pittyman
Dear colleagues,
Has anyone else found spots like these (see scans of the negatives) on their negatives, or know where the problem might have crept in?
After experimenting a bit, I went back to using TRI-X and developed my first three rolls of film yesterday, only to be horrified to discover that there are strange white spots all over the film. At first, just before the wetting bath, I thought they were small holes in the emulsion (pinholes). Today, after the films had dried, I was able to examine them under a magnifying glass for the first time and they are not pinholes but very strange white spots.
Two different white issues have appeared –
- small spots (see Scan 1) and
- comet-tail-like formations (Scans 2 & 3 – never seen this before)
I’ll try to describe my process as accurately as possible:
1. I rinse the films before developing to bring the can (in the cold cellar) up to temperature. I’ve been doing this for years – so that’s probably not the cause.
2. I last saw similar small spots on 120 FOMA 400, developed in Rodinal 1:50, though they weren’t white there but rather dark. The appearance was the same.
3. Both the Foma and the TRI-X films were fixed using the same batch of fixer. I use a two-bath fixing process at 1:4 in 2 litres each. Fix 1 has currently processed 37 films; with the Fomas it was about 30. The fixer is Adofix from FOTOIMPEX.
4. Rinsing is done with tap water.
5. The Tri-X was developed with D76 at 1:1 at 20°C.
6. When preparing the D76 solution, I skipped the 50°C step and started at 30°C. I used distilled water (waste water from the dehumidifier). Once everything had dissolved, I had white flakes (worm-like) floating in the developer – origin unknown – I filtered the D76 through a coffee filter before developing.
7. Rinsed with tap water
I can’t think of anything else regarding the development process.
Other possible sources of error:
Dirty film reels: I never clean them, as they are cleaned by the final wash? So, films out and off to dry – without rinsing. Possibly emulsion residues from the last film – caused by pulling it out of the reel whilst wet?
Camera: a Mamiya C220, I haven’t had it long – about as long as the problems have been going on, but what could be wrong with the camera to cause such white spots? It looks clean on the inside.
I’d appreciate any advice, as I’m at my wits’ end.
Best regards, Dirk
Scan 1 – strange light spots on TRI-X (D76) – similar spots on FOMA400 (Rodinal) but dark.
Scan 2 – comet-tail-like spots in white with a bright dot plus a tail
<a class="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/19111895@N04/16381595575/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/19111895@N04/16381595575/</a>
Scan 3 - Scan 2 - comet-tail-like white patches with a bright spot plus a tail
<a class="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/19111895@N04/16379866281/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/19111895@N04/16379866281/</a>
AntiLynd
I wouldn’t be so quick to rule out the camera as a potential problem. Areas that are lighter than they should be (when viewing the negative as a negative) could, of course, be the result of under-development or no development at all – but they could also be caused, for example, by the foam rubber in the light seals breaking down, as is the case in some cameras. Why not take an old colour film, perform an exposure on it and take it to Rossmann or somewhere similar, and you’ll know more within a week...
€
That said, my toenails naturally curl when I read things like ‘dehumidifier’ or ‘coffee filter’. When you hand in your test film, why not pick up a standard can of ‘aqua dem.’ for €1.50 and give it a go.
€
Good luck
Nils
pittyman
Hi Nils, thanks for your quick reply! I replaced the foam rubber in the light seal
right at the start. :-(
Urnes
Start again from the beginning. Reset the developer, Nils – you’ve already mentioned that. And use fresh fixer. I’d put my money on that. That’s always been the cause of the white spots for me. It’s definitely not the camera.
Regards, Sven.
mattes
I’d steer clear of using water from the dehumidifier; the effect you’ve described when preparing the solution isn’t normal, and I’d put my money on the water from the dehumidifier being the culprit. There’s a lot of dirt in the air – fine dust, for example – and I suspect that this ends up in the dehumidifier’s waste water and might eventually find its way onto your films.
If the damage has occurred for the first time, it’s worth considering what you’ve changed.
As for fixing, I’d recommend preparing the smallest possible quantities, e.g. the contents of a single can. This will be used up relatively quickly and can be replaced without any qualms. The same applies to the developer; you can use all developers diluted with adjusted processing times as a single-use solution. The advantage is that you always have fresh, unused developer and don’t need to change the processing times.
By the way, it doesn’t hurt to clean the cans and spirals thoroughly after every use.
Matthias
pittyman
A quick update:
?
New developer (with demineralised water) & new fixer – the issues are still there.
?
Possible causes:
?
Tap water – I haven’t had any problems with that in the last 5 years
the camera
?
I’ll be in touch as soon as I know more.
?
Dirk
