Gast
Hello!
I shot three rolls of film over the weekend... my last HP5 and two Adox CHM 400s... I shot them all one after the other in the same camera and developed them together in the same tank... now I’ve just noticed that there are slight surface scratches on the two Adox films (you can only see them if you look at them at an angle)...I don’t think you’ll see them on the prints or scans (they’re too small for that), but it is a bit of a nuisance...
Is this down to the (reused?) cassettes (dust in the opening) or the loading process? Or was it perhaps a one-off (has anyone had similar experiences?)...
If that’s the price you pay for the (low) cost of the film, I’m happy to accept it... though for ‘important’ shots I’d go back to the original HP5.
I can rule out faults in the processing or the camera, as the original HP5 doesn’t have any scratches...
Anyone had similar experiences?
Cheers
Stefan
Gast
Hello,
That would actually be a bit of a nuisance if that were the case, especially as ADOX’s manufacturing quality is supposed to be better than Efke’s.
The scratches are a bit of a tricky issue, because if you use an enlarger with a double condenser, you’ll practically always see them, and if you’re printing quite large—30x40 or larger—you’ll probably see them too.
The second issue is that if you accidentally press down on them, the scratches settle; moreover, the scratches generally become more pronounced over time.
However, the fault may not necessarily lie with ‘FOTOIMPEX’; this can also happen with Ilford films – I’ve got some of those lying about too, I think HP5 as well.
What I’m saying is, this doesn’t necessarily have to happen during packaging, but could happen, for example, during coating or during the manufacture of the base.
Incidentally, the HP 5 is also packaged by Forte and Maco, though I certainly don’t suspect that Forte offers better quality.
Roland
MirkoBoeddecker
To be able to judge that, you’d need to see the scratches.
Very slight surface scratches are present on all film stock.
As long as they aren’t on the emulsion side, they won’t cause any problems during enlargement, even with a condenser. In the very worst case, you could use a light-protective varnish spray.
The cassettes are, of course, not reused. As far as I know, nobody does that anymore these days.
It is true, however, that the first batches were still reeled manually and not using the fully automatic machine. Unfortunately, this is linked to the bankruptcy of Forte and Tura. We have now organised fully automatic packaging, though, and are currently trying to have the appropriate cassettes manufactured.
However, as we have to order at least half a million of them ;) it will probably mean that all ADOX films will be supplied without a DX code in future. This doesn’t bother me so much with the 25s and 50s, but with the 125s and 400s I hope that not too many plastic camera users will now run into problems.
Incidentally, I recommend that everyone hold their 35mm films up to the light briefly before loading them to check for scratches. Scratches can occur on any support that runs through production lines and is reeled into cassettes. Regardless of who made it.
Best regards,
Mirko
