Scratch on film - intermittent

[Thardy]

Bought a 21mm Skopar, and instead of LTM adapter picked up a Bessa L. I ran a roll of film through to check things out and after scanning noticed a scratch in the bottom 1/5th of the frame. At first I thought it was on all the frames but now I see it is intermittent.

Is this more commonly the film processor or camera's fault?

Thanks.

 

[jlw]

It could be either, and it could also be a one-time occurrence caused by a problem with a particular roll of film.

Can you try a roll and send it to another processor, preferably one that uses reels rather than a continuous processing machine? A continuous processor pulls the film through the baths via rollers, and these are one potential source of scratches if the film slips as it's being drawn through the machine.

Another frighteningly common scratch source is the process of inserting the film into sleeves after processing, so you might see if you can get your test film back as a loose, uncut strip and examine it carefully right at the lab, before it has a chance to have anything else happen to it.