Can chemistry issues cause pinholes in modern Tri-X / Kodak recommends hardening fixer??

Bill Burk · Mar 24, 2020

To clarify, it looks to me like particles that fell from the bellows onto the surface of the film before you took the picture. There’s sticks and specks that look like they could be shellac crumbles. When you walkabout with a folding camera, sometimes you will open the bellows, setup and decide against taking a picture, close and walk on... Or you might walk around with camera open and on the tripod, jabbing the tripod down and maybe repositioning. All this action dislodges dust and specks from inside the camera body and bellows until you get many specks of clear spots on the negative.

If you wind just before taking the picture it won’t happen, though I can’t bear to do that. Next best plan is to shoot two or more shots in a short time. Definitely clean and vacuum bellows before going out. Replace the bellows if you have to

Bill Burk · Mar 24, 2020

You could try this test... stretch a piece of packing tape over the film gate and shake the camera. Take a picture of the piece of tape after this test with your phone and show us if the tape got specks all over it.

Pat Erson · Mar 24, 2020

phreon said:
I used my city's excellent quality, if slightly hard (...) tap water

Is the cuplprit here?
I used to use the same water for my D-76 till I discovered it made the dev foam in the tank after each agitation stage.
The result was (rather large) pinholes in my Tri-x 135 negs.

No more problems after I used distilled water for my D-76.

Bill Burk · Mar 25, 2020

Here is what I got stretching packing tape across the rollers at the film plane of my Ikonta. It’s been sitting a while so not recently vacuumed or checked. Pretty obvious what would happen if that was film. There would be clear specks on the film.

Agulliver · Mar 25, 2020

Just to add to what Bill Burk is saying....I've not had this issue with my Ikonta but I have with my Folding Pocket Kodak. Possibly as the Kodak is even more ancient and wasn't used for many decades before I picked it up. I've also had something similar with other MF cameras that I've not cleaned after a decade or more without use. Doesn't ever seem to affect "miniature" cameras.

It baffled me at first because, taking the Kodak, there's no indication of any light leak in the bellows and you really do need to follow Bill's advice and stretch something (eg backing paper, packing tape, anything adhesive is best) through any rollers and across the film gate area...give the whole thing a bit of a shake and not to hard a rap...and little particles can fall out.

What caused me to investigate this with the Kodak is the fact that the first three films I put through it were different types (Foma 400, Foma 200, FP4+) and all exhibited similar spots/marks even after thoroughly cleaning everything.

Agulliver · Mar 25, 2020

Oh....and I too don't especially recommend waiting until taking each exposure to wind on...too likely to forget. My usual routine is to wind on after taking each picture to avoid double exposures....had that drilled into me as a youngster...but in theory winding on just as you're ready to take a photo could minimise this problem....if it is particles falling off the bellows.

BrianShaw · Mar 25, 2020

Interesting demo! Now you have me wanting to check my Duo 645 before loading it up!

Tim Stapp · Mar 26, 2020

Agulliver said:
Oh....and I too don't especially recommend waiting until taking each exposure to wind on...too likely to forget. My usual routine is to wind on after taking each picture to avoid double exposures....had that drilled into me as a youngster...but in theory winding on just as you're ready to take a photo could minimise this problem....if it is particles falling off the bellows.

But, wouldn't that put the debris on the prior exposure?

Agulliver · Mar 27, 2020

I think the idea is that a fresh wind right before the exposure means that there's less chance of debris on the emulsion at the time of the exposure. That's what is probably causing the spots. If debris falls onto the emulsion after exposure it will be washed off during processing and the exposure will have been fine. Of course large pieces of debris could still catch and cause scratches I suppose? But we're talking about tiny specks.

Bill Burk · Mar 28, 2020

In my case, once I find the issue I clean the interior of the bellows with a paintbrush and vacuum until specks no longer fall out.

Fresh winding is kind of awkward. You’re never ready for a shot. There’s the risk of double exposure with some cameras (although not with the Ikonta it has a double exposure interlock).

Tim Stapp said:
But, wouldn't that put the debris on the prior exposure?

Agulliver said it right. The issue is not the debris contaminating the film, it’s the shadow of the debris when you take a picture.

It’s a preventable issue, most common with larger bellows cameras. I had plenty of experience and disappointments but cleanliness can address it very effectively.

NB23 · Mar 28, 2020

Seems like debris. Black because light didn’t shine through.

Dirty camera?

NB23 · Mar 28, 2020

Yes, Bill Burk

Can chemistry issues cause pinholes in modern Tri-X / Kodak recommends hardening fixer??

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