Help! Dark Patch on Negatives!

[Villanova]

I processed a dozen rolls of mine (all Tri-X 400) over the weekend only to find very annoying dark patches that more or less ruined some shots of mine.

I reprocessed a roll today, thinking that my five minute development time was causing uneven development. This roll spent six minutes in Ilfosol 3 (1+9), following proper developer temperature time adjustments.

This ruled out my processing time as an issue. I loaded the rolls in my bathroom, which is pitch black and never gave me a problem before.

The dark patch is the same shape and size all the times it appears, only varying in intensity.

Does this look like a light leak from the camera? Is this a lens issue? Or maybe some of the foam internally has come loose?

I'm shooting on a Nikon FE through a Series E 50mm f1.8, an AF Nikon 35mm f2, and a 28-85mm f3.5 Nikon zoom.

Maybe my camera needs a CLA and new seals?

HELP!

 

[nikon_sam]

My guess is a light leak in camera...it's in the same spot and has a very similar shape the only difference is the intensity...look for missing foam, missing screw, a crack or anything unusual...

 

[Morry Katz]

Give the camera a good blow out with some canned air.

 

[Sid836]

This is a light leak from the top of the back of the camera. The intensity of that mark is proportional to the ambient light at the moment of shooting and/or the amount of time the camera has been exposed to light.
Remove the old seal with a tooth pick, if any, and replace it with any 1mm self adhesive open cell foam.

(Quick question, are you using reloadable film cassettes? Some times a similar effect comes from badly sealed reloadable film cassettes that have been exposed to light, i.e. when swapping film in strong light).

 

[_goodtimez]

You could easily find the source of the problem by doing a test film: expose only the first half by using your camera and leave the rest unexposed in the cannister. Develop the whole film and see what happens.

 

[Villanova]

Figured I'd update this. I ordered a massive sheet of foam (only $10) rather than paying $16 for the pre-cut strips that eBay has. After replacing the foam, my camera works beautifully. The patch is gone! Thank you all for your help!