So my M6 loves to scratch my film....

RdEoSg

RdEoSg

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Any theories? I have blown it out with canned air, I have inspected it as best as I can with a flashlight. I see no dust or rough spots or anything and yet every roll has scratches on the frames. A LOT! Some frames will have none, some will have 5-6 lines running horizontally across. Sometimes all the way across, sometimes half way etc. I have had the film hand processed over the past 6 months. I have also had c-41 run through a machine. It all has the same problems. I am getting the negs process only with no cut so I just don't get it. It has all been from the same lab, but I used to work there in the darkroom and am familiar with how they handle the film so I am not worried about them doing it.

I am about to the point of sending it to Sherry to have her look at it. So far I haven't been overly worried because I haven't been shooting anything I wanted to print. I can touch it up enough to put small on a website or something, but the amount of time and effort I have to spend in photoshop is getting really annoying. It's to the point that I don't even bother.

I can post some samples if anyone wants to see them tomorrow, but nothing is really consistent anyways.

😕 😕 😕
 
Have you checked the screw heads on the pressure plate? one or more might be ever so slightly raised? just a thought
 
ah. No I haven't. That's a good thought. I will look at those. Might not explain all of it, but maybe some. The biggest and most consistent do seem to be towards the bottom and top of each frame, near the sprocket holes but still on the image.

The camera has film in it right now but I will check at work tomorrow.
 
ok so I have dropped off another roll for processing. I took a look inside. No screws in the way or anything. I decided to drop off a blank roll as well that has never been in a camera to be processed. I figure if that has scratches then it tells me it's something with the lab. If it doesn't but the other one does, then I know its the camera. I tried to inspect the camera but I can't really find anything in it that would scratch. It seems to always be the top of the film, not the emulsion side.
 
commercially packaged film? or bulk loaded?

nothing that could be pressing down on the cartridge lip? Seems odd that it's only the back side, not emulsion - but does give credence to the possibility that it's related to the pressure plate.
 
I can`t think of anything in a camera that could scratch acress the width.

Put 6 frames on a new roll, then put the roll in a different camera and start exposing 8 to 16.

If the sctatching stops at 6, you know it is from the M6. If it goes the whole roll, the second camera has the same problem or the film is defective or the lab is doing it.
 
The scratches are length wise but not consistent which is why I am leaning more away from the camera. If there was some rough spot on the pressure plate or something it would show up all the time, not here and there.
 
RdEoSg said:
If there was some rough spot on the pressure plate or something it would show up all the time, not here and there.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily - it could vary by pressure on the back (depending on how you're holding it) - how fast you wind on, what the temperature is, how you hold your tongue, etc.

Many things are variable here.
 
I'm having the same problem with a recently-serviced M4. I had the M4 serviced immediately after I bought it as the slow speeds needed attention. I'm going to bring it back to be looked at again, but I'll be watching this thread for more information.
I don't have a loupe and can't yet tell which side it's scratched on. It's been on at least two rolls of factory-rolled Tri-X and an old bulk-loaded roll of TMY. I sacrificed the TMY roll just to triple-check what was happening.
I've attached an image from that roll with drastically-adjusted levels to accent the scratch. The second image is from a Tri-X roll.
 

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so the prob is with mono and c41 film. I guess that rules out the film, unless you are bulk loading both.

I think the blank film will tell you where to look. I would not be surprised if it was the lab. Perhaps run some tests hots thru and send to another lab.

Is this camera new to you?
 
I've had the same problem off-and-on with an -- originally brand-new -- Contax Aria. Every now and then, one of my rolls has these same type of scratches. Just like you, there are no visible/feelable issues inside the camera or the felt on the roll of film, and it is definitely not the lab. Blowing out with compressed air before each roll seems to work most of the time, but not always. If I didn't love the camera so much, I would have dumped it a long time ago. I know how you must feel when this happens to an M6...
I'll follow this thread carefully, in case someone has a suggestion that I have missed so far...
 
i could not love any camera that ruined shots....this has to be fixable, surely? Apart from the pressure plate what else could scratch the film base if not the lab? The cannot be that many possible culprits?
 
It is all store bought Kodak film. No bulk loads. I've taken out a flashlight and inspected the camera as best as I can but I found no issues. As I am scanning film from the past 3-4 months that had piled up I am noticing that some rolls have a lot of scratches where as others have only a few. Some are consistent straight lines that I would assume are from the camera, but some are slightly wavy and seem to get deeper at the end, which leads me to believe that it is possibly the person developing the film. They use the foam squeegy tongs to pull off the excess water when they hang the film to dry so I am thinking either dirty foam or they are just pushing way to hard to get it dry. You doesn't need to use all your strength to do it!

gimme a sec and I will post a few photos to illustrate the scratches.
 
This concerns me as well because I have an M6 Classic coming in a few days.

The squeegy might be a cause but the scratches are relatively very straight so ... maybe not? I don't know. Impossible to tell over the net. I suggest you do some home development and do everything possible to minimize scratches (ie. don't squeegy it). If the scratches are still there, it's probably the camera. If they are miraculously gone for many rolls, chances are it was your lab.

Try it out!
 
Wavy lines are a lab problem. No doubt. If they move the squeegee device perfectly straight, you get straight scratches and they are most likely intermittent.

Develope yourself and never use a squeegee or scraper or foam tongs or this will happen sooner or later guaranteed.
 
You might also try a different lab, if possible, to see what results you get there. I would echo the home development as well, so you don't have to rely on someone else to handle your film.
 
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