Ektar "reddish disease"?

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Hi guys,

You will find attached two pictures which say it all about my problem: reddish areas on Ektar film (35 mm). These areas can be identified by visual inspection of the films so this is not a scanner issue. My 8 Ektar rolls have been processed at my very trusty local pro lab along with many other films (portra 160 NC and Superias) and all the other films were very fine.

Last weekend, I exposed two more rolls of Ektar one atfer the other with the same camera setup and they were processed shortly after. One came out very fine and the other with the "reddish disease". These rolls were stored at the same place and they have never been exposed to X-ray scan (after purchase). From my point of view, the only difference between these two rolls is the lot number (5121-09/2011 for the bad one and 5111-09/2011 for the one that came out ok).

Am I the only one infected with the "reddish disease"?

Regards,

JM

Tim Gray · Mar 27, 2010

Dodgy development?

Photo Engineer · Mar 27, 2010

Fogged film? Light leak?

At this point it is too hard to say it is the film.

PE

BetterSense · Mar 27, 2010

Really looks like light leaks to me, FWIW

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Tim Gray said:
Dodgy development?

I do not think that the development is dodgy since all the non-ektar rolls came out ok. Now, when I shoot with ektar I always shoot with non-ektar film, for comparison purposes. The rolls are processed one after the other. The non-ektar film always comes out fine and the ektar exhibits reddish areas. Here is an example.

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

BetterSense said:
Really looks like light leaks to me, FWIW

Light leaks ... it can be that. I use three different bodies (Canon 1v, Elan 7n, and Rebel Ti) with the same results. Maybe the light leak occurs somewhere between my camera and the lab, or at the lab ... but how come it is not a problem with all the non-ektar rolls?

It may also be caused by:

- bad lot
- storage conditions before purchase
-?

Photo Engineer · Mar 27, 2010

Take the same picture with both films. That is the best way to check this out. Your pictures in post #5 are too dissimilar to evaluate.

PE

JMCS · Mar 27, 2010

I have never had a problem with any Ektar that I've shot, whether it be 35mm, or 120. Maybe this emulsion is just more responsive to bad processing?

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Photo Engineer said:
Take the same picture with both films. That is the best way to check this out. Your pictures in post #5 are too dissimilar to evaluate.

PE

Thanks PE, this is exactly what I did today. I took the same pictures with an ektar and with a portra 160NC. I will keep you posted.

nickandre · Mar 27, 2010

It's not the film. Light leak if you processed on reels.

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Tanks a lot for all your useful answers. I will continue to investigate the matter. I will get back to you probably next Thursday when I am finished scanning new rolls.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 27, 2010

I know I'm stating the obvious, but because you mentioned you have 3 different bodies: you did shoot both the Ektar and Portra roll for your test in the same body, right?

Edit: because it really looks like a light leak, we're just not sure if it's happening in your camera or somewhere else. It may also have already occured on the film, and I'd also get a fresh roll from another supplier, and check that against your findings of this latest test (if they come back positive).
Jed

Stephen Frizza · Mar 27, 2010

i like the reddish look.

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Jedidiah Smith said:
I know I'm stating the obvious, but because you mentioned you have 3 different bodies: you did shoot both the Ektar and Portra roll for your test in the same body, right?

Edit: because it really looks like a light leak, we're just not sure if it's happening in your camera or somewhere else. It may also have already occured on the film, and I'd also get a fresh roll from another supplier, and check that against your findings of this latest test (if they come back positive).
Jed

That is right.

Post #1: I did shoot both the ektar (the pictures in this post come from two different ektar rolls) and the portra (not shown) with my Elan 7n.

Post #5: I did shoot both the ektar and, in this case, the Kodak gold 100 with my 1v.

Post #9: I did shoot both the ektar and the portra with my 1v. I will see how things went next Thursday.

Thanks for the advice, I will get some rolls from another store.

jmdrouet · Mar 27, 2010

Stephen Frizza said:
i like the reddish look.

Well, thank you. Maybe I can make it look like an artistic creation.

GeorgK · Mar 28, 2010

My guess: uneven development. This may happen during development (too few or wrong agitation) or during the switch from dev to bleach/stop (certain regions of the film are developed slightly longer). Some film types are more sensitive to deviations of processing time than others, so while one film is developed evenly, the other film might show streaks or other irregularities under the same conditions.
This also happens in B&W, but usually to a lesser extent because development times are longer. Additionally, grey density streaks are much less visible than color streaks in C41 color film.

Georg

Trask · Mar 28, 2010

Maybe excess heat to the Ektar, which may have been shipped or stored differently. I had odd color shifts to some film years ago when I was carrying an Oly OM-1 in a bicycle handlebar bag and it got too hot.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 28, 2010

OK, that makes things a little different, then, because I didn't realize you had already done this test in multiple bodies.
The odds that ALL 3 of your cameras have a light leak is too high. It must be something else. Either uneven development, as we stated, or the film has been exposed to something before you got it, etc....either it has already happened to the film, or it is happening AFTER you take the rolls out of the cameras. Too crazy for all 3 bodies to develop a light leak at once.:confused:
Jed

jmdrouet said:
That is right.

Post #1: I did shoot ... with my Elan 7n.

Post #5: I did shoot... with my 1v.

Post #9: ... with my 1v..

stevco · Mar 28, 2010

Outside of the technical aspects,
this reddish smooth light really suits nice.

MattKing · Mar 28, 2010

Are you sure that this isn't actually a cyan problem, rather than a red problem?

A red light leak on the edges would make more sense then a cyan light leak in the middle.

Ektar "reddish disease"?

jmdrouet

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