[Leica] Re: M6 scratching film

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

I personally doubt if your cameras are scratching film. The more film used,
the smoother everything gets. It's physics. And to have two cameras doing
it? Unlikely, IMHO. A piece of grit lodged somewhere maybe, but in two
cameras? Still highly unlikely.

I personally would suspect dirty film canisters. The light seal fuzzy
material can collect grit very easily. Where and how do you store your
film. Do you reload cartridges? Anyway... look at things other than the
camera itself.

I have, over the years, scratched film. It never ever was the camera.
Always an external reason.

Jim



At 09:22 PM 3/7/99 -0800, you wrote:
>...the story doesn't end. 
>
>	Tonight, as I reviewed the negatives from my own comparison of D3200
>and P3200 I discovered horizontal scratches on both films!
>	Unlike earlier scratches, these are visible with the loupe. The
>scratches are most likely caused in the camera; I hand-processed the film in
>small tanks...the lines are parallel to the film edge. I'm pretty sure the
>scratches are on the emulsion side. There are often two or three individual
>scratches, running parallel to each other, showing up for a distance, then
not.
>	I had cleaned the camera thoroughly, prior to exposure, including
>cleaning the pressure plate with alcohol. 
>	The problem seems to be worse with the Delta 3200 than the P3200, but
>they're so slight and difficult to spot with my cheap loupt that I've not 
>scoured the whole length of the rolls to be sure.
>	I'm certain the scratches would show up in scans; I've seen the same 
>thing before.
>
>	Both my M6 bodies appear scratch film, which is very discouraging for a
>Leica newbie who switched loyalty after more than 20 years of Nikons (and no
>film scratches).
>
>	Someone a while back suggested polishing some of the camera film guides
>with a mild abrasive. What should I look for in a Leica that's on the
emulsion
>side?
>
>	Thanks for listening/reading. Sometimes it helps just to complain.
>
>-Gary
> Gary S. Colby
> colbyg@ulv.edu
>