First post

[lolli089]

Hello,

this is my first post in this awesome forum here. I was reading a lot without registering, but now I made the step to be aktive here as well.
I shot a couple of Delta 100 on my Chamonix F1 4x5 in the last weeks and I found some strange things. On some photos a dark shadow shows up on the left side of the image. Does anybody have an idea what this could be? I thought maybe a bellow shadow - but I didn't do a lot of movements here. It appears on both my 90mm and my 150mm lense. A lightleak would be brighter and not darker, right?

Any help is welcome!

[Randy]

Welcome to the forum - nice images - and it does look like a light leak. I am sure you will get some helpful input as to what may have caused it. It looks to me like the light leak has affected most of each image except for the far left, which would be where the dark-slide is inserted into the film holder. Puzzling to me.

edit - perhaps it's just visual illusion to me but the area of less negative density seems to be that area from the top to the bottom at the far left in both images. The rest of both images looks pretty normal...which would mean that the area on the far left got less exposure.

[Jody_S]

Start by trying a different film holder, and keep track of which film holder is used with each image. It looks to me like the felt is missing from the light seal around the dark slides on one of your holders. 4x5 = easy and cheap to replace the whole holder.

[jp]

Looks like a mix of darker then brighter then the normal image. I'd investigate your processing. Try shooting something single-mid-toned like a gray wall on a cloudy day and process.

[Winger]

Are you pulling the darkslide all the way out?

[Leigh]

Are you pulling the darkslide all the way out?

That's an excellent question.

It certainly looks like a shadow from the leading edge of the darkslide.

- Leigh

[lolli089]

Are you pulling the darkslide all the way out?

Yes I do, should I maybe make a mark and not pull it all the way out?
Thanks a lot for the feedback. Never thought about it, that it could be a "big" lightleek.
I was always trying to explain the dark part to myself. But now when I think about it, your answers make total sense.

[Chris7521]

You should pull it all the way out. You have to be able to flip it over to show it's been exposed. It is not a light leak. I'm not sure what it is if you are not leaving the darkslide in it partially. Which by the way is a bad habit to reinsert partially after flipping it. You WILL end up not taking a shot for some reason and you will all of sudden loose track of what has been exposed.

[Doremus Scudder]

lollo089,

Welcome to the forum. Your problem looks to me like the classic mistake of pulling the back away from the camera when pulling/inserting the darkslide. Pinch the spring back to the rear standard with thumb and forefinger of one hand while pulling, inserting the darkslide with the other. I'm betting this will fix your problem. If not, then check the seating of the filmholder and look for leaks around the back on the side you insert the filmholder.

Best,

Doremus

[Reinhold Schable]

I'm assuming that we're looking at a positive print, rather than a scan of a negative.
If so, how can the dark band be a light leak ???

Reinhold

www.re.inventedPhotoEquip.com