The pretty close to definitive guide to how you screwed up

[Eric Rose]

This should be a sticky. Mainly to do with development errors.

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/common-...lnJapcdY80Pk5mE&___from_store=ilford_brochure

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thank you for posting that, Eric. I can show this to my students this coming school year... they always make those very same mistakes.

 

[Sirius Glass]

@Eric Rose =====>> Eric, you just gave me more things to put on my "To Do" List. I have some catching up to do!



This should be a sticky.

 

[Luckless]

"EDGE SIGNING IS VISIBLE BUT NO IMAGES SHOW ON FILM" section seems to overlook the slightly awkward option of your camera being broken... Sadly it is rather unlikely that any amount of care while loading film will be able to fix a broken shutter...

 

[NedL]

Surprised they didn't put "darker band along edge of film or edge of frames" after "lighter band along edge of film".
As most film cameras are getting older, light leaks happen and light seals fail.... also my stupid bulk loader has a pinhole light leak that over a long period of time gets to the edge of the film inside it... I have to store it in a black plastic bag.

 

[Eric Rose]

Surprised they didn't put "darker band along edge of film or edge of frames" after "lighter band along edge of film".
As most film cameras are getting older, light leaks happen and light seals fail.... also my stupid bulk loader has a pinhole light leak that over a long period of time gets to the edge of the film inside it... I have to store it in a black plastic bag.

As you can see it's about processing errors.

 

[NedL]

Right, fair enough!

 

[mpirie]

Yep, been there, done all of those!

Mike

 

[blockend]

It goes against the current trend for endless experimentation of equipment and materials, but the one camera, one film, one developer approach has a lot to commend it for consistent negatives. Cut down the variables and tweak results to perfection.

 

[foc]

This is an excellent resource, thank you for posting.
I think it is very well laid out and easy to understand.
There used to be this one
https://www.olympus-lifescience.com...e/primer/photomicrography/bwprocessingerrors/ for B&W
https://www.olympus-lifescience.com...e/primer/photomicrography/colornegprocerrors/ for colour

The Ilford one is much easier to use.

 

[Peltigera]

Yep, been there, done all of those!

Mike

Yes, but how many films did you use to do all of those?

 

[Prest_400]

Did the first mistake... Of confusing fixer with developer. Realised after a very efficient 30s of initial agitation. Ditched the fix and poured developer, to try salvage whatever was left. Very very faint negative images. HP5 in 120 has been excellently robust except for this occasion for the obvious reason!
Nowadays, as I usually keep a working solution of fix usually mixed, I only bring it to the development workstation prior it is needed.

A couple minor faults leading to overdevelopment were due to high temp (misreading thermometer). 24C instead of 20C gave nice contrasty HP5 however. And once through mistaking HC110 dilution E for H which gave me contrasty Fomapan. Both occasions still were usable however.

 

[Sirius Glass]

After once using fixer for developer, I now line up the bottles of chemicals in order from front to rear and check it several times before I start developing film.

 

[Pentode]

I kept looking for where the guide says “You should’ve stayed in school”.

 

[CMoore]

I gotta tell you Eric, when i saw the title of your post....... I thought you had written a book...with that name.

Right after i joined APUG, during my Photography Class at my local college, i did an Excellent Job with #2.
"Edge signing is visible but no images show on film"

I usually pay strict attention to the rewind knob after i load film, but i was so anxious to try my Olympus that was just back from a CLA, that i forgot.
It is kind of a long and embarrassing story after that to development of the film.

 

[blockend]

Am I the only one who thinks the over developed negative density looks about right?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Am I the only one who thinks the over developed negative density looks about right?

Yep, I'll bet when you talk you hear you voice echo because you are the only one in the room.

 

[blockend]

Yep, I'll bet when you talk you hear you voice echo because you are the only one in the room.

Leaving aside edge density, which is a product of scanning negatives and makes every example look like it wasn't fixed properly, and the fact it's an interior shot apparently without flash, I'd be reasonably happy to get the tonal separation shown. There's little difference in the rebate density between over exposed and over developed examples. The clearest areas (densest blacks) appear lighter than the film base (must be an optical illusion), and the darkest parts of the negative still show detail. The only indication the negative is over-developed is slight bleed on the edge numbers, but as it's no worse that the over exposed image, and we're having to interpret what we're seeing through a contact scan, I still reckon it is no more than slightly over-dev'd, if I'm interpreting what I'm seeing properly.

 

[jtk]

This should be a sticky. Mainly to do with development errors.

https://www.ilfordphoto.com/common-...lnJapcdY80Pk5mE&___from_store=ilford_brochure

Fun! Good job Ilford! George Eastman might have avoided his tragic end if Ilford had internet skills back then.

 

[Radost]

How do you "Check the progress of a films appearance when fixing it before moving on to the wash stage"?

 

[jvo]

you can develop by inspection but a little difficult with modern film, etc.

best way is "by the clock", (check instruction sheet), or testing the clearing time for a strip of film and doubling that time.

 

[MattKing]

How do you "Check the progress of a films appearance when fixing it before moving on to the wash stage"?

If you use an acid stop bath, you can perform most (in some case all) of the fixing step in room light.
You can probably do the same if you use a water rinse as a stop, and your fixer is at least a bit acidic.
Once all the developer in or on the film is rinsed away and neutralized, there will be nothing left in or on the film which would serve as a developer for the room light exposed but not yet fixed away silver halides.
Phil Davis' BTZS procedure advocates turning on the lights once the stop bath is in the tube.

 

[MattKing]

The "check" can be just what awty says, and you can do it on the film itself as well.
When you are half way through your expected fixing time, open the tank in the room light, pull out the reel and pull out the film to the first frame. If it has fully cleared, roll/feed it back into the reel, put the reel back into the tank. Then close the tank and continue the fixing time for the same amount of time more - effectively twice the clearing time.
If you are fixing T-Max or Delta films, a total fixing time that is three times the clearing time is prudent.
It is easier to use a separate clip of film for the check.

 

[Radost]

Are you asking about whether it is fixed fully or whether it is developed the right amount?
For fixing you cut off the tongue of your film, put it in a small jar with the fixer you will be using, time how long it takes for the film to completely clear then double the time for fixing
If you cant do that then go by the manufactures nominal time. If the fixer is weak and the film still has the white cloudy silver halides then you only need to put it back into the fixer. You can even do that after the film is dry if you only notice it then..

So I can try to fix further a day after when the film is dry?
I think I messed up my fixer.
I think i only put 300 ml to 700ml water in my kodak fixer mix and did only 5 minutes of fixing. Serves me right for not checking a leader first.

 

[awty]

So I can try to fix further a day after when the film is dry?
I think I messed up my fixer.
I think i only put 300 ml to 700ml water in my kodak fixer mix and did only 5 minutes of fixing. Serves me right for not checking a leader first.

Yes you can, should be no problem at all. Done so myself even some weeks later.