEY MOUSE EARS". These are rather common in machin developed films and a problem for many labs. A "mouse ear" borns when the fluid surface of the sprocket hole bursts on the film when it's coming to the dryer from the last wash which is usually a stabilizer or some photo flo solution. The mouse ear is a mechanical defect on the emulsion side of the film, it's something of a crater, and the edges looks darker.I remember some older film processors having an "air knife" before the dryer cabinet of this reason.

-- Jan Eerala (jan.eerala@itameri.net), August 13, 1999.

Here is a two part solution to your question. 1) Take the film back to the lab and asked them what happened. 2) Shoot another roll of film and see if the problem persist. My best guess is that the film is being fogged at the lab and not in your camera . The best way to process B+W film, is to do it yourself. Another solution is to try a film called Kodak T400CN . This is a black and white film that can be processed and printed by any lab in C-41 which is color chemistry . Good Luck !

-- Mark DuChesne (duchesnem@aol.com.), August 18, 1999.

I own a Black & white lab and have seen this problem. A rotary tube processor like the Jobo will show this pattern if the cap is not on correct. The rotation will cause the sprocket pattern in the uneven way you have described. Also a rack and hanger machine, with it's up and down motion will show a pattern if there is a light leak fron an angle. I inititally agreed with the over agitation comments but after you clarified about the pattern, it does sound like a rotary tube processor cap leak.

-- Anita Thompson (anita@venturalinl.net), August 19, 1999.

I believe Anita's response was closest to the mark. If this "ghosting" you describe is only on one side of the film...it is most likely a light leak from the developing tank or drum, rather than from fogging in camera

-- Tony Novak-Clifford (photoho@mauigateway.com), August 20, 1999.