Confirmation reg Fomapan 100

[Mats_A]

I have now developed about 15 Fomapan 100, 9x12 cm negs. In tray with Foma LQN developer. 100% of them have pinholes. I really like the loke of the negs but these holes are a bother. I understand from reading about this here that other have had similar experiences. I would like to confirm this. Should I expect to always find pinholes in my Foma negs?
I have been extremely careful these last batches not to scratch the emulsion side. Only thing I can think of now is the neg holders. The dark slide could maybe cause this. Maybe I need to expose a neg outside the camera and develope normally. If there are pinholes in that neg I suppose I'll be buying Ilford. If not I'll be looking for new neg holders.

r

Mats

 

[RobertV]

Fomadon LQN is a regular contrast working Phenidone-Hydroquinone developer. Pinholes can be caused by a coating defect. Like needle pinns in the emulsion, causing small black dots in the photo.

Emulsion problems can be also caused by a too strong stop bath but a regular 1,5-2% Acetic or Citrid Acid stop will do fine, also on every Foma emulsion.
If you think it's an emulsion defect you can make a reclamation at your supplier incl. some sheets where the problem occurs under mentioned film and batch number.
He can contact the Foma factory to check out things.
To check out you have to develop a sheet blanc without being in any camera.

So far no defects are known on Fomapan sheet film emulsions except a possibility of a loose self adhesive strip and 120 roll film problems (small scratches) caused by cameras with a very tight loading system.

 

[Mats_A]

Ok. I will develope a sheet without putting it in the camera. Let's see what it looks like.

r

Mats

 

[RobertV]

You can develop by light, when searching for pinn holes.

 

[Mats_A]

You can develop by light, when searching for pinn holes.

Clever! Would not have thought of that.

r

Mats

 

[MartinP]

Might I suggest using a water "stop" bath for the test too, just in case your usual version is bizarrely acidic for some reason. Of course, generally one shouldn't change two things at once to run a test, but in this case it could get rid of a couple of possible causes and leave you with a clearer result ?

 

[Mats_A]

I use a Kodak stop-bath in what I think is a normal dilution. I will sacrifice 2 negs and develope one in my normal way. If that has no pinholes I will try one in water stop. By then I should have an answer. I suppose the fixer can't be the culprit int this?

r

Mats

 

[paulie]

do you blow of your dark slides before exposing ?
do you blow off the face of the film once loaded in holders?

 

[Mats_A]

do you blow of your dark slides before exposing ?
do you blow off the face of the film once loaded in holders?

Would not the dark slide be against the emulsion before exposing? What use is blowing of the other side?

I try to keep the holders as clean as I can when loading.

I think this is caused by the stop bath or a faulty batch. Would not a dark slide make a scratch? This are all pin holes.
I will make the test tomorrow.

r

Mats

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

When troubleshooting, only ever change one variable at a time. Or you will not know for sure what went wrong.

I used Foma 200 in 4x5" and had the same problem.

Would not a pinhole caused by dust be the shape of the dust particle? Not very many dust particles are perfectly round.

 

[mikebarger]

Gosh....another thread on poor QA at Foma.....no answers previously....that's not quite true....it was stated you'll be OK if you don't touch the film while wet or use it in a professional grade camera (120mm or 35mm).

I wouldn't expect to hear anything from Foma this time either.

Mike

 

[ntenny]

They do seem to have some pinhole problems. I've shot a bit of Fomapan 100 in 9x12, and while I haven't had pinholes on every sheet, I've certainly had more of them than I'm used to.

I really like the film, and it's not like I'm doing Great Timeless Work here---I'm quite low on the large-format learning curve still---so I'm not too worried about it for myself, but if I were shooting quality-critical material, my past experience would give me some pause.

-NT

 

[mhcfires]

I bought a 100' roll of shart dated Fomapan 100 very cheap. I have a roll in my IIIf, will probably shoot it this weekend, I can check the QC on my particular roll, though there is always a strong probability that out of 100 feet, some percentage will be screwed up.

 

[mikebarger]

I think that is the hard part for people trying to use Foma, you just never know when or how much bad film you're going to run into.

