Strange colors between sprocket holes?

dmr · Jul 20, 2017

I'm wondering if anyone has seen this before?

I'm climbing the learning curve on C41 processing and came across something strange. On one roll, one roll only out of several I recently processed, I noticed some unexpected blue-ish stains or splotches between the sprocket holes on the first few frames. First few frames only. All of the others are normal.

All of the images, including the ones where the blue marks appear, appear normal when scanned and printed. This is Svema C41 film.

Anyone seen this before? Thanks.

Anon Ymous · Jul 20, 2017

Light leak?

msage · Jul 20, 2017

Look like light fog, light coming thought the sprocket holes. I have seen this before. Is this at the start or end of the roll? Usually the roll will have fogged areas on other parts of the roll.

dmr · Jul 20, 2017

It was the start of the roll. I'll look for the leader in the trash and see if it gives any more clues.

No fogging at all. Below is the third (edit, actually the 4th, but right where it's showing the symptom) shot from the roll and it looks quite normal. The pastel-ish tones are typical of the Svema film.

Photo Engineer · Jul 20, 2017

Ive seen this before, but doggone it, I've forgotten the exact cause. It seems to me it might be a pressure sensitivity problem with film that is hard to wind. Could that be it? It is strictly limited to the sprocket holes and can come and go. That is all I can get from memory, but there were several more.

PE

Theo Sulphate · Jul 20, 2017

dmr said:
... The pastel-ish tones are typical of the Svema film.

Sorry that I can't help with the blue areas between the sprocket holes, but I love the look of that film! It's perfect for that art-demo diner.

AgX · Jul 20, 2017

At first sight it looks like the spooled film has been exposed from behind through its own rebates, partly covering itself. Thus some form of light leak.

However that fogging is strictly limited to the width of the perforation on both rebates. Which would need a rather peculiar leaking.
(see PE's comment too.)

dmr · Jul 20, 2017

Theo Sulphate said:
Sorry that I can't help with the blue areas between the sprocket holes, but I love the look of that film! It's perfect for that art-demo diner.

Here's another shot on that film, one of the famous Bridges of Madison County. It has somewhat muted pastel tones. It's growing on me. Great rendition of modern antiquities.

dmr · Jul 20, 2017

AgX said:
At first sight it looks like the spooled film has been exposed from behind through its own rebates, partly covering itself. Thus some form of light leak.

However that fogging is strictly limited to the width of the perforation on both rebates. Which would need a rather peculiar leaking.
(see PE's comment too.)

I'm wondering if it isn't some kind of light-piping along the edges with the sprocket holes? What I've been doing since I started doing my own C41 processing is rewinding slowly until I feel the leader release from the take-up spool and then leave a couple of inches sticking out so can load the film on the reel without futzing with a bottle opener in the dark. That particular roll sat for several days on a nightstand while I was out of town. However, my third C41 test roll from the other thread sat in the same place for several days longer, again with the leader out a couple of inches, and did not show any of the sprocket coloring.

AgX · Jul 20, 2017

Light piping would look different.

emacs · Jul 20, 2017

Looks like someone else using Svema color film also ended up with light leaks in the sprocket holes back in 2014: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Makes me think it's something that occurred during manufacture/respooling and not in your camera.

AgX · Jul 20, 2017

It would be interesting to know what Svema film that is:
There is the "original" Svemacolor DC 100 from the 90s, rebranded but still in original Svema conversion/packaging.
And there are some fake Svema conversions around.

dmr · Jul 20, 2017

AgX said:
It would be interesting to know what Svema film that is:

Surf here:

Dead Link Removed

The main sample shot has the same look and feel that my shots do. Some of the others there appear more saturated.

AgX · Jul 20, 2017

In any case, Svema never coated a C-41 film.

Kino · Jul 21, 2017

More than likely the fogging through the perfs were a result of a very low level exposure of a roll in the darkroom used to spool the bulk film onto cassettes. Look at how well defined the perforation exposures are in the middle and how they become softer toward the left. This suggests to me this bit of film was just under the strand rolling off the master roll and a brief flash of light hit the strand above, shining down through the perforation and exposing the areas between the perforations. Since the exposure was so brief, and the strand above acted as a mask, there would be no exposure in the image area. The light source would have been very much a point source, as the sharpness of the perforations in the center indicates.

bvy · Jul 21, 2017

Light leak in the cassette? Can you check?

dmr · Jul 21, 2017

bvy said:
Light leak in the cassette? Can you check?

Uh, if I really really had to, I guess I could, but dumpster-diving is not my idea of fun.

Anyway, I have more of this on the way.

What I might do is shoot one roll and roll it all the way back in and keep it in very subdued light until I process it, and do another but keep the leader out and leave it in room light for a few days to see what happens.

quixotic · May 9, 2018

Doesn't this thread describe what's happening? (reason I'm asking is because I just finished developing some rollei rpx 25, and I'm seeing the same thing.) I initially used the wrong technique on the film extractor, so I'm wondering it that's it.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/development-streaks-along-35mm-neg-sprocket-holes.45088/

AgX · May 10, 2018

Could be stress marks.

AgX · May 10, 2018

Back to the OP's film: no one seem to wonder on the colour of the marks.

foc · May 11, 2018

The blue/green colour on the negs would suggest a light source of yellow/orange (suggesting tungsten light)

If I understand this correctly, the film is sold under the Svema name (who, as AgX correctly said, did not coat C41 film) then this is a repackage film in a cassette that is relabeled. (Yes?)
Is it a boutique style repackaged film? Was it reloaded from a 100 foot bulk roll? Light leak in the bulk loader and /or reloading cassette? (as suggested by emacs, above).

The only other suggestion I can think of is an intermittent light leak in the camera (near the sprocket teeth).

Stress marks are streaks that appear as if they come from the sprocket holes on the film so I don't think it is that.

AgX · May 11, 2018

With the stress marks I referred to the other artefact shown.
The OP's sample obviously shows images of perforation holes, with the undeveloped, unfixed film yielding enough density to shade the underlying winding.

railwayman3 · May 12, 2018

I've seen this effect a few times over the years on various films (always near the beginning).....I've just assumed that it was a slight light-fogging through adjacent sprocket holes, perhaps through loading or unloading the camera in bright light. Never regarded it as a real problem.

Born2Late · May 12, 2018

I love the art deco style.

SNewman · Aug 7, 2018

dmr said:
I'm wondering if anyone has seen this before?

[...]

This is Svema C41 film.

Anyone seen this before? Thanks.

I've seen that with the Rollei Digibase films. I shot Svema 125 recently myself and got the same effects at the start of the roll, by the way.

Strange colors between sprocket holes?

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