Leica Fanatic Posted July 26, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all, I hope you'll be able to help please? I bought a new lens for the M2 and shot a test roll to check focus etc. After processing and scanning the FP4 in Adox Adanol, I found these strange regular horizontal lines in nearly all of the frames, such as can be seen in the dark areas of the attached picture (in the rowing boat) and the top right third of the frame. I haven't noticed these ever before and my processing technique was the same (1:25, 9 min's, agitate every minute for 10 seconds) except for the developer temp being 23.5c (hot day) and that the fixer solution I used was about 2 years old and basically exhausted (I had no new concentrate available and they were only test shots). Any ideas gratefully received. Cheers, Edited July 26, 2014 by Leica Fanatic extra 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 26, 2014 Posted July 26, 2014 Hi Leica Fanatic, Take a look here Strange horizontal lines in film?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
M.Hilo Posted July 26, 2014 Share #2 Posted July 26, 2014 Except for the fixer you are doing everything right. Are the parts around the negative totally transparent? If not, that would be another indication you fix is causing this. Do you agitate the fix as well? I use normal fix that takes 10 minutes and agitate a couple of times . . . just to make sure. Anyway, just get fresh fixer and do another test . . . I bet everything will be fine. Michael 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdriceman Posted July 26, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 26, 2014 Have you tried scanning a different (unrelated) negative to rule out a scanning problem ? 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 26, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 26, 2014 The first thing I would suspect is banding caused by scanning under exposed and/or very dark areas, the same as you would get with a digital camera. A good scan to aim for is very flat and low contrast, where any 'gain' caused by increasing contrast isn't going to cause problems. Then adjust contrast in Lightroom/Photoshop which are much more subtle tools and offer far more control. Steve 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted July 27, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 27, 2014 Excellent scanning advice. You should be scanning for everything that is in the negative, and that means a very flat scan. You don't want to eliminate any information at the scan stage. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leica Fanatic Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks for all the tips but I've taken a quick look at the neg' through the loupe and the marks are actually on the neg'. If it helps, it is on the last 3 frames on the roll. It's FP4 that expires the end of this month (July) but can't imagine that would have an effect as it should be good for a while after that? Cheers, 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted July 28, 2014 Share #7 Posted July 28, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) In the sample shown above the lines are nearly but not quite parallel, perhaps as if they were originating from a small area outside the frame. How much time has elapsed between pouring the developer out of the tank and filling in the next soup (the fixing bath, I presume)? Is there any possibility that we see the tracks of a few drops of developer running from the perforation or some pockets in the spiral down across the film? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted August 4, 2014 Share #8 Posted August 4, 2014 ...quick question - was the negative properly rinsed and dried after fixing? The pattern could have resulted from residual water at the tail end of a squeegee or similar drying action. Just a thought. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_parker Posted August 5, 2014 Share #9 Posted August 5, 2014 I'll bow to the (vastly) superior knowledge of others here but the parallel nature of the marks and the fact that it's the last three frames of the film might dispose me to think that either some stretching has occurred as the last three frames went through the camera, or if the film was wiped or 'squeegeed' whether the marks come from that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotohuis Posted August 8, 2014 Share #10 Posted August 8, 2014 Typical a failure of uneven development caused by a sticky part of the film not completely on the reel touched by another end. It has nothing to do with expired film. Real expired B&W film is going slowly down in sensitivity (iso) and it has a higher base fog. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilihead Posted September 1, 2014 Share #11 Posted September 1, 2014 X-rays scanner (airport) marks look exactly like this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgc Posted September 10, 2014 Share #12 Posted September 10, 2014 A good scan to aim for is very flat and low contrast, where any 'gain' caused by increasing contrast isn't going to cause problems. Then adjust contrast in Lightroom/Photoshop which are much more subtle tools and offer far more control. Steve Can I just ask what a 'flat scan' is and how it is achieved ? I have read the term a few times in this forum and I am not totally convinced what it means. Thanks, David Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted November 17, 2014 Share #13 Posted November 17, 2014 If they show at 1/250 and higher, the old camera needs a new shutter curtains. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted April 17, 2015 Share #14 Posted April 17, 2015 My first thought would be banding from scanner (which has been ruled out). My second thought in line would be marks from a squeegee. My third thoughts in line would be going in all esoteric directions likely not helpful to the finding of the cause :-( Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Clark Posted April 17, 2015 Share #15 Posted April 17, 2015 Do they appear on more than this film? Same location on each frame and last three or so frames? Could it be the film when wound into the canister at the factory? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted July 12, 2015 Share #16 Posted July 12, 2015 Extra density down the center is from not enough agitation in fix and it will show in the clear area between frames also. Refix and rewash and it will be fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted July 13, 2015 Share #17 Posted July 13, 2015 Can I just ask what a 'flat scan' is and how it is achieved ? During your scan set up, look at the histogram (where you find it depends on your software). Make sure the the highlights and shadows are not cut off, i.e. clipped. You should be able to adjust the top and bottom limits in some manner. This is hard to explain, but you will see what all this means when you do it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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