Right! Really fed up now! SOLVED

simon ess

simon ess

Just call me Roxanne.
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Some may recall that my last roll of film was covered in white spots. I thought it may be due to chemicals I cleaned the bathroom with, others thought it might be coming from inside the camera.

So, new roll, different camera, bathroom not cleaned.

Horrible, horrible, horrible. Absolutely covered in white spots. Way more than is worth spotting out.

I just can't work it out. I'm not doing anything any different to what I've always done.

Could it be something in the developer? Could there be a problem with the scanner?

Help! Please!
 
I guess one way to tell is shoot another roll with a fresh developer.
Have you tried scanning older negatives to see if they show the same thing?.
 
What do the negs look like?
 
Looks like you need new chemicals, and make sure the equipment is cleaned too.
One step at a time.
 
Ok - old, known to be good negs. are fine, so it's not the scanner.

I can't see any spots on the negs. with the naked eye.

I guess that either I'm suddenly getting half the Sahara in my bathroom or there's an issue with developer.
 
Is it the same film / same batch??

Unfortuanatly it's going to require process of elimination..

I would start with steves suggestion of scanning some older negs that you know are fine to sée if thé problem lies with the scanner .

If that proves not to be the problèm, then progress onto other areas such as the chems.

If the film used this time is a different brand etc then we can rule out an emulsion issue.

I'm as interested as you in wanting to know thé cause although much more fortuanate not having the frustration of trying different tests to find out.....good luck.
 
OK so good news....the scanner is fine.....at least now thé problem is not going to cost a mint to résolve.

Scanner ...no

Caméra ..no

Film émulsion.....possible

Cherms.....probably


I would waste a couple of films or split a roll if 35 mm

Shoot in same caméra .

Dev one in présent chems

Dev other in new chems.....all new, dev fixer etc

Sée wot you get
 
Asha said:
OK so good news....the scanner is fine.....at least now thé problem is not going to cost a mint to résolve.

Scanner ...no

Caméra ..no

Film émulsion.....possible

Cherms.....probably


I would waste a couple of films or split a roll if 35 mm

Shoot in same caméra .

Dev one in présent chems

Dev other in new chems.....all new, dev fixer etc

Sée wot you get
Click to expand...

Yep, I'd go with this too...
 
The film was from the same batch of 10 I've been using for a while, so I'm confident it's not the emulsion.

Another possibility occurs.

I was given a still sealed bottle of fixer, but I've no idea how old it is. I can't find a date on the bottle.

It's a 1l bottle of Ilford rapid fixer. It has a price sticker on fro Jessops - £6.99

So, think I'll try a new bottle of fixer next.
 
I've probably missed something along the way, but are we talking about negatives or positives? Dust on the negative would show up as white spots when printed (because it blocks the light). Dust in the camera would give black spots.

Was the developer powder or liquid (before you mixed it I mean :D). Spots from the developer don't seem much of a possibility if starting from a liquid (although a badly prepared Rodinal (from the formula) can have precipitates in the solution (pardon the contradiction - you know what I mean).
 
Just seen your last post. Fixer can dissolve the silver if overdone. I suppose - though I've never heard of it before - that some local dissolving of the image could occur in unlikely circumstances.
 
The white spots appear after scanning, so positives.

It's Kodak HC-110 liquid developer, mixed same as many times before.
 
From the description, it sounds more like dust on the negative than anything else. In your place, I'd be looking very carefully at the negative with a powerful magnifier, preferably from an oblique angle with side lighting. I'd prefer to rule out the obvious before going down the less likely alternatives.
 
simon ess said:
Like a snow storm.
Click to expand...

Simon mentions that the negs look like a snowstorm so presumably its not physical dust laying on them but instead actual snowstorm effect within the emulsion ......which would i believe, have to originate from inferiour emulsion base or a chemical reaction, be it with developer, stop, fixer, rinse aïd OR even contamination from other products ( ie C41 chems) residing in the containers / developing tank.
 
That's better than most of my "good" shots ......and you've got the exposure for thé snow spot on!:D:D
 
No, we sorted the scanning issue. I rescanned some known good negs. and they were fine.
 
simon ess said:
No, we sorted the scanning issue. I rescanned some known good negs. and they were fine.
Click to expand...

OK, sorry, missed that bit. Sooo... [and no idea why I am asking because I wouldn't know where to start helping] you can't see the white on the negs, but it appears on positives after scanning... thats just bloody weird. See, and people wonder why I send mine off, I'd be grinding teeth and tearing out hair now!!


As an aside... does suburbia look good with snowfall? :D :exit:
 
The thread in the other forum was a bit of a surprise to me. I've never come across this in half a century of reusing fixer, and all the reference books (including one from an Ilford expert) tell you how to work out when fixer is exhausted, rather than advising use once and throw. I have been unable to find any reference to silver being precipitated in fixer, although I'm sure other things could be.

The white marks translate to dark marks on the negatives, and the only three common causes are undisolved particles in the developer (assuming a powder, which isn't the case); airborn contamination from dust or chemical powders; or grit in the water used for washing. I'd like to see a magnified image of a selection of the marks; but dust/dirt still seems the most likely culprit. The big question is - can you remove them by rewashing? Most of the processing causes of marks (like air bells) would give regular shapes, not the random ones in this print.

Dirt inside the developing tank is another possibility, but I assume that there is no obvious build up of solids there.
 
Thanks Stephen.

I've got a bit fixated on the fixer now.

Comparing the price label on the bottle to today's price it must be a good few years old, and this problem has arisen since I started using this fixer.

All my equipment is meticulously clean.

If it's not the fixer then it must be dust. If it is, that would be baffling. Why now and never before?
 
Based on that, the fixer does look likely; and presumably something has precipitated. What sort of fixer is it? Brand name will do. Any idea about storage conditions?
 
It's Ilford Rapid fixer. It was sealed but I don't know how old and no idea of storage conditions.

The price tag says Jessops - £6.99
 
simon ess said:
It's Ilford Rapid fixer. It was sealed but I don't know how old and no idea of storage conditions.

The price tag says Jessops - £6.99
Click to expand...

Well it was priced post decimalisation so like me it's not ancient :D
 
Washed the same way as always, including final wash with distilled water.
 
As I don't to dev any more........Do fixers have a use by date on them as I can't remember having problems with a fixer other than the usual ones of it being so used it wouldn't fix the neg properly.
 
From the Ilford fact sheet -

"Full, unopened bottles of ILFORD RAPID FIXER concentrate stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), will keep for two years."

I would estimate this bottle is a lot older than 2 years.
 
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