What happened to my 120 rolls?

Marc Estalella

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Hello everyone!

Recently I picked up my negatives of the lab and there were light leaks. They told me that these leaks have been caused by the camera, but I've taken many photos with this camera (Fujigs645s) and no light leak has ever appeared. I think that the leaks come from a "fat roll" but they are exactly the same on both rolls and in the same places...

What do you think?

Thanks!
 

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reddesert

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If you don't have a film holder like the one Sirius posted - I use an opaque heavy foil bag, like the ones that coffee beans or dried fruit come in, to store 120 rolls before and after they are in the camera. They fold up to nothing and I have a never-ending supply as long as I keep drinking coffee.
 

Huss

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Does not look like fat rolling to me - I used to get fat rolls in my Fuji GW690III - the only camera I used that would often do that. Fat rolling will expose along the edges much more - not across the frame like yours has.

Have you checked the seals on the back door?
 

MattKing

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I have one camera that if I put it on a tripod the wrong way, the door flexes and I can have problems with a light leak near the latch.
So it might be something particular to what happened with your camera that day.
 

albada

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Patrick Robert James said:
It looks repetitive in the same position so my guess would be you have a leak on one side of the bellows, probably around the frame.
Click to expand...

The leak extends past the image-frame and into the rebate, so it's not a leak in the bellows.
The leak extends from edge to edge, so it occurred where the film was off a spool.
Except for one place, the leak has uniform density from edge to edge, so the leak isn't at the top or bottom of the camera.

It seems that light is leaking from the front of the camera into a gap between roll and baffle, but I can't see how that could happen.

Mark
 

OAPOli

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The GS645S has a plate in front (where the cow bar goes), maybe it's loose and lets light in? From the frame numbers they occur in the end on the roll so the leak could be on the left side.

Also: it looks like the end of the roll is fogged, missing frames on the first picture, and blue and green streaks mean yellow and magenta light.
 
OP
OP

Marc Estalella

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Yes I did! And after these rolls I shot a b&w one and developed it myself. Everything was fine on that roll.
 

BAC1967

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At the very least, I bring a few pre-cut sheets of aluminum foil to wrap the film in.
 

tom williams

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Marc - what is a 'fat roll'? And how does it lead to light leaks?
Thanks
Tom
 

Sirius Glass

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tom williams said:
Marc - what is a 'fat roll'? And how does it lead to light leaks?
Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...

The roll was not sealed so that the roll was tight, hence fat, and light leaked in.
 

Dwight Anderson

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I have the same camera and occasionally get a fat roll, the tension roller on the take up side doesn't make contact until near the end of the film. So if the tapered end of the backing paper slips out a bit as you're loading, it creates a hump and it rolls eccentrically. Make sure the take up spool has a tight roll before you close the back. I've never had one as bad as the attached photo, but it explains the marks on yours. Also, sometimes the taper on one brand of film doesn't match the slot on a different brand spool very well, causing a hump as well.
 

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DWThomas

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I admit to no working familiarity with the specific camera, but the apparent even width and shading across the film edge-to-edge seems (to me) awfully unlikely due to loose wrapping. In other circumstances I have seen such a pattern from light through a leaking seal or bad rear door closure getting to the film while it's between a spool and the frame mask. Severity of such leaks can also vary wildly depending on ambient light and orientation of the camera --- and how long between exposures; e.g., they can be frustrating!
 
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