Strange happenings on 120 tri-x Help!

[michaelsalomon]

I noticed this faint line or bar at the top of the frames from a roll of 320 tri-x I recently developed. Im not sure if its flare, light leak or what. The bar does not appear anywhere else but near the top of the frames. The bar appears on every frame on the roll.

Film was shot on an overcast day, no harsh lighting. I used a hassy 500 c/m with a 150 chrome lens, no filters. I have never seen this on any other negs, my agitation has provided me with even density on just about everything I can remeber shooting, so I dont think its my agitation, but then again, who knows?

I have attatched a quick scan of the neg to illustrate what Im talking about

Thanks for any info anyone can offer,
Mike

 

[glbeas]

Looks an awful lot like the fixer level was too low, but not being able to see the neg I can't really tell.

 

[JHannon]

I sometimes get that on my Mamiya M645. Happens at certain shutter speeds. I think in my case the shutter curtian is not fully opening at times. Or may be lagging.

 

[Curt]

Was it a 645? there is a piece of cloth under the mirror that sometime hangs down. I can't explain why but I have locked up the mirror and seen while cleaning. I push it back up and have not had a problem. It would be on the top of the frame and product about the right size and blur that I see on you photo.

C

 

[Donald Qualls]

Dark on the print or inverted scan is light on the negative. That's underdevelopment, caused by either underfilling the tank, or the reel sliding up during development. My Paterson Super System 4 does this with 120. A temporary solution was to wrap two turns of masking tape around the core, positioned so the buttons on the springs inside the reel are just below the tap when the reel is seated. The tape doesn't last long, though (it's not very durable when wet), so as a longer term solution I'll probably carefully chuck the core in my lathe and cut a shallow groove for the buttons to seat into.

Others have used a faucet o-ring or rubber band for the same purpose...

 

[eddym]

I noticed this faint line or bar at the top of the frames from a roll of 320 tri-x I recently developed. Im not sure if its flare, light leak or what. The bar does not appear anywhere else but near the top of the frames. The bar appears on every frame on the roll.

You say that this bar is at the top of the frame on each negative, but you don't mention what camera you are using. On many 120 cameras, the film is oriented vertically (Hasselblad, Rollei, etc.) such that the top of the negative is between each frame, next to the clear film between frames. If this is your case, then the cause cannot be low fixer or developer level, because the bar would be along the edge of the film that was uppermost in the developing tank. I would look for something inside the camera blocking the light path.
If, however, the film runs horizontally through your camera (Mamiya 6) so that the bar is along the edge next to the reel, then low chemical level could be the case.

--Eddy

 

[bill schwab]

Mike,

If it is a Blad, this is not developer levels. I would look more at the problem being your lower, back shutter curtain not completely opening when you make exposures. Also, because the density is less near the right and left edges, is it a possibility that the lower curtain is bent or bowed slightly? It is not the mirror as the problem would be showing on the lower edge of the frame if so.

Bill