A small spider inside the camera.

[valdas]

Here is the story. I put a roll of Portra into my Fuji GA645 a month ago. Today I finished the roll, opened the camera and right above the lens I see a small spider and already quite a decent web. I am not really sure how it got there, but I guess this shoud have ruined most of shots? I will see when I process the film, but how on earth it got there?


An UPDATE (here comes the spider):
see below, bottom left corner... 🙂 not in all frames, fortunately...

 

[lynnb]

Read this - a lens that had a dead fly between the elements - you couldn't see any effect in the photo!

The takeaway message, though, is in the picture you can’t see here. We took dozens of images with the lens before taking the fly out. We shot stopped down, we shot at all parts of the zoom range. We focused close, we focused far. And in no image could we find the slightest hint that there was a fly in the lens. And you guys worry about a dust particle or two!

 

[valdas]

Read this - a lens that had a dead fly between the elements - you couldn't see any effect in the photo!

I remember reading this, but in my case this spider was close to the film - just between the pressure plate and the lens.

 

[farlymac]

You've got to remember that light passing from the lens to the film will converge roughly at the halfway point, then spread back out. Unless that web was exactly at the convergence point, I don't think you have much to worry about, except maybe bits of web getting wound up with the film.

I've seen all kinds of critters crawling around (or their remains) inside of cameras, and haven't noticed any degradation of image quality.

PF

 

[lynnb]

You may have a copyright problem if the spider's artefacts are visible - you might need to attribute half ownership of your images to the spider! 🙂

Please post the results when you get the film processed, I'd be curious to see if there was any effect.

Did you get the spider and web out? All I can think of is that it managed to sneak inside while you were loading the film.

 

[valdas]

You may have a copyright problem if the spider's artefacts are visible - you might need to attribute half ownership of your images to the spider! 🙂

Please post the results when you get the film processed, I'd be curious to see if there was any effect.

Did you get the spider and web out? All I can think of is that it managed to sneak inside while you were loading the film.

I have gently removed it all - I guess this way I have dealt with the copyright problem as well... I will post some images once I have it processed and scanned.

 

[Pfreddee]

Maybe you should get out with that kit more often?!😀

With best regards.

Pfreddee(Stephen)

 

[Scapevision]

feed it some flies

 

[Ronald M]

I had a 1/8 hair on the edge of film gate. Showed in every pic.

Stuff happens.

The only way to prevent is to seal up equipment and that will bring other problems.
Think of a dry box.

 

[daveleo]

You may have a copyright problem if the spider's artefacts are visible - you might need to attribute half ownership of your images to the spider! 🙂

.........

Don't laugh too loud !
A few months back I read where some legal group (?) is suing a photographer over the copyright ownership of pictures taken by a monkey (using the photographer's camera). They want the monkey to share ownership.
The weirder thing is that the monkey is out in a jungle somewhere (not a captive zoo animal).
People !!!

Okay here's one version of the story ....

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/07/462245189/federal-judge-says-monkey-cant-own-copyright-to-his-selfie

 

[p.giannakis]

Here is a lens I used to own.

Oddly enough it did not have any effect on the pictures but I opened it anyway and cleaned it.

 

[Highway 61]

A furniture beetle wandering in a Rokkor is for sure something odd !

I hope you don't store your lenses in the same cupboard ! 😉

 

[Pherdinand]

You've got to remember that light passing from the lens to the film will converge roughly at the halfway point, then spread back out. Unless that web was exactly at the convergence point, I don't think you have much to worry about, except maybe bits of web getting wound up with the film.

I've seen all kinds of critters crawling around (or their remains) inside of cameras, and haven't noticed any degradation of image quality.

PF

Sorry? Converge? Halfway between what?

The lens images the object on the film, and the closer you are to the film -or the closer you are to the object on "the other side"- with your spider or anything, the sharper it is visble on the image.
Thats why if your beetle is at the aperture position, it won't show up at all (only as a small decrease in brightness of the whole image). In fact it is part of your diaphragm🙂
Just as you won't see a hole appearing when you close down the diaphragm, yo won't see any object as a sharp localized shadow if it's at the diaphragm or close to it.

 

[wacky941]

In 1984 I bought a Tokina 35-70 lens that has fungus inside that can be seen with the naked eye, I've never had a problem with it when taking pictures, it has no effect on the picture quality at all and the fungus has been there from the day I bought it. 32 years later and I still use the lens.

I also have a 50mm Canon lens that has a small piece of debris inside again, it's visible with the naked eye and it also has absolutely no effect on the quality of the picture, I can't even see it through the view finder.

 

[farlymac]

Sorry? Converge? Halfway between what?

The lens images the object on the film, and the closer you are to the film -or the closer you are to the object on "the other side"- with your spider or anything, the sharper it is visble on the image.
Thats why if your beetle is at the aperture position, it won't show up at all (only as a small decrease in brightness of the whole image). In fact it is part of your diaphragm🙂
Just as you won't see a hole appearing when you close down the diaphragm, yo won't see any object as a sharp localized shadow if it's at the diaphragm or close to it.

Yes, I was not thinking clearly at the time I wrote that post. It happens more often the older I get. If the light path did that, we wouldn't have upside-down negatives. And view cameras would be more fun to use.

PF

 

[mpaniagua]

whoa!! that looks super cool!! seems like the cat is after the spider 🙂

 

[unixrevolution]

I feel like I should be yelling "down in front!"

 

[Sid836]

Spider mites! I had two of them in the viewfinder of my Nikon FE. They disappeared though, presumably died of starvation.

 

[underlord]

Fascinating thread. Sadly I have no anecdotes about creatures in cameras.