Problems with developed photos (dots on each photo)

nattboch

TPF Noob!
Joined
Mar 27, 2017
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Can others edit my Photos
Photos NOT OK to edit
I developed some photos from my old analogue camera (Zenith) that I haven't used in few years. There are some strange dots on each (particularly on lighter background) - I was wondering what was this caused by? Is it because of an old film I used (I used a few years old film to get the specific feel of the photos), or maybe there is something wrong with a camera or I put the film on in a wrong way? Just wondering if anyone knows a possible reason for this, so I could avoid in the future

Sample photos here:
Dropbox - IMG_20170314_0037.jpg
Dropbox - IMG_20170314_0034.jpg
 
Just to confirm, this is present on the negatives? It looks like a light leak, but I've never seen a pattern like that before.
 
Looks suspiciously like the film pressure plate many cameras have.

Pressure%20Plate%20Pattern.jpg
 
Looks suspiciously like the film pressure plate many cameras have.

Pressure%20Plate%20Pattern.jpg
D'ohhhhhhhhhhhh... it's been so long since I've loaded a roll of film...


If that is where the pattern comes from, the $64,000 question how becomes............ how did it affect the film? There's no paper that could transfer it. I can't conceive it's a light leak. Moisture, maybe?

Maybe just having the innards of the camera cleaned will solve the issue.
 
What about scans made from cut-strip negatives that had been inserted into some type of negative sleeving pages, and then that page flatbed-scanned? Seems like I recollect some negative sleeve pages having dots on them.

Pressure plates with holes in them are not universal. the OP has a Zenit? like Russian-made Zenit? (I owned one). DOOR LATCH on my zenit used to get caught on the camera's strap, and the back popped open about once a month or more.

Did you have the film scanned? Are these images positives made from color negative scans?
 
At this point, we're not sure if the marks are even on the negatives.

But assuming they are......... take one of the affected negatives and just lay it on the pressure plate. Do the patterns line up perfectly? If so, the pressure plate is the prime suspect in this caper.
 
Good observation Sparky, if the film was pressing against the pressure plate and the camera has some light leaks that sure looks like it.

Reminded me at first of half tone (or is it duotone I'm thinking of?) but I don't know specifics of that process or that it could be done in a home darkroom.
 
Good observation Sparky, if the film was pressing against the pressure plate and the camera has some light leaks that sure looks like it.

Reminded me at first of half tone (or is it duotone I'm thinking of?) but I don't know specifics of that process or that it could be done in a home darkroom.

Those aren't holes in the pressure plate. They're just depressions. At least on all the plates I've ever seen. Light would still have to get in between the film and the plate to get to those depressions. At that point, you'd see a ton of light leaks along the edges of the film.
 
Light leaks on color film should be red... I'm baffled. It does look like the pressure plate though...
 
I did a little looking and saw mention of a model of a Zenit with a glass pressure plate (which seems unusual) and looking at a couple of manuals for a Zenit and a Zenith I can't really tell much (other than the Russian name for pressure plate).

But I got to thinking could it be that the black paint/coating on the pressure plate is starting to wear or flake off? so that light could be reflecting off bare metal on the indentations of the pressure plate onto the film? I think the reason cameras have always been black inside was to keep light coming in thru the lens from reflecting off bare metal.
 
Glass pressure plate might mean a thin layer of baked paint, like a glaze? Maybe?

Paint flaking would not give such perfectly-spaced dots. Wondering about Newton's Rings and some type of glass negative holder/carrier?

The OP's not helped much. Are these prints? Scans? Questions asked yesterday but not yet answered.

I still think it's those weird negative sleeve pages with the dots on them!

Could it be an anti-piracy thing, or designed to keep people from using low-resolution scans, in an effort to have customers come back for high-res, expensive scans?

I would think that the anti-halation backing layer on film would prevent all light from coming through the film, and hitting the pressure plate: that is what anti-halation backing is supposed to do.
 
Unless airport X-rays through film plate transferring the pattern... wouldn't be the whole roll though.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top