Bessa R scratches negs?

M

MikeLeFevre

Guest
Hello all, has anyone else had a problem with their Bessa R scratching negs? Specifically I get a single faint vertical scratch all the way down on the extreme right hand side of my prints if I'm viewing them in landscape format. I had a look inside my Bessa and wonder if it could be one of the tiny screws on the rear shutter blinds which when you cock the shutter travels down. However I'd expect it to be slightly curved then looking at the way it travels. Does anyone have any ideas?
M.
 
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What strikes me as odd is that the scratch is vertical in a landscape frame. It seems more likely for the scratches to travel horizontally along the frame.

I wonder if this is happening during processing? And not in your camera? I have stopped using two of the quicky processors here because they consistenly scratch film, and they don't seem to care when it is pointed out to them.
 
Mike, Bob is right. If you don't find "grit" in the usual areas, I'd try a different lab and see if the problem goes away.
I've had a chain-dept-store lab tell me "It's your camera" when I knew it was their fault. I went elsewhere and the problem never came back.
Good luck.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. I used 2 different labs last time- one for colour and one for b&w, yet the scratch was on both (in slightly different positions from the edge sometimes).
Christo- are you saying it's common to get a vertical scratch if they use a non dip and dunk processor?
I found a proper pro lab just down the road which I took my last lot to yesterday, so here's hoping it works out okay.
M.
 
A pro lab should be more responsible and concerned about the quality. Hopefully it is convenient and cost effective.


I lucked out here in San Diego, Chrome is a local pro lab. They are just 3 miles down Mira Mesa Blvd. from my home and another 5 minutes to the beach 😉. Plus, they only charge 3.20 for regular c41 processing, 6.20 for push or pull and they are cheaper than all the "quickie marts" here. Can't beat that. And, hasn't scratched yet.

Bob H
 
Hello all, I got my first roll back from the pro lab to find the same thing. That vertical scratch off on the right hand side. It seems to change position very slightly sometimes. Is it a definite that it's during the processing and printing of the film?
Regards
M.
 
One possibility I've not heard (no weather given) was about static "stripes" from cold weather. If one advances the film too fast in cold, then a static "spark" can cause a verticle mark on the negative.
Just a possibility, don't know what else to suggest.
 
The shutter blades and pivots of the Copal shutter should be well set back from the opening where the film is. If this is not so, then the shutter is damaged. Normally there is no way the shutter traveling should come anywhere near the surface of the film. The shutter, although, is the only thing that travels vertically in the camera. Any and all surfaces that touch the film, and they should only touch the film at the edges (sprocket hole area) anyway, would produce horizontal scratches, and they should be outside the negative image area.

One thing you haven't mentioned. Is the scratch on the BASE or EMULSION side of the film? The Emulsion side faces the lens, the BASE side faces the camera pressure plate.
 
A remote posibility is that as the R has a plastic back door, there is enough "flex" in it that when gripping the camera tight the film is pressed against the edge of the pressure plate. I know it sounds unlikely but I had a Minox 35 which had a similar problem some years ago. 😕
 
I am such a dumbass, and didn't follow logic at all. I was basing my assumption of the scratch on scans of prints (how I routinely post some pics on some non-serious forums, as I get sufficient quality for what I want, and don't have to handle my precious negs), so it was a not scientific thing to say I was getting scratches on my negs (and I am a dumbass) and I should have considered other stages of the imaging chain. Today after reading all the helpful suggestions I got here, I attempted to look at my negs under strong light with a magnifying glass to find I wasn't getting enough resolution, so decided to scan a negative on my scanner (instead of print like normal) to find- no scratch. Then putting a print on the scanner where I don't usually put one (as I favour the middle at the edge closest to the hinge) I found no scratch either. So the solution is that there is a certain spot on the edge of where I favour scanning prints (remember it moved slightly- as I don't put each print in the exact same spot, and now I think about it- the scratch didn't show up on portrait prints as I usually scan them portrait style) where there is something wrong with my scanner. So I've maligned the Bessa R unfairly for which I apologise. Thankyou everyone for the suggestions, and I'm happy now that I have a working camera again (to post pics). I think I'm going to start scanning negs from now on too.
M.
 
Welcome back to the world. 🙂 Now you can join me in finding out about a process called "wet mounting" for flatbed scanners. There is a small discussion on
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/ about it. On my Epson 3200, my processed C-41 negatives do not lay flat and I am not happy with the sharpness of my scans. Someone who worked a long time on this has started a company called SCANMAX. He is not putting information on the product on the web though. He is trying to protect his business, I understand that. I think an inventive person could do this on their own and he is afraid of that. I do not mind paying for a product if I know what that product is and how much it cost, if the price is fair. We shall see.
 
Mike- it really doesn't make you a dumbass. I think most of us would doubt the most recent addition to an established process chain when we first notice any problems.

If you had started taking your Bessa R apart, then modifying it, only to find out nothing was wrong... Then you would have been a dumbass. I haven't done this to any of my cameras [i}yet[/i], but I have done it to more than one computer.

I am glad to hear that it was not your negatives or the camera. There may have even been an up side... you had an opportunity to try out new labs.
 
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