Help sorting whats wrong please

Steve

Steve

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Had a bit of a mare today photographing some angel statues at a cemetery.

Roll was shot on Hasselblad 500 CM.

I used Tri X 400 that I got cheap off ebay as it expired in Dec 2012 (so not so old....seller said it had been stored in fridge but no way of knowing)

After taking 8 photos, I checked the counter and saw it said 5 only. I knew I had taken 8, as each one was written in my notebook. I assumed that although I had cranked the handle, the winder in the film back had failed to wind on. I expcted to find some double exposures, or maybe even one triple exposure.

After developing the film, I got the following results:

Some kind of streaking/banding to the left of the frames

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Light leak? at the cenre of the frame. I think the divider line between frames should be pure black, but these show possible light leaks?

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So the help I need is:

1. Am I correct in thinking that this is a light leak?

2. Would a light leak cause the streaking/banding in the first negatives, or is that more likely to be a developing fault?

Do you think this is just a problem with the film back (never had a problem with it before, but it is 40 years old) or could it be the body?

Have I got an expensive lomo camera?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.
 
Which back? A12, older C12?

Frame spacing looks awfully tight on your samples - 'blad back problems tend to manifest as incorrect spacing due to errors in the thickness sensing mechanism of the back.

Did you wind it to 1 first?
 
It looks like light leak.
Check the seals.
 
freecom2 said:
Which back? A12, older C12?

Frame spacing looks awfully tight on your samples - 'blad back problems tend to manifest as incorrect spacing due to errors in the thickness sensing mechanism of the back.

Did you wind it to 1 first?
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Doh... I'm such a dope...probably forgot to wind it to 1 first which would explain the counter issue.

Would that cause a light leak?

It's an A12 back
 
Yes, that would explain the counter issue in my head, and the possibility of the light leaks because that part that you shot on wouldn't normally be used (it's emulsion, but it's close to the initial part of the roll - more likely to be fogged). It may not have been fogged due to the light seal in the back, but rather due to being exposed to some light whilst you were loading the film onto the 120 insert.

If you didn't wind to 1, and the frame spacing is that tight, there should be a longer-than-normal blank part on the roll at the end (it's normally relatively short with the 6x6 cameras I own).

p.s. I'm more clued up on Rollei than 'blad, so I can't guarantee this is all accurate!
 
So many potential variables in this, the streaks/light leaks could be a product of expired film that wasnt properly stored, actual light leaks or possibly uneven development.

Personally I would try shooting another roll in controlled conditions where you know you've wound it on, you know that the film is fresh and then send it off to be developed at a pro lab DSCL is convenient. If they are still showing up then it's certainly more likely to be a camera fault.
 
Whilst of course there are many variables when it comes to expired film, I've shot quite a few rolls of Tri-X that expired in 2011 and they have all looked absolutely fine. They were fridge stored but only after expiry.
 
You need to start again with known values. I think the film was faulty in some way.
 
freecom2 said:
Whilst of course there are many variables when it comes to expired film, I've shot quite a few rolls of Tri-X that expired in 2011 and they have all looked absolutely fine. They were fridge stored but only after expiry.
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Well I would agree as I've used B/W FP4 and HP3 that is 30 years old and colour about 12 years old (both stored at room temp), even 10p boot sale film, and never had results like that and going back donkey's years the same.....so would be very surprised if it is the film.
 
excalibur2 said:
Well I would agree as I've used B/W FP4 and HP3 that is 30 years old and colour about 12 years old (both stored at room temp), even 10p boot sale film, and never had results like that and going back donkey's years the same.....so would be very surprised if it is the film.
Click to expand...

Yes we've all had good results with expired film, nobody is disputing that but when attempting to solve a problem, as others have said, it is best to eliminate the unknown, in this case the out of date film.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Yes, I'm going to try it stage by stage to work out what the problem is,
 
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