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Old 14th January 2019, 07:21 AM
loganca loganca is offline
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Default Cause of dark band on my film?

I was making a print in my darkroom yesterday when I noticed a subtle dark band across the top of the print. I took a close look at the negative and it's there as well. I see an even subtler version of this on one other frame on the same roll and I believe I see something similar on a couple of frames from another roll I recently shot. These rolls of film were developed at a local lab and I suppose this could be a development-related problem, but the fact that I'm seeing this across more than one roll leads me to believe that this may be a shutter-related problem.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what is causing this? Thanks in advance.

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Old 14th January 2019, 08:43 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default Banding

Yes indeed it is subtle. So much so, on my laptop screen I cannot see it. What I can see is a natural darkening of the sky gradually getting lighter as it gets nearer to the horizon.

Were the other scenes similar in composition with a lot of sky, if so it is possible that this is a natural view.

I will look at this later on my main desktop VDU and see if the banding is more evident.
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Old 14th January 2019, 09:20 AM
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Bill Bill is offline
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On my laptop I can see a definite straight horizontal line just above the cross bar on the telegraph pole. If it is dark on a print then it will be light on the negative. As it is so straight it suggests a camera or enlarger problem rather than processing. Was the paper left out with another sheet overlapping perhaps so a little bit of safelight fog? However when it is so straight and parallel to the edge my thought is camera.

Bill
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Old 14th January 2019, 09:26 AM
mpirie mpirie is offline
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A reflection from the edge of the enlarger negative carrier?

Mike
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Old 14th January 2019, 10:17 AM
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Another thought is a reflection from the paper easel.

Bill
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Old 14th January 2019, 11:35 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default Banding

I have looked on the desk top VDU and can now see the line very faintly.

The originator of the thread has stated it is visible on the negative so that automatically discounts any post developing interference, reflections etc.

Unless it is a defect during the developing stage where extra pressure is given to that part of the film when it is being developed. It is too precise to be an actual chemical related problem. If the developing had been the slightest bit uneven the line would not be so sharply defined.

It more or less has to be 'in camera' so to speak, but what it may be I have no idea. I would discount a shutter problem. Assuming the camera has a focal plane shutter travelling from side to side there can be a problem with shutter 'bounce' caused when the 2nd curtain bounces back a little, but the effects are usually quite marked when this happens and the line always slightly blurred. I have never known a vertical travel shutter 'bounce' the same way. A between the lens shutter simply would not give this effect.

How about an internal camera reflection?

Is it visible on every negative of simply a few? The only other option I can think of is there may be a defect in manufacturing the film. What make were you using?
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Old 14th January 2019, 01:55 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is online now
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Is this 35mm or 120 film? I had a similar issue with 120 loaded in a Bronica back. There was a very slight irregularity in the surface of a steel roller. It was putting pressure on the film causing a line along its length. It wasn’t scratching the film, but causing a dark line on prints. It was one of the very fine steel rollers which carries the film over a corner in the casing. The line wasn’t obvious on every frame, but in the same location whenever it was visible. I can’t tell it the line on your film is running along the length of the film, rather than across the width. If it is across, it must be some other issue.
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Old 14th January 2019, 03:19 PM
loganca loganca is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John King View Post
Is it visible on every negative of simply a few? The only other option I can think of is there may be a defect in manufacturing the film. What make were you using?
Thanks for taking the time to reply. It only appears on a small number of negatives, but on two different rolls. The film is Kodak Tri-X 400, 35mm.
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Old 14th January 2019, 03:20 PM
loganca loganca is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexmuir View Post
Is this 35mm or 120 film? I had a similar issue with 120 loaded in a Bronica back. There was a very slight irregularity in the surface of a steel roller. It was putting pressure on the film causing a line along its length. It wasn’t scratching the film, but causing a dark line on prints. It was one of the very fine steel rollers which carries the film over a corner in the casing. The line wasn’t obvious on every frame, but in the same location whenever it was visible. I can’t tell it the line on your film is running along the length of the film, rather than across the width. If it is across, it must be some other issue.
Alex.


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It's 35mm Kodak Tri-X 400. The band/line is running across the width.
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Old 14th January 2019, 03:42 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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If you have a vertical travel shutter then it could be some form shutter problem,maybe a slightly lazy shutter, I have seen something similer on a Pentax, a while ago now, turned out tobe a lazy shutter on a vertical trsvel shutter and the bottom of the film being slightly under exposed, I thinl, it was a few years ago, in my case a shutter service cured the problem
Richard
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