Polaroid film lensflare or spots/problem?

Valentins_Visuals · Jan 26, 2022

Hello everyone,

Some of my SX-70 photod have a circular spot on them and I am wondering if it is a lensflare or maybe something else? In some of the shots I did not photograph into the sun, so it the lensflare theory seems kind of odd… what do you think?
I attached some photos.
All the best and thanks in advance,
Valentin

foc · Jan 27, 2022

They don't look like lens flare to me. They appear to be chemical marks.
Have a look at the rollers in the camera. These are located when the film exits the film pack.
If there is some dried matter on the roller it will leave a little "bump" on it and when the film passes through the rollers the chemical inside the photo is not evenly distributed.
I am not sure if you can open the film door without exposing the next photo and so losing a shot.
Let us know how you get on, please.

AgX · Jan 27, 2022

A bump on a rolller however one would expect to yield a repetitive marking.

Kino · Jan 27, 2022

OP fails to note if this is a fresh or older film pack and, perhaps, how the film was stored prior to shooting.

Was it a relatively fresh pack of film?
Have you ever cleaned the rollers on your camera?
How was the film stored?

It may just be the chemical pods are aged and starting to crystalize...

Valentins_Visuals · Jan 28, 2022

Thanks for your replies! The film pack was fresh. I shot in relatively cold temperatures though (around 30° Fahrenheit or 0° in Celcius).

I attached a picture of what I understand to be the rollers, they are pretty clean in my opinion... The weird thing is that the first and the last picture I posted in my original post, are shot on two different SX-70s...

foc · Jan 28, 2022

Yes, they are the rollers, and thanks for posting the photos.

If you have a micro cloth, like the one used to clean reading glasses, then you could rub along the rollers, then rotate the roller, a 1/4 rotation, clean again along the roller and repeat until you have both rollers cleaned.

If there are any stubborn spots (you will probably feel them as you clean even if you don't see them) then use a drop of methylated spirits/denatured alcohol and it should do the trick.

At least it will eliminate the rollers as a cause if the problem persists.

Let us know how you get on.

Kino · Jan 28, 2022

If you saved the box/wrapper from the pack, I would send an email to the film pack manufacturer with a digital shot of the problem along with any case/lot information stamped on the package.

Maybe they can assist.

Polaroid film lensflare or spots/problem?

Valentins_Visuals

foc

AgX

Kino

Valentins_Visuals

foc

Kino

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