What causes this stripe? My CLE??

zwarte_kat · 05-07-2012

I got this stripe in some of my photos. I remember seeing it before once or twice, but then regarded as an accident/something I did wrong during loading the film. When I asked in the store they said it might be caused by the film scraping over something in the camera. The stripe appears when I scan at home, and also when I have the store print it from the negative (they scan it though, but with a different scanner)
Here is the image:

tea pot by Rudy Shots, on Flickr
There is a thin horizontal stripe near the bottom.

Any ideas what causes this?
I love my CLE, hope it can be cured...

Comments about the photo/post processing are also welcome, as this is part of a small project I am doing.

Thanks!

lic4 · 05-07-2012

It looks like the negative is being scratched. Have you felt inside the camera along the path of the film emulsion to see if there are any barbs or scratches that could cause that?

ColSebastianMoran · 05-07-2012

That line is so clean and precise, I wonder if it's a dead pixel in the scanner?

PrimeTime · 05-07-2012

I had a camera that I bought off _bay that did the same thing. It was a very small amount of build up/crud at the edge of the frame that was scraping the negative as it advanced. You could barely see it, but it caught the fibers off the head of a q-tip. After I cleaned it up, all good.

imho: Take your time and carefully look over the path of the film with a led light.

Keep us posted

PrimeTime · 05-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColSebastianMoran

That line is so clean and precise, I wonder if it's a dead pixel in the scanner?

^ To add: Try flipping the negative and scanning to see if the line appears up top.

colyn · 05-07-2012

Since it appears when scanned by two different scanners the problem has to be a fine scratch on the negative.

As others have said look and feel along the path of the film..

If you are using reloadable cassettes it could also be dirt caught in the felt light trap..

Archlich · 05-07-2012

cassette, pressure plate, development (if not dip-and-dunk), storage

All possible.

k__43 · 05-08-2012

one of the labs I was using did this to my negs very often, off course I'm going some place else now

If it's always at the same place I'd try to feel over the surfaces in the camera that get in contact with the emulsion

zwarte_kat · 05-10-2012

Thanks, everyone!

I had a little surprise yesterday, after the line showed up on scans from the negatives shot with a different camera. I immediately tried to scan some upside down, and the line appeared on the top instead of the bottom (so on the same place on the negative)

I now suspect that it's the shop's fault. Too bad, they are the only one I know who does one hour service here.

Guess I could go and complain, but now way to get my negs clean from that.

In any case, watch out for Kitamura in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Thanks again.

ColSebastianMoran · 05-10-2012

Perhaps the lab is creating the scratch on the negatives.

zwarte_kat · 05-16-2012

Yep that's my best guess now.

jonmanjiro · 05-16-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by zwarte_kat

In any case, watch out for Kitamura in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Interesting. A one off maybe? I've never had any trouble with any of the colour negative or slide films they've developed for me.

I cannot say the same thing about Yodobashi though. They managed to put scratches on most of the 40 or so B&W films they developed for me recently

micromoogman · 07-02-2012

I have a camera that makes a thin line like yours too. I thought it was the scanner but found it along the film stripe with a loupe. It has turned up twice with the same camera, so I don't think it's the lab...

It's going vertically where the left elbow is...

x-ray · 07-02-2012

A little tip to save your negs. Your scratch is on the base side. How do I know, it's light in tone. if it was dark it would be in the emulsion and not much short of photoshop that would save them. Here's how to save them if you scan them yourself. Edwal made a solution called "No Scratch" which was basically turpentine. You coated the base with it and then put it in the enlarger and printed. It filled the scratch with a material roughly the same refractive index as the film base. It works every time. You can do this if you scan your own film but be careful not to get it in the scanning mechanism. Clean your negs and anywhere the fluid gets with film cleaner when finished.

I wet mount negs on my Fuji Lanovia Quattro when needed. I use a solution called Kami fluid. It's a solvent that evaporates easily from the neg and is easy to clean up. Wet mounting covers base scratches, most dust and helps reduce grain.

Mineral oil or baby oil might do OK too but would be mush harder to clean up. Just don't get this in your scanner.

micromoogman · 07-02-2012

Thanks for that information! Good to know if it's happen again.

zwarte_kat · 07-02-2012

I just had one or two rolls developed at a different store. When I scan them, I will report. I haven't noticed the strip with B&W film BTW, which Kitamura doesn't do inhouse but sends out.
Still, I will take back my judgement about Kitamura until I know more.

The people at Yodobashi in Kichijouji knew my name when I came back there the 2nd time BTW, freaked me out!

jonmanjiro · 07-02-2012

I forgot all about this thread. Which is probably a good thing as I got two rolls of E6 and one roll of C41 developed at Kitamura in Shinjuku on Monday last week. They all turned out fine though.

As for B&W, I don't know where they sent it (I know its not in-house development) but film I gave to both Kitamura in Yokohama and Yodobashi in Yokohama for development came back scratched. I gave up and develop it myself now.