Help with developing results good and bad

[grat]

But I think the issue also might be to do with the shutter cable, I don't think I was pressing the cable trigger with conviction enough and maybe there has been a lag.

How firmly, or how long, shouldn't matter with a shutter in good condition. It should either trigger, or not, and should complete the open/close cycle regardless of how you press the shutter release. As long as you're not in "B" or "T" mode, how long you press the release for shouldn't be an issue.

I'd try a few test fires and see if it's working reliably, or sticking.

It won't be a super accurate way of checking, but you can use a program like Audacity to record the audio of the shutter cycle, and measure the length inside audacity and see if you're getting consistent results.

[TimHGuitar]

It almost looks like reticulation. That's when the film emulsion is softened due to too warm of wash water or chemicals and then it is placed into water or the next chemistry that is quite cooler than the previous water or chemical. This causes a shrinkage of the emulsion which gives the image a textured look. Not sure if that helps... but you can check on the wash water. If the temperature fluctuates then this could be a problem. I prefer tray processing and I process one sheet at a time. I don't think this is caused within the camera although your blank sheet of film was.

[grat]

It almost looks like reticulation. That's when the film emulsion is softened due to too warm of wash water or chemicals and then it is placed into water or the next chemistry that is quite cooler than the previous water or chemical. This causes a shrinkage of the emulsion which gives the image a textured look. Not sure if that helps... but you can check on the wash water. If the temperature fluctuates then this could be a problem. I prefer tray processing and I process one sheet at a time. I don't think this is caused within the camera although your blank sheet of film was.

How would only half the sheets in the tank be affected by reticulation?

I don't know why people are so opposed to tank processing. Tray processing has always struck me as the most difficult, and error-prone process, especially for panchromatic film.

I had a negative turn out exactly the same as his two weeks ago-- because of a mistake with the shutter, I basically over-exposed it by 10 or 11 stops. The negative was incredibly dark, but the scanner was able to recover by cranking up the gain. I got a usable image with heavy motion blur and considerable grain.

[Pat Kearns]

Some shutter cables have a small disk at the top to lock and unlock it by simply pressing and un-pressing it. Look at it to see if it is one of those. You may have triggered it by mistake leading to lock open and overexpose your negative. I have made that mistake before.

Glad to see you have tracked down the problem.

[Borris63]

Once again thank you to all, after more tests, it's not the developing, which I am happy about. It's either the shutter or or possible mistakes elsewhere but I am sure it's an error I am making, need to be more methodical, slow down, check and check again.

Cheers to a great community

[TimHGuitar]

Sometimes the wash water temperature will increase and decrease without our knowing it and some films may be affected while others aren't.

[earlnash]

The "bad" negatives are grossly out of focus, so it must involve a problem when you shot them. Maybe the tripod moved, or you hadn't tightened all the knobs (I've done all of this and more).