What's wrong???

[molested_cow]

Here's a strip with a relatively new camera that I bought recently, developed by a party that I am using for the first time.

Is this because of the camera not advancing the negative properly, or light leak, or is it because of bad job during the developing of the negatives? I got this on two rolls(out of ten).

Actually, the other roll had the back 2/3 of the roll unexposed. Is this because of improper loading of the negative on my part or is there something wrong with the advancement function of the camera?

The camera I was using is Nikon F4s.

Thanks!

 

[compur]

It could be a film advance problem.

See this thread:
Nikon F4s will advance film without firing shutter... - Photo.net Nikon Forum

 

[Dave_D]

It looks like a processing issue. Maybe the processing device was not completely clean and had some residual chemical on it from a previous run. I have owned several f4s over the last 20 years and don't recall seeing that.

 

[CSR Studio]

That not a processing issue, it is light fog. Was the back of the camera opened?

 

[Derrel]

I think it is a light leak problem. Notice how on the right hand side of the film strip, the early part of the roll is TOTALLY exposed,and fogged solidly? And then around 13 frames or so higher in number, there's a sever fogging streak, and then a roughly equal distance father in there is a little bit less fogging, and then even less??? You've posted the scan backwards, so the fogging pattern in your OP goes from right to left, but it looks to me like fogging on the film, in-camera.

The reason it is severe, then serious, then bad, and then less-bad is because the film is wrapped around the takeup spool, which is where the fogging is occurring, and the spacing makes me feel that that the film is wrapped around the takeup spool when it is being exposed to light. The top layers of the film would get the most fogging, those underneath less and less light. This is my theory. The fact that it happened on multiple rolls of film helps to eliminate the idea that this is a processing problem, and the shape of the fogging is just exactly that of film that lies on a spool.

I suppose it *is* possible this could be happening in the processing machine, with the film wrapped on the film cannister's spool, but I think it's a camera light leak of some type.

 

[molested_cow]

compur, it doesn't seem to be the case. At least for me, I thought I hit every shot because everything sounded normal.
This is quite frustrating as i lost a lot of very anticipated shots that I took when I was back home this holidays. The last time I was back was two years ago and who knows if I will get the chance again.


Dave_D, Maybe I will try another place. It sucks being in Ft Lauderdale area because the only half decent place that does negative developing is 10 miles away with no highway access(local road all the way).

CSR Studio, I am pretty sure the back is closed. Is the camera supposed to show an error if the door wasn't closed properly?

 

[Dave_D]

Trying another place sounds good because if it is chemical or light leak issue it could be at the lab and not your camera. If it still shows up, you'll know it might be the camera.

 

[CSR Studio]

compur, it doesn't seem to be the case. At least for me, I thought I hit every shot because everything sounded normal.
This is quite frustrating as i lost a lot of very anticipated shots that I took when I was back home this holidays. The last time I was back was two years ago and who knows if I will get the chance again.


Dave_D, Maybe I will try another place. It sucks being in Ft Lauderdale area because the only half decent place that does negative developing is 10 miles away with no highway access(local road all the way).

CSR Studio, I am pretty sure the back is closed. Is the camera supposed to show an error if the door wasn't closed properly?

It could show an error, but i am wondering if someone opened the back without realizing what they were doing and then closed it quickly. That is the pattern that you have on your film. It is definitely a light leak. A processor doesn't work that way so it is not a processor problem. If it was fogged by a processor it would all be fogged, not a little here and there. And what you have is most certainly light fog.

 

[molested_cow]

Derrel, thanks for your reply.

I just had the camera overhauled at KEH. Of course I didn't know about this when I sent it to them. This is the first time that this has happened, I am wondering if it has something to do with the way I load the film because sometimes, I am in a hurry if you know what I mean.

Is there anything I can do to help prevent this?

 

[molested_cow]

Trying another place sounds good because if it is chemical or light leak issue it could be at the lab and not your camera. If it still shows up, you'll know it might be the camera.

The only thing that will prove anything is if the other place shows the same thing though, since this didn't happen consistently. If it happens again on another roll when I send it to a different place, then that's my bigger fear... I just dropped $500 on this camera.

 

[Derrel]

What's interesting is the first frame you show--VERY heavy, complete fogging, indicating that the film was exposed to a lot of light. I'm wondering if the film was out of the cannister for a while,and if maybe "light piping" occurred?

How are the light seals inside the back of the camera? The F4 could be fairly old. Maybe there's a small bit of light seal that's damaged...

The fact that the center of the images are "okay", and that the streaking goes from top to bottom,and is progressively worse, then a bit better, then better, then better, indicates to me that the film is being exposed okay at the film gate, but it is being fogged while wound around a spool.

Hmm....does that F4 have a film view window on the back, so you can literally "see what's inside" the film chamber??? Just sort of thinking out loud here.
Maybe you could load a roll of film, then tape up the joints where the back meets the body with black gaffer's tape, and shoot the camera outdoors in bright sunlight, then remove the tape and shoot the back half of a roll under the same conditions, then take the roll in for processing and see what happens.

 

[molested_cow]

There is a window that shows the canister information like any other film camera. It's on the other side as the spool area, so I don't think it's leaking from there.

The only place I can think of that will create such leak pattern is the door hinge. It looks pretty robust. I will check it when I finish with my current roll of negative.

I don't know if the tape idea will work because this leak isn't consistent on every roll. Like I said, only two out of ten developed has this issue. I have about 10 more rolls waiting to be developed so I will see how those turn out.

 

[Dwig]

I think it is a light leak problem. ...

Correct. There is absolutely no chance that this is anything other than a light leak, period.

The light that fogged the film did so when the film was wound into a cylinder as evidenced by the repeating pattern that diminishes with each repeat. The very dary area on the right of the top strip was on the outside and each repeat toward the left was on a subsequent layer. As the fogging gets deeper in the roll of wound film it fade out except when sprocket holes in the above layer pass more light and leave a sprocket hole shaped fogged spot in the last iterations.

If the fogging occurred in camera the film would have had to be on the takeup spool for this pattern to be present. That would mean that the heaviest fogging would be on the highest numbered frame and the repeats would fad out going toward lower frame numbers, the film deeper on the takeup spool.

This fogging is the other way around. It is heaviest on the lowest frame number and fades toward higher numbers. This means the fogging occured while the film was in the cassette. This makes it almost impossible for it to be caused by a camera problem. It almost certainly occurred due to some improper handling of the cassette, either before or after exposure in the camera. The most likely suspect is an unskilled lab operator who damaged the felt light trap on the cassette while trying to extract the leader to thread it into the processing machine.

Personally, I never run the leader back into the cassette if the film is going to be processed in mini-lab equipment for just this reason. I fold a crease in the leader to mark it as exposed and return the cassette to its original container for transportation to the lab. It is also critical that the felt lip remain clean, even after exposue, as mini-labs draw the film out through the felt lip, as the camera does, and dirt on the lip will scratch the film.

 

[compur]

the other roll had the back 2/3 of the roll unexposed.

Well, I wish you luck with the light leak theory.