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Black streaks on negative


stig_dahlin

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That's an odd one. Unlikely to be the camera IMO - are the streaks restricted to the frame area or do the appear on the unexposed parts of the negative also? What do the streaks look like on the negs, is it like a mark (scratches)?

 

Did you process the film yourself or was it a lab (if a lab then its possible bad processing would appear as horizontal streaks unlike home processing where they would be vertical due to the way the film sits in the tank).

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What scanner are you using and can you see this on the negative? Scanners have a lot of light bouncing around. Geometric stuff like this that's not visible in the emulsion is often scanner light. Try flipping the emulsion (scanning from the wrong side), some times that helps or with a flat bed like an Epson, a piece of ANR under the holder might help. I usually run into this, but not this far out into the frame with a flat bed and low speed film.

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That's an odd one. Unlikely to be the camera IMO - are the streaks restricted to the frame area or do the appear on the unexposed parts of the negative also? What do the streaks look like on the negs, is it like a mark (scratches)?

 

Did you process the film yourself or was it a lab (if a lab then its possible bad processing would appear as horizontal streaks unlike home processing where they would be vertical due to the way the film sits in the tank).

 

The streaks are restricted to the frame area as far as I can see and they seem be some sort of "dark-leakage", i.e. lack of light, if you understand what I mean. No physical damage to the negative. It seems to be something in the emulsion or filmbase.

I process the film myself (D-76) and I am very familiar with the vertical streaks since decades. ;)

My M6 har shown some erratic behaviour during the season, a few times. Not connected with the streaks, though. The shutter sounds like it's set on B when set to 1/125 or faster, when I set it to a slower time it's working properly again. Guess it's time for a CLA.

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What scanner are you using and can you see this on the negative? Scanners have a lot of light bouncing around. Geometric stuff like this that's not visible in the emulsion is often scanner light. Try flipping the emulsion (scanning from the wrong side), some times that helps or with a flat bed like an Epson, a piece of ANR under the holder might help. I usually run into this, but not this far out into the frame with a flat bed and low speed film.

 

The thing is that I don't scan the negatives. Beeing a lazy cheapskate I have chosen to copy them with a Nikon D80 and a 105mm macro tele. It works great for me and I have copied thousands without any problem until this popped up in July. Oh, and the streaks are clearly visible in the emulsion when on the lightbox.

I _do_ use a scanner rather frequently though not for 35mm negatives so I thank you for your tip! It might just come in handy one day!

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If they are dark it means something is masking off the exposure. Like a frayed back edge of the leading curtain closing down the slot or something. Like when you trail a hair in the film gate. Could the rubberized surface be lipping off or something? Its a weird one. Is it less prominent in longer exposures? Have you tried taking an even surface like a plasterboard wall at different shutter speeds to see if it presents all across the neg? Bet the trained techs would have it in their catalogue.

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Stig,

Rob in the last post is correct. I had this with an M6TTL when I shot at 1/1000th sometimes at 1/500th. It is the rubber in the curtain leading/trailing edge. When at 1/1000th Erwin Putts tells us that the gap in the curtain is only 2mm, so any muck will reduce the exposure causing these streaks.

 

Time to send it off for a curtain clean and lubrication.

 

This is usually the point where I buy another Leica as a back-up to the one being repaired.

Regards, Lincoln

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Thank you all for your information! It's wonderful to experience your knowledge and expertise! I'm very glad to have this sorted out, and have already shipped the camera for CLA.

Now I have to call in my M2 for duty the next month or so, it will be a pleasure!

 

Thank you!

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Stig,

Please make sure you tell the repairers to look at the rubber curtains. When I first sent my M6TTL to Leica in the UK they had not seen this issue before, but worked it out fairly quickly. I'd hate for them to clean and lub everything except the real problem!

 

Good luck and enjoy your M2 again and manual exposure.

 

Regards, Lincoln

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