Puzzled by edge development

[sly]

The last couple of rolls of 120 I've developed have some severe edge development. Film HP5+, an old friend, and developer DIY rodinal 1+50. I've been making it myself for a year or more. I've not changed anything in my method of agitation - first 30 secs, then 4 smooth inversions in 5 secs, every 30 sec for the rest of development. With the last roll I slowed that down to two inversions in 5 secs, but the overdeveloped edges were the same. I've been developing film for decades and haven't seen edge development like this since I was trying different methods and tanks for developing sheet film, when I first made the jump to LF.

Anyone have any ideas what might be going on?

 

[MattKing]

Any change in the reels or tanks?

Any sign of build-up on the reels?

Any increase in coffee consumption?

 

[PittP]

Greetings Sly, just had a look at your beautiful portfolio. Thank you for sharing! No trace of severe edge development, however.
Did you prepare a new batch of DIY-Rodinal?
Could you kindly post a sample scan showing this edge development? Well, some of us may be desperately looking to create this effect...

 

[bernard_L]

a sample scan

A sample what ???

 

[Xmas]

Try refixing a strip.

 

[paul_c5x4]

If the over development extends beyond the rebate and right to the edge of the film, then I'd say you had a slack roll with a bit of light leak on the film. A digisnap or scan of the full width of film would help pin the problem down.

 

[sly]

Matt, same tanks, same reels, but I will check for build-up. Coffee consumption last year - nil. Coffee consumption this year - nil. Likely to continue to be nil.

I can't scan a neg, as I don't have a working computer in the house. Tried an isnap of the negs, but that didn't work well. I have included a blurry isnap of a pretty bad contact sheet. The edge development extends about 1/2 cm into the negs, more on one side than the other, but evenly along the length of the roll. On a print it's the opposite of vingetting - paler at the edges. Not a light leak - too even along both sides of the film, two different cameras. I haven't uploaded any of the bad ones - they're too hard to print unless I crop.

I'm well aquainted with what an under-fixed neg looks like, and given some time could probably find some samples of what one looks like when it's 30 years old. (Not good.) I check my fix with hypo-check if I've lost track of how old it is.

I think these rolls have all been developed in my most recent batch of DIY. Maybe I made an error mixing it or there was something different about the acetaminophen I used?

 

[canuhead]

what camera did you use ? that one frame *almost* look alike the film wasn't flat against the gate as the edge looks a bit soft unlike the other part of the frame where the edge is distinct. if that makes sense. I'm thinking less development process and more camera/ film issue, whatever that may be

 

[Ron789]

Looking at the example you provided I doubt it is a developing problem. Look at the top and bottom frame borders: on the left they are sharp, towards the right they are blurry and the image extends across the film imprint. Then the left of the next exposure is sharp again. The left border of the image is sharp, the right border is blurry. Looks to me like there is something wrong in the camera. The film may not be properly positioned in the frame so lights leaks through.

 

[MattKing]

Was it shot in a Holga?

 

[sly]

No. I expect all kinds of weirdness in my Holga. This was my Yashica LM. Been using it for years without a problem.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

The edge is developing because it has first been exposed, one way or the other, by a light leak or by physical damage. Check your camera's pressure plate, film alignment (film scraping while advancing, etc.), whether the roll is wound tightly, and so on.

Doremus

 

[PittP]

No. I expect all kinds of weirdness in my Holga. This was my Yashica LM. Been using it for years without a problem.

May be a small object in the light seal / between camera back (door) and body, possibly on the right hand side close to or right inside the bend of the back. This could explain the exposure on the film edge as well as poor fitting of the pressure plate in this place.
Hope it'll be a minor issue!

Good light!
Pitt

 

[sly]

I've got a roll in the Yashica now. I'll develop it in DDX. If it looks great, I'll blame the developer. If not, I'll look at the pressure plate. Thanks for your advice everyone.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I highly doubt it was the developer. I get marks like that if the film isn't held snug in the camera. I had an old C330 which did this.... my Holga always does this.

 

[winger]

Actually, it looks to me like the agitation wasn't quite random enough. The edges are more developed than the middle. Yes, ask me how I recognize it. If your developing time was short and if you swirled the developer instead of inverting, that could be it. On the rolls of mine that I had this issue, I used the twirly stick in the plastic tank. As long as I use my stainless tank and turn it between inversions, my rolls are evenly developed. As for the extreme edges of the film, that looks like the paper just wasn't completely as tight as it could/should be.