Something is on my negatives... help?

[Gregoryniss]

On the last couple of rolls, i've been getting a ton of tiny white dots all over my negatives. I'm not really sure what it is and i'd like to figure it out because it's ruining a lot of my photos!

I think that it could be from a) chemical contamination (spare fix left over in tank getting into developer?) b) Too much photoflo c) scanner is pooping out on me d) fungus or something?

I don't own a loupe so I can't really examine up close (I guess I could go buy one...). I'll be getting a new scanner on monday (plustek 7600i) so I can see if it's c. In the mean time I guess I could try to figure out A and B, which I will, but it'd be nice if someone had a similar experience and could help me out!

Thanks!

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

Hold your negatives near a light source to get a reflection off the base of the film, to the point where you see the light source and not the film. Look for imperfections such as dust or residue. I know it sounds difficult to describe.

If you don't have a loupe you can flip your lens around and get a decent magnification. A 50mm lens is plenty, your nokton will give you lots of space and light transmission to look around.

 

[Freakscene]

The most likely sources are dust from your drying area or that your rinse water is contaminated. Use distilled or demineralised water and if that doesn't fix it then filter it with a 1 or 0.5 micron filter. Use a filtered air drying system if possible.

Marty

 

[payasam]

White dots on the print or scan mean opaque dots on the negative.

 

[Dwig]

Hold your negatives near a light source to get a reflection off the base of the film, to the point where you see the light source and not the film. Look for imperfections such as dust or residue. ...

You should do this for both the base and emulsion side. Also, you may need to use a low power loupe or magnifying glass to see the small particles.

If they are on both sides, you are likely having dust problems. If they are on the emulsion side only, you are likely having chemical problems. If the latter, you are seeing crystals left over when the mineral/salt/chemical laded water soaked in the emulsion drys out. The most likely suspects are:

1. Overly concentrated wetting agent (e.g. PhotoFlo): Kodak's PhotoFlo 200 needs to be diluted 1:200; anything more concentrated will leave very small white crystals on the surface of the emulsion producing results identical to what you show. With wetting agents, you want to use the most dilute mix that you can that still prevents the water from beading up on the surface of the film. Any higher concentration is unnecessary and can lead to problems like you are seeing.

2. High mineral content in the wash water: Again, mineral/salt crystals can form on the surface of the emulsion when the water soaked into to it drys out leaving the salt deposit. If this is the source of your problem, one workaround is to add a 1-2 minute soak in distilled water at the end of the wash cycle.