Light Leak or Development??

I have a problem that is intermittent and I don't know if the cause is from a film holder, the camera or in the darkroom. It doesn't look like a film holder problem with the splotches and I've used these before without any problems. I thought it might be the camera so I checked and I do have a couple small holes in the bellows but they were compressed when I used a 110mm lens in the shots before sunrise.

I made six exposures, developed (using fresh developer Pyrocat HD in trays) the first 3 sheets and had these splotches show up on 2 of the 3 sheets. I developed the last 3 today and no problems at all. Film is Hp5 but I had the same thing happen on a couple of sheets of Fp4.

it looks like what ever it was it didn't affect the area under the tabs in the holder so i think it happened while it was in the holder.

Just a theory. . . . If you are taking the lens from a cold environment into a warm & humid environment, maybe condensation is forming on the lens elements? Though I have never seen condensation produce that exact pattern, it may be worth looking in to. I noticed my lens had condensation on the bellows side of the lens when I could no longer focus through the water droplets.

Or maybe condensation on the film itself?

First time you developed two sheets out of 3 came out of the same holder. Perhaps the holder has moisture in it that would promote the condensation. So it happened twice and both times as 2 sheets. I would suspect on of the holders,

These look like out of focus images of a textured surface. Is it possible that the first holder held some practice sheets that had already been exposed?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chris_4622

... Fp4.

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Expiration date?

I don't know what the expiration date was for the Fp4, the Hp5 is fresh from the special order last year. This problem happened with a negative I made in the house here and once at a friend's house. Never a problem with 5x7 under the same conditions. Thanks for the help, I'll keep trying to chase it down.

I took a film holder out in the sun today, both sides loaded with Hp 5. I put it in the camera and pulled the dark slide without opening the shutter. The other side I left without opening. I developed both sheets of film and discovered the dots on both sheets of film. Looks like my dark slides are not dark.

I used garolite xx for the slides, I thought this was what everyone is using these days.

It looks like incomplete fixing to me.