Bert1970
Hello forum,
I’m quite worried and can’t explain it. I’ve developed about 30 black-and-white films in the Paterson tank without any problems. Now I have two films shot with a Leica R4 that are completely covered in vertical streaks (running from top to bottom). I developed different films, and I’ve developed films with the Leica before without any issues. The film was difficult to feed into the spiral.
I’ll attach a photo of the negatives.
Thanks.
Thorsten
Magirus
Good evening
Could it be that the second curtain is stuck in the camera?
The bar always appears in the same place in the picture.
Try taking a shot with the back cover open.
Regards, Bernd
Bert1970
Hello,
I’ve set the camera to ‘B’, the back cover is open, and when I press the shutter release, the shutter opens fully.
The light seals are in good condition, as is the viewing window for the film.
I’m going to load a colour film and take a few pictures, then have them developed at the lab.
I suspect the problem lies with the development process.
Regards, Thorsten
highscore
Well, I'd say it's down to a light leak.
Something like that
Regards, Marcus
Franco
I also think it’s a light leak. You can’t produce such a pronounced horizontal stripe during development. If, as I suspect, you’re from Düsseldorf, you could have Mr Bilzer take a look at your camera. What sort of camera do you use?
€
Best regards, Thorsten
DerReisefotograf
I’d also put my money on a light leak; the bar is very rhythmic, always appearing in the same spot in the frame. I could imagine that the seal on the right-hand side of the flap’s hinge is broken. The film is then wound up unprotected, without a cassette. And this rhythmic bar comes from the film transport, so the damaged spot must always be the same spot, and the perforations are also exposed, so it’s nothing to do with the shutter or aperture.
Bert1970
Thank you very much for your support. I’ve taken another closer look at the seals and agree with Reisefotograf – the side seals are very ‘flat’.
€
I’ll try performing an exposure on a colour film and having it developed in the lab to rule out the possibility that it’s down to the development process.
€
The bars are always spaced about 35mm apart – almost the same distance as the next frame.
€
However, the day before yesterday, I took a few more shots with the children in the evening in low light, and there were no streaks; apparently, the light leak only occurs when there is strong (direct) illumination (sun).
€
That would certainly restore my faith in my developing skills.
grommi
Density across the entire frame right up to the edge of the film, and always in the same place – as I’ve already mentioned, this can only be caused by a light leak. There’s no need to shoot a test roll.
DerReisefotograf
Don’t bother with the test film – the result will be much the same, just in colour :huh: ! Your development is fine; at least your negatives don’t look like they’ve been developed wrongly.
You can replace the seals yourself; it’s not difficult, just a bit of manual work and an hour of your time. I can recognise typical Düsseldorf spots on your negatives – which part of Düsseldorf are you from? Perhaps I can help you; I’m from that area too. And I’ve still got plenty of new light seals left over.
Bert1970
Brief update:
?
Sent the camera to DIMAS in Freiburg; the light seals were replaced, the timings were checked, and the camera and viewfinder were cleaned. It cost €50, and the Leica is now working as it should: taking photos without any bars.
?
Thanks for all the replies.
?
With analogue regards
DerReisefotograf
Great, so you can start taking photos with it again!
