Do I have holes in the shutter?

[aad]

Hi all- I just had a roll of Fuji Superia 800, and noticed some white spots here and there on a few prints. I never had them before! They don't appear in the same place on each print or negative, either.

This is on a Leica iiif. Does the shutter curtain "park" in different places each time it's fired? Or is this some mystery artifact?

Aaron

 

[ChrisN]

In my very limited experience with holes in the shutter curtain (one only, Canon IVSb) the marks appear in exactly the same place on each frame. You might have a different problem! Can you post some examples?

 

[Poptart]

Those are obviously spirit orbs; don't you ever watch cable?

 

[aad]

Let's see if this works- it's obviously not a "normal" 800 shot, but it was what I had-

 

[jlw]

They look more like processing marks to me. If this were anything except a bottom-loader, I'd suggest opening the back and looking at the curtains against a strong light... but you're out of luck for that trick.

 

[ChrisN]

Those are obviously spirit orbs; don't you ever watch cable?

You mean like ... http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=9059

 

[ChrisN]

I've seen marks like that on my B&W negs when the film hasn't dried cleanly - marks from the rinse water drying unevenly and/or leaving deposits. I'm going to start using distilled water for the final rinse.

 

[aad]

Maybe processing marks indeed. Other prints do have more of a "shutter hole" look, but when I scanned this on and looked close, they looked more like drips. Maybe the local pharmacy isn't the hot setup.

Aaron

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The only other thing I can think of is the shutter is not fully capping when winding to the next shot. As you advance it, tif the curtains split ever so slightly, you might get this. My Nicca does this.

 

[canonetc]

Hi all- I just had a roll of Fuji Superia 800, and noticed some white spots here and there on a few prints. I never had them before! They don't appear in the same place on each print or negative, either.

This is on a Leica iiif. Does the shutter curtain "park" in different places each time it's fired? Or is this some mystery artifact?

Aaron

Processing, either water marks in the emulsion or other damage. Take a loupe and examine them, or flip the loupe upside down (or get a magifying glass) and look a the negative(s) at an oblique angle. Check and see it they are solid abberations in the emulsion. Since the spots are mostly white, it looks like a darkened crud of some type within or on the emulsion.

You might also take a look at your lens and see if you can find any small spots in the glass that mathc the pattern of white spots on the negative.

Chris
canonetc

 

[aad]

Found it! Visible black crud on the emulsion side of the negative. Yuck.

Thanks, all!