Mike

 

[thisismyname09]

I also bought a 100ft. roll of short dated fomapan 100. So far I haven't had a problem with pinholes. I've probably used around 10 - 20 ft of it.

 

[fschifano]

You can develop by light, when searching for pinn holes.

In fact, I think you'd have to. The pinholes, if they are indeed an emulsion defect won't show up nearly as well if the surrounding field isn't dark.

But here's something to check. I'd had "pinholes" with just about every film I've ever used in sheet sizes. Kodak, Ilford, the old Forte, and even some Foma. Not one of the films showed any signs other than little clear dots where they should not have been, that there was a real defect in the emulsion. If it were a bubble or a coating failure, I'd have been able to feel the irregularity in the film's coating with a finger, and there was no evidence of that. I tracked it down to dust, particularly me being lazy about scrupulously cleaning my film holders and keeping them that way. A bit of dust or any foreign material stuck to the emulsion will block the light and leave a clear space. So before you start chasing down phantoms, check the simple stuff first. Make sure your film holders and dark slides are clean. Dust them well with an anti-static cloth. I've found that the inexpensive disposable dust cloths you can find just about anywhere that sells cleaning supplies work very well. Store the holders in a plastic bag immediately after you've loaded them until you use them. I'll be that most of your "pinhole" problems disappear.

 

[Mats_A]

fschifano:

You could be right about the dust. A speck of dust on the emulsion would of course show up as a pinhole. Interesting. The film holders are very old and this is my first experience with sheet film. I most likely have NOT been dusting them enough.

I will take one straight out of the package and develope it. I'l post the results.

r

Mats

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

If the 'pinholes' are shaped like dust particles you know the source. Like I mentioned earlier, very few dust particles are perfectly round.

 

[Mats_A]

The verdict

Just back from the darkroom.

1. Took a brand new sheet from the package. Light on. Dust off with micro fiber cloth (very carefully). Developer - stop bath - fix - wash - dry - ligh table.
Result: About same amount of "pinholes"

2. Removed a sheet from a film holder. Light on. Dust off with micro fiber cloth (very carefully). Developer - stop bath - fix - wash - dry - ligh table.
Result: About same amount of "pinholes"

3. Last one was same as first but stop bath was only water.
Result: Still holes but less so.

I have only a loupe to enlarge with so I can't really say that the holes are in the emulsion and not dust. They look like holes. They are not round.
I really do think there is something wrong with this batch.

I bought them from Fomafoto in Norway so I will contact them and see what they say.

r

Mats

 

[Photo Engineer]

Do you use a prewet? Many times, a simple prewet for 1 minute will solve the problem.

PE

 

[Mats_A]

Do you use a prewet? Many times, a simple prewet for 1 minute will solve the problem.

PE

No I did not. I can try that. How much longer should I develope if I prewet?

r

Mats

 

[Photo Engineer]

Do not change development time.

PE

 

[Mats_A]

Do not change development time.

PE

With prewet, do you mean that I should put the sheet in a tray of water before developing? My understanding is that this should mean longer development time. What am I missing?

r

Mats

 

[RobertV]

No, just pre-soak with water 2-3 minutes and then in the developer for the same regular time.

Is your emulsion nr. : 016254-05 (exp. 2012-05)

BTW you're not missing something.

Best regards,

Robert

 

[Existing Light]

With prewet, do you mean that I should put the sheet in a tray of water before developing? My understanding is that this should mean longer development time. What am I missing?

r

Mats

What I do is

1) Prewet. (I prewet 3-5 minutes, but 2-3 minutes should be fine)
2) Develop (You'll have to find out developing and agitation regime of your choice. I've never used foma sheet film, so I cant suggest anything here
3) Stop (stop bath for me, but water will work, too, if you believe stop bath is causing pinholes)
4) Fix (in fixer of your choice)
5) Wash, then wetting agent
6) Hang to dry in steamy bathroom

The prewet doesnt increase "developing" time, but it does increase the "processing" time by however many minutes you prewet. I like to use the term "process" when I refer to every step from prewet to washing. That way I can use the term "develop" to refer only to the developing step. That's just my opinion on the matter, and someone else might think I'm full of shit, and that's fine with me