Sharp white spots on negatives

[Ariston]

Squiggly lines is definitely dust, in my experience.

 

[Robert Canis]

Do you have more than one back, and could the problem be back specific?

I have 3 and it occurs in all.

 

[Robert Canis]

In order for me to rule out chemical particles, I think I'm going to send a roll away for processing, and then if it it comes back with the same issue I will know for definite that the problem lies with the camera.
I really appreciate all your input. Thanks!

 

[Robert Canis]

Do you have more than one back, and could the problem be back specific?

I have 3 and it's happening with all of them.

 

[Robert Canis]

Here are some scans which might, perhaps, shed a little more light on the issue.

 

[fs999]

Seems that the emulsion is damaged.

 

[Robert Canis]

How would that happen do you think?

 

[david schaller]

I think it's dust that settled on the wet negatives.

 

[fs999]

How would that happen do you think?

Perhaps in the camera or during processing or when drying...

 

[Donald Qualls]

I think it's dust that settled on the wet negatives.

That would show as white in the print, not white on the negative and black in the print.

 

[Robert Canis]

That would show as white in the print, not white on the negative and black in the print.

Exactly! Carrying out tests so will post the results soon.

 

[koraks]

Clean out your camera and backs. You have muck floating around in your system that finds its way onto the film, sitting there while you expose the frames, resulting in unexposed 'shadows' of particulate matter.

 

[Robert Canis]

Have done that several times now and will run a film through to see if any better. Thanks.

 

[Kino]

Try a distilled water stop instead of stop bath this time, or at least mix your stop bath with distilled water to see if there is a change.

 

[Donald Qualls]

@Kino While acid stop has been known to cause pinholes after a carbonate alkali developer, those are invariably round, with a "halo" of increased density around each mark where the gelatin has shrunk away from the hole and taken the image silver with it. Those look nothing like these irregular, sharp-edged marks, which are very typical of dust on the film at the time of exposure.

 

[Robert Canis]

It is making me think it is a dust/exposure issue and have since used a hand blower, brush and compressed air while the mirror's locked up.

 

[MattKing]

Check the darkslide slot.
The dust hides in there until you pull the slide out, and then it jumps out and flies around like a puppy looking for treats!

 

[Robert Canis]

Thanks. Being light-tight how do you suggest I check and clean? Any tips?

 

[MattKing]

Find out (from the manual or Hasselblad owners here) how to remove the dark slide with the back off the camera, and then inspect for debris, including particularly degraded light seals.
I'm guessing that you need new seals - something that needs to be done as part of regular maintenance.

 

[Robert Canis]

Find out (from the manual or Hasselblad owners here) how to remove the dark slide with the back off the camera, and then inspect for debris, including particularly degraded light seals.
I'm guessing that you need new seals - something that needs to be done as part of regular maintenance.

Thank you for your suggestion.

 

[michaelfoto]

Suggest very thorough inspection of the auxiliary shutter next to the film gate. A lot of air is moved during operation. Maybe even some antireflective treatment flaking has been reported on late model Hasselblads.

 

[Robert Canis]

Thank you. I have given it a thorough clean with compressed air (held at a distance) and blower as well as using de-ionised water for ALL steps including filtering (twice through cotton wool pads) the fix. First signs are positive where, previously, I have had spots on nearly all images but now on only 2 or 3. The goal, of course, is to completely eradicate the issue (if that's possible) and so will begin a process of elimination by taking out steps to pinpoint where the problem comes from.

 

[canuhead]

That you're only seeing this with your b/w film suggests to me its a processing issue, and not camera related. if it was equipment, then your slides would exhibit these issues as well. so now wondering how clean your tank loading room is. I don't know if dust would stick to the emulsion when the developer hits it, but I can't think of anything else.

 

[Robert Canis]

It's actually very difficult to tell on transparency since static draws any dust onto the sleeves during inspection and what I am
looking for are tiny black dots so they may well be on there, too. With a B&W neg it stands out like the proverbial! Everything during development is spotless. One way to test would be for me to send a B&W film to a lab and see how it comes back.