Light stripes on 120 negatives

I have had this problem since I first got my Hasselblad 501CM:
some negatives (only some) exhibit lighter edges, where the images looks like its fading away at the left-right sides of the 6x6 negative. I have tried many things to help me identify the problem and cure it to no avail. The whole lens-body-back is a year and half old, checked a couple times by the official Hassy guy in Athens and the negatives receive all the attention that a 120 spool needs (away from bright light sources, etc). It also happens on many films so it must be the camera, even though I am puzzled why the technician wouldn't see the problem.

You can take a look at a few images in my gallery that show the problem, such as the "Jump" and "Fishing Boat in Martinique" and the "Grandmother".

Any ideas?

I had a similar problem for awhile, except that my negs were denser along both edges. My problem was my agitation style, exacerbated I suppose by the reels I was using at the time (Kindermann.)

I now process with a Jobo, and I no longer have this problem.

For what it's worth,

At first it looked like a light leak I had many years ago when removing the roll from the camera (not a Hasselblad ). The film was just not wound tightly enough and had to be pulled tight. On my Mamiya C330f I just drop the roll into my hand from the camera instead of attempting to pull it out with fingers. Haven’t had a problem for years.

However, on second look, I agree with George. It does look a bit like an agitation problem. I have had agitation problems coupled with inappropriate tank levels
In the past. The results were slightly different from Aristotelis’. Since then, using the exact same materials in a stainless steel reel system, I agitate 6 inversions to start followed by three inversions every minute (D76 and HC110) and every 2 minutes (Rodinal) with the usual rapping to remove bubbles. The tanks are returned to a water bath and remain very quiescent between agitation. Semi-stand?

I hope you work out the problem as it can be very frustrating.

I'm almost certain it's an agitation issue. I had the same symptoms a few months ago. The thread on PN is

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00C7Py

Not only do you need to make sure you are getting enough flow change during agitation, you also need to make sure there is enough air left in the tank for the liquid to move around. I have found this particularly an issue with my 1 roll 120 SS tank. It's very easy to fill it all the way up, especially since there is only a small gap above the reel and below the lid. 16 oz is good, 17 oz is not. My dual 120 tank is actually kind of big for 2 reels, and there's a lot of room at the top. No issues with that one.

I have switched to 10s of agitation every minute, rather than my usual 5s/30s. My issues have disappeared.

allan

Thank you guys, I will look into it.
I am going to get a CPP-2 soon anyway, so I hope that will be the end of the problem.

Hey Ari,
Yes, definitely agitation. I had the same problem last week with my 120 negs and only noticed it in the contacts I printed yesterday. About 8 months ago I switched from plastic to Stainless tanks and reels exclusively and when I did, I changed my agitation style only slightly (one of the old SS tanks lid leaked a bit when inverted completely). Last week, I had several rolls to process and I processed two of six in the plastic. These two rolls had over developed at the edges. It seems the change in inversion style was wrong for the plastic.

I had had this intermitantly before switching to SS and it seems that I've read about this problem more with plastic than with stainless. Am I wrong?
Anyway good luck with the new equipment, Ari.
Best regards,
James

Some kind of idea has crept up in the last few years about too much agitation. One can not overagitate. As long as you replace the spent developer next to the film, no extra development will occure with more agitation.

If you agitate not enoungh trying to be gentle, some spent developer gets replaced and some doesn`t resulting in undeveloped centers or a silly thing some call surge marks.

The best method is a double size tank with one empty reel on top and just enough developer to cover the film. Agitate by inversion or rolling just like a Jobo. The film comes completely out of the developer just like sheet film has been done for decades.

This borders on violent, yet there are no marks or uneven development ever.

Patterson tanks work because there is a lot of unfilled space in the top where the developer goes. Same principle.

Check the shutter? Some sweeping focal plane shutters will cause this.

I got this from inserting the dark slide in bright sunlight - for some shots - it made a cool effect - Now I am careful to insert the dark slide in a shady place.