Thanks, Bill. As always you are a wealth of knowledge. D
on 11/27/01 3:31 PM, William Robb at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Delano Mireles" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 3:06 PM > Subject: question on damaged negs > > >> Hi all, >> >> I've recently run into some problems with negatives I've > received back from >> the local minilabs. There seem to be some scratches on the > negatives that >> I've received back after developments and prints. It is a bit > weird because >> the prints do not show any lines/scratches. This has happened > twice and I'm >> concerned whether it be my camera who is the culprit - maybe > scratching the >> film as it feeds through or the minilab. >> >> Is there a way to tell whether the lines/scratches are a > result of the >> minilab or camera? I really feel that it is the minilab > because of the >> prints and the fact that I developed a roll in between taking > rolls to two >> different labs and there are no scratches on that roll. Yet, > it seems odd >> that I would run into the same problem between 2 different > labs. >> >> How do these minilab processing machines work? Do the > employees roll the >> film on reels and process or does the machine simply take the > film and auto >> roll? >> >> Thanks for any help y'all can provide > > Generally, minilabs run the film one roll at a time by taping > the film to a leader card which pulls the film through the > machine. Depending on the processor and the amount of maintenace > it recieves, these machines can do a lot of damage. > It is also possible to scratch the film during printing or > sleeving. > A good way to see if it is the machine or the camera is to look > to see where the scratch ends. If it ends at the last frame > exposed, it is most likely camera induced. If it goes right to > the end of the film, it is likely the lab. If the scratch comes > and goes, likely it is the film processor. > A good way to pin down the lab on a scratch is to sacrifice a > roll of film, and run it through the camera, then pull the film > entirely out of the cassette and check for scratches. If the > film is unscratched, run it through the film processor and check > again for scratches. If the film still shows no scratches, run > it through the printer and check again. Finally run it through > the sleever. > > <unrelated to the topic> > From a lab operators perspective, film scratches are, > unfortunately, directly related to how demanding the > photographer is. The more demanding the photographer, the more > redo prints we make. The more times the film is run through the > machinery, the more chance there is of scratching it. I think it > is better to take a slightly substandard machine print to avoid > scratched negs than to insist that every speck of dust be gone > and that the shadow side of Aunt Jemmy isn't slightly magenta. > The nature of minilabs is such that it is difficult to provide > perfect prints first time. The nature of negatives is that they > will scratch in direct proportion to their value. > </unrelated to the topic> > William Robb > - > This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, > go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to > visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
