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Can it be me?
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 6:45 am    Post subject: Can it be me? Reply with quote

Hi,
I have sent a roll of superia 200 film to a lab to be processed. I got the negatives back by email and while scanning I can see a lot of marks and scratches.
At the beginning I though that it is the plustek 8200i scanner that perhaps got so much dust. Soon I found though that as I was scanning my film the scratches did not have the same patterns and shape (scanner's dust tend to have the same structure on the scanned file).

I am uploading some samples here so you can see their full resolution.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dl28hxzymvh9sqy/AACVzoKEBOi2b0q0XhNfKDlva?dl=0
Specifically for the third image zoom in at the bride's dress and see all those speckles and dusty dots at the chest height.

Can that be me? My camera for example?
This is a superia 200 film (no bulk loading) loaded to the camera and then rewinded all the way back. Camera is minolta x-700

What would you do in this case?
Should I complain to the lab?
Regards
Alex


PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:55 am    Post subject: Re: Can it be me? Reply with quote

alaios wrote:
Hi,
I have sent a roll of superia 200 film to a lab to be processed. I got the negatives back by email and while scanning I can see a lot of marks and scratches.
At the beginning I though that it is the plustek 8200i scanner that perhaps got so much dust. Soon I found though that as I was scanning my film the scratches did not have the same patterns and shape (scanner's dust tend to have the same structure on the scanned file).

I am uploading some samples here so you can see their full resolution.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dl28hxzymvh9sqy/AACVzoKEBOi2b0q0XhNfKDlva?dl=0
Specifically for the third image zoom in at the bride's dress and see all those speckles and dusty dots at the chest height.

Can that be me? My camera for example?
This is a superia 200 film (no bulk loading) loaded to the camera and then rewinded all the way back. Camera is minolta x-700

What would you do in this case?
Should I complain to the lab?
Regards
Alex


See my reply in your other thread.
When you do home scanning sometimes the results are just what you want, but other times you have to adjust in Photoshop (or whatever) to improve. Not much wrong with the Bride a groom shot as it's sharp and just has a magenta colour cast and playing with the shot thought it looked better with a bit more yellow (but that's me)...and looking at the sky the grain looks good.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got negatives like that too on two occasions. First when I was developing b&w film myself for the first time and I didn't know how to properly handle it. And second when I had colour negative film developed by a lab that obviously doesn't know how to do it properly anymore. I think in your case it's the lab's fault.


PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My non-expert opinion based on my own experiences:

With any negative type of emulsion, whether it is black and white or color, white specs, spots, or splotches are caused by dust particles or other contaminants that block the light from being transmitted through the film. The third image you point out looks to have been heavily contaminated with dust particles or some other sort of contamnant.

First thing I would do would be to examine the negatives with a loupe or some sort of magnification and look for dust particles on the film strip. Chances are you'll find lots of them, judging by the condition of the photos.

Next, you might try using a blower brush to remove the dust particles, but chances are this won't be all that effective. What I prefer to do if I have a strip of film that has a lot of contaminants is to use a darkroom sponge. If you have a camera shop where you live that still carries darkroom supplies, go pay them a visit and buy a darkroom sponge. They're cheap enough, and a must-have anyway if you do your own film processing.

Wet the sponge and wring out as much water as you can so it is just damp, then fold the sponge so that it wraps around the film. Apply firm pressure to the sponge and pull the film strip through the sponge. You may need to do this more than once. Then take a look at the film with a loupe again and see if this hasn't helped some. Despite wringing out the sponge as much as possible, you'll probably still have some small water droplets on the film. That's okay. Just let the film dry for a while, then take another look at it through your loupe.

If this hasn't gotten rid of the dust and/or contaminants, then there isn't much else I know to do. So, good luck and all that.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

what about the scratches?
I think my question here is if the lab to be blamed?
If my lens had though this particles should not those be visible to all the frames that were developed?

To me those scratches should have been created by the lab and not by my camera (Or one here might say that there was some dust inside my film holder in camera. As I was forwarding my film the dust at some place created those lines on the surface.

I am thinking announcing my lab I will not pay them for the quality of the negative I got back.
I think this is the reason of this post to help me decide if I am to be blamed or my lab for the overall look.


PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alaios wrote:
what about the scratches?
I think my question here is if the lab to be blamed?
If my lens had though this particles should not those be visible to all the frames that were developed?

To me those scratches should have been created by the lab and not by my camera (Or one here might say that there was some dust inside my film holder in camera. As I was forwarding my film the dust at some place created those lines on the surface.

I am thinking announcing my lab I will not pay them for the quality of the negative I got back.
I think this is the reason of this post to help me decide if I am to be blamed or my lab for the overall look.


AFAIK Straight parallel scratches on the neg are either a bit of grit stuck on the pressure plate in the camera (rare) OR a bit of grit in the felt of the cassette (not common if fresh film) OR the developing machine. Other scratches at angles are bad handling.