C41 processed Portra, green cast at beginning and end of roll. Temp or processing error?

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removedacct2

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i am used to kitchen development, do routinely process rolls without problems, scan with an Epson V700+Vuescan and adjust with Gimp.
Yesterday I got a strong green cast on beginning and end of a roll.

first a word about the setting:
my routine includes a sous-vide circulator for temperature control, and a home-made agitator for
the Paterson tanks. Like this:




in my experience C41 kits have quite some tolerance. Here I am using Compard Digibase with separate bleach and fix. Usually I don't chronometer the pouring time (from bottle to tank and back) but it's in the 10s, at which moment I start a timer and the rotation. Wait 3'10'' (in case of fresh or three/four times used developer), stop and remove the agitator and empty the tank. Then I do a short wash directly from the tap which I previously had open until I measure water around 38C. Then bleach, wash, fix, final wash, stab.

so yesterday I developed a roll, I was a bit in a hurry, and I guess wasn't very cautious with the tap water used for the wash after dev (and after bleach). Or maybe the way I did these washes. Anyway the roll is a recently expired Portra 400, and frames from the middle of the roll seem ok:

the #5: Zodiak-8 lens on a Salyut:
RGKtYkrmd9YzPB2C-DSPLM-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8Cnv07LA6GwyCvKjmBHKDw5lzZKw7GcEeyHFQo9Lcmm_1Q==


the #7 :Zodiak-8 again, in Hamburg, evening, it was getting dark, didn't have the tripod yet tried a couple shots handheld
GK-YdRsffVph9cNDx8a298-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8CloQWwaxJGr-5BqK7Z83-cvL0_AeMDzr29sWEWmK0fbZQ==


BUT:

#1, the first frame, with a Vega-28 on Salyut, early evening shot but quite grey sky, Hannover:
XokErGYzyKiSrpT5434RY8-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8Cl6k1xq2fetMw6KfBUo7ud-z1Y4TxVZCKkyle2sEif-SQ==


#12, the last frame, with an Industar-29 on Salyut, sunny afternoon with low sun (very short days now), plain blue sky, near my place in Norway:
oSuiJ6lQE1O3BnlHHKhzP8-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8CkzT44EOSi02q5Fg6mxu33xpKR7UIAR9hSNIPe-IDgtZA==



I could probably find hints about the possible problem, but I lack time for an extensive search, so maybe the experienced and savvy members could tell at once what may be the issue :smile:
 

foc

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Can you post a shot of the strip of your negs please.

34905468870_0fceb75f28_w.jpg

Something like this.

I wonder about your home made agitator. I think it may be too much agitation for tank developing ( full immersion in developer ) as opposed to rotary tube processing.
 
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pentaxuser

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I am not clear why any of your possible cause suggestions should result in only a green cast at the beginning and end of roll? The OP hasn't shown us his negatives yet but it would look to me as if there may be other factors at work here. I have a feeling we don't yet know enough about all the possible variables

pentaxuser
 

Mr Bill

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Without having put too much thought into this I'd suggest to clip off a small piece of film and rebleach, fix, wash, etc. If there is ANY change, well, you'll know at least one thing that went wrong. The bleach is under the greatest stress where the most silver has been developed - in the light skies.
 

MattKing

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Could it be a (red) light leak?
 

mshchem

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i am used to kitchen development, do routinely process rolls without problems, scan with an Epson V700+Vuescan and adjust with Gimp.
Yesterday I got a strong green cast on beginning and end of a roll.

first a word about the setting:
my routine includes a sous-vide circulator for temperature control, and a home-made agitator for
the Paterson tanks. Like this:




in my experience C41 kits have quite some tolerance. Here I am using Compard Digibase with separate bleach and fix. Usually I don't chronometer the pouring time (from bottle to tank and back) but it's in the 10s, at which moment I start a timer and the rotation. Wait 3'10'' (in case of fresh or three/four times used developer), stop and remove the agitator and empty the tank. Then I do a short wash directly from the tap which I previously had open until I measure water around 38C. Then bleach, wash, fix, final wash, stab.

so yesterday I developed a roll, I was a bit in a hurry, and I guess wasn't very cautious with the tap water used for the wash after dev (and after bleach). Or maybe the way I did these washes. Anyway the roll is a recently expired Portra 400, and frames from the middle of the roll seem ok:

the #5: Zodiak-8 lens on a Salyut:
RGKtYkrmd9YzPB2C-DSPLM-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8Cnv07LA6GwyCvKjmBHKDw5lzZKw7GcEeyHFQo9Lcmm_1Q==


the #7 :Zodiak-8 again, in Hamburg, evening, it was getting dark, didn't have the tripod yet tried a couple shots handheld
GK-YdRsffVph9cNDx8a298-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8CloQWwaxJGr-5BqK7Z83-cvL0_AeMDzr29sWEWmK0fbZQ==


BUT:

#1, the first frame, with a Vega-28 on Salyut, early evening shot but quite grey sky, Hannover:
XokErGYzyKiSrpT5434RY8-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8Cl6k1xq2fetMw6KfBUo7ud-z1Y4TxVZCKkyle2sEif-SQ==


#12, the last frame, with an Industar-29 on Salyut, sunny afternoon with low sun (very short days now), plain blue sky, near my place in Norway:
oSuiJ6lQE1O3BnlHHKhzP8-N6PdigM0fDIHp5A0X8CkzT44EOSi02q5Fg6mxu33xpKR7UIAR9hSNIPe-IDgtZA==



I could probably find hints about the possible problem, but I lack time for an extensive search, so maybe the experienced and savvy members could tell at once what may be the issue :smile:

I'm not sure. That's a cool agitation device. I have a little Jobo Duolab, it only goes one direction, with a lot less chemistry and it makes great negatives on roll film. I would suspect a light leak or weak chemistry. I don't think it's agitation, light streaks on scan means dark streaks on negative which is strong evidence of a potential light leak. Re-bleaching won't hurt, might help.
 
OP
OP

removedacct2

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Joined
May 26, 2018
Messages
366
thanks all, so here is the roll, the green miscoloured frames are circled (#1 and #12).

@Alessandro Serrao " Insufficient agitation and only in one direction. It has to do with laminar flow and angular velocity.
Using that rotary stick all the time is using it wrong, as per Paterson instructions."
---

I do all my C41 (and BW too) like this since a while. It happens that I over or under development a bit once in a while, it has happened once that I forced a film wrong into a reel (twice into the same track, so two surfaces against each other with no room for chemicals circulation) , but never experienced this. The film was correctly loaded. Chemicals where mixed to 1liter bottles last week and this was the 3rd 120 roll processed.
There's a lot of theology about agitation/rotation cycles by hand, but that little system of mine (the agitator is just a tweaked cheap small icemaker top almost the size of a Paterson tank circumference ) proved effective and consistent. As I said: all my development, C41 and BW is done like that. Not a one-time experiment. That's routine.
---

(the edges of the film have a dirty line, there was remains of former processing on the small balls of the ratchet, didn't clean enough)

qLKHj4HzIdd9E0UUtsI6YIgMSwfc0U-kz6PC7I1n_ipF0W6u8y89cR9Mws-w9sq0rIOwbwVQYLRLR-i-F9fMug==
 
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