fogging on Tmax 3200

I keep getting wired fogging on Kodak T-Max 3200. It only affects the first 10-12 frames and shows streaks coming off of the sprocket holes. Sometimes there is fogging in the middle of the film too but usually its just visible above and below the holes, and its annoying because the streaks sometimes go into the image slightly. Its not my camera, i have had it happen in two different ones. It doesn't always happen though, its intermittent. I develop in metal tanks, the 2 reel tanks but i only put one roll of film in the bottom reel and leave the top one empty. The films have not been X-rayed. This never happens with any other film I use.

Thanks

Just curious, but have you tried any other ultra high-speed film?

Dear chriscrawfordphoto,

A scan of the entire film width would be nice, but I would bet on light leaks in your cameras. Simply because you get fogging with both does not mean they are not the source. It is extremely unlikely that the problem is with the TMZ itself. When I have similar problems, I test the camera by sacrificing at least part of a roll. I load it, advance the film quickly so that the exposed leader is fully taken up, take a single photo (to register the position of the film in the camera for later analysis) and put it out in the bright sun (cool days are better for this for obvious reasons). After a few hours, I run the rest through (or at least enough so that there will be no question as to where the light leak might be) and develop. Once developed, you can put the film back in the camera and use the exposed frame as registration (remember that the image is upside down). You don't need to burn a roll of TMZ for this test either as long as you really let it sit in the sun. Hours isn't a bad idea. I have had cameras "fail" this test right after having them repaired.

Keep in mind that you can even get fogging through an old shutter.

Neal Wydra

If you had light leaks in the film cartridge itself, it would most likely appear on the first frames, and not on the subsequent ones. Do you find that the fogging is worse on frame one, and then has a cyclical pattern (meaning diminishing some and then increasing in strength), plus disappearing more and more the farther into the roll you get? If so, I would suspect the film cartridge.

Just a thought...

- Thomas

Yes, it is only on the first 12 frames and gets less intense as you go from the beginning to the place where it ends

Check the lid and the cap of your processing tanks for cracks and light leaks, even a tiny amount would cause something like this. I had this happen years ago, a tiny tiny split on the plastic lid caused a light leak along the edge of the tank which went down the side, fogging just the last few frames, I was rolling from the front of the cassette. I figured it out by processing two rolls, one rolled from the front (as in pulling film out of the cassette directly onto reel) and one from the back (as in pulling all film out then starting the reel with the end of the roll and moving forward.) What tiped me off is that with two different cameras, loaded in a tank at such, the same areas in reel were fogged. Tiny crack, doesn't take much for fog. Also check to make sure your overhead floro-tubes are not glowing, keep them off as long as possible before rolling.