My Holga 120 Panoramic Scratches Film!

[Andrew O'Neill]

 

[Arthurwg]

No idea how to solve your problem, but when I used Holgas extensively, I covered sharp interior surfaces that contacted the film with black masking tape. Seems to have helped.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

No idea how to solve your problem, but when I used Holgas extensively, I covered sharp interior surfaces that contacted the film with black masking tape. Seems to have helped.

I'll try that, thanks!

 

[itsdoable]

Not sure those are scratches, as they usually scratch emulsion off, so they are light in the negative, and leave dark streaks in the positive.

A dark mark on the negative means it was exposed there, or something sticky there prevented the developer from processing the film. Can you see through the dark spots on the negative, or do they look like unprocessed film?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Not sure those are scratches, as they usually scratch emulsion off, so they are light in the negative, and leave dark streaks in the positive.

A dark mark on the negative means it was exposed there, or something sticky there prevented the developer from processing the film. Can you see through the dark spots on the negative, or do they look like unprocessed film?

Too hard to see through scratches. Definitely the whole role was processed properly.

 

[MTGseattle]

Andrew.

When you show the recent negative, I think you have a couple of vertical scratches on the left side that almost correspond with the stress marks you are curious about.

Mine scratches film too. Your thread has inspired me to head into the "shop" and see if I can rectify the issue. Someone posted the idea about creating a roll of fine grain sandpaper and rolling it through the camera a couple of times. I will try that.
I can't remember who suggested it, but all credit to them for a good idea.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Andrew.

When you show the recent negative, I think you have a couple of vertical scratches on the left side that almost correspond with the stress marks you are curious about.

Mine scratches film too. Your thread has inspired me to head into the "shop" and see if I can rectify the issue. Someone posted the idea about creating a roll of fine grain sandpaper and rolling it through the camera a couple of times. I will try that.
I can't remember who suggested it, but all credit to them for a good idea.

That is a good idea... I'll try it!

 

[Chuck1]

Heat might melt the roughness smooth

 

[MattKing]

Not sure those are scratches, as they usually scratch emulsion off, so they are light in the negative, and leave dark streaks in the positive.

A dark mark on the negative means it was exposed there, or something sticky there prevented the developer from processing the film. Can you see through the dark spots on the negative, or do they look like unprocessed film?

A scratch on the substrate can affect the transparency of the substrate, resulting in less transmission through that part, and a corresponding lighter area in the print.
Can you see any scratches on the surface itself @Andrew O'Neill ?

 

[itsdoable]

A scratch on the substrate can affect the transparency of the substrate, resulting in less transmission through that part, and a corresponding lighter area in the print.
Can you see any scratches on the surface itself @Andrew O'Neill ?

I have rarely seen dark scratches, and you should be able to tell by examining the negative.

These do not look like scratches,

They look like something dripped or marked the negative while it passed by - were these negatives scanned on a flat bed? If they were scratches, you should seem that on the negative, if they are just opaque spots, that is not a scratch.

These are more scratch like in shape, but I'm guessing they are not:

Vertical lines rarely scratch in the camera, and they are dark. Can you see the scratch on the emulsion, or just a dark line on the emulsion?

 

[mshchem]

A scratch on the substrate can affect the transparency of the substrate, resulting in less transmission through that part, and a corresponding lighter area in the print.
Can you see any scratches on the surface itself @Andrew O'Neill ?

This is my thought too. If you bend some transparent plastics you'll see whitening (reflected light) which shows up as opacity on transmission. Could be happening anywhere in the camera even (remote chance) through the backing paper.

Stress-whitening - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Interesting... That never crossed my mind.

 

[djdister]

Both scratches and the stress marks could likely be alleviated by the placement of rollers on each side of the film mask, but then it would no longer be a Holga...

 

[mshchem]

Both scratches and the stress marks could likely be alleviated by the placement of rollers on each side of the film mask, but then it would no longer be a Holga...

So would a Horseman 6x12 back on a Crown Graphic, I tried that and trust me it's a pain in the butt.

I have an old but still functional Fujica G617. It's rewarding but a bit unwieldy. A Holgapan would fit nicely in my bicycle bag, would be less worrisome going over curbs.

I was out yesterday (no camera, on bicycle) I started home from the market before I unlocked the bike from the rack. I didn't get very far , so Holga could be fun.