Nikon F100, scratching negs, anyone else?
mark najjar
not my labs,
and it’s not my FE2s,FM2s, not my N6006.
Here’s what’s happening.
I occasionally, get a single scratch, along the length of a roll, on the
non-emulsion side.
By occasionally, this could be one out of 10 rolls, but it has also
occurred on
consecutive rolls. When the scratch occurs consecutively, it is in the
exact same location.
The scratching will go away, but can come back and is not is the same
place as previous occurances.
I’ve tried to align the scratched film strips to the mechanics inside
the camera, but this in inconclusive.
I have two theories, I’d please like to get comments, even from those
who’ve never seen this problem.
Theory 1.
A bit of dirt, gets caught somewhere on the film pressure plate and the
film, and the tension of the film plate against the film has been
increased on the F100. This may make it more likely to scratch the
non-emulsion side of the film.
On my Bronica ETRsi for instance, on newer backs, Bronica increased the
pressure of their plate after focus problems which they suspected might
have been helped by holding the film flatter, more pressure.
Theory 2,
There’s an extra piece of metal in the back door of the F100, that
doesn’t exist in my FE2s, FM2s, 6006, and it’s very different in my
newly acquired N80.
Please check out http://www.atlantastudios.com/nikon so you’ll see
what I’m talking about.
This angled piece of metal is located to the right of the F100’s film
pressure plate ( facing the open back ). At first I thought this piece
of metal just held the roll of film in. After closer inspection, I
believe this actually touches the film. When the door is closed, it’s
actually positioned to the right of the roll of film. The film pressure
plate is smooth, and has curved edges, making it likely that grit can
roll on and off more easily. However, this piece of metal does not have
smooth edges. I suspect when the file is rewound onto the roll, a piece
of grit could easily get trapped against the metal edge and the film. As
mentioned before, the N80 nor the 6006 have this piece of metal
positioned as in the F100. The 6006 and N80 have something similar, but
it’s positioned far away from the film plane, or angled/bent so the
cross piece doesn’t come close to the film ( respectively ).
I’m tempted to bend this piece away from the film, or remove it
completely. Anyone know the purpose of this? If anyone has a F100 and
wouldn’t mind checking the position of this metal piece against mine,
that might be helpful as well.
I’m trying to reach the proper person at Nikon, but this hasn’t been
easy. I have a low level of confidence that sending this in for repair
will solve my problem.
Thanks for any responses.
--
No Spam - apologies, remove the 86 to reply
mar...@atlantastudios.com
http://www.atlantastudios.com
8675309
"mark najjar" <mnaj...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:39A038C4...@mindspring.com...
Ken
as in your photos, and although the tab seems designed to hold down the film
cassette securely, it does appear that part of it extends beyond the lip of
the cassette on my camera as well. I haven't noticed any scratching, but I
have some expired film and will be running it through the camera, and will
check the base for scratches to see if anything turns up. I share your
concerns about sending the camera in for repair, and, at first glance, a bit
of careful bending of the tab looks like it might be a "do-able" user
modification. What do you think? - Ken
mark najjar wrote:
--
mailto:ken...@sprynet.com
mark najjar
>Thanks for pointing this out, Mark. The metal tab on my F100 looks the same
>as in your photos, and although the tab seems designed to hold down the film
>cassette securely, it does appear that part of it extends beyond the lip of
>the cassette on my camera as well. I haven't noticed any scratching, but I
>have some expired film and will be running it through the camera, and will
>check the base for scratches to see if anything turns up. I share your
>concerns about sending the camera in for repair, and, at first glance, a bit
>of careful bending of the tab looks like it might be a "do-able" user
>modification. What do you think? - Ken
Ken, last night I already removed the the metal piece ( two screws ),
and bent it back away from the film, in a similar position to where
it's positioned in the N80. It will take some time to determine if
this helps of course, because the problem only occurred occasionally.
Please follow up on your test rolls, I may run through a similar
exercise.
When this problem does occur, it is one single scratch, exactly
parallel to the film, with about the same depth. For a while I blamed
the lab of course, but after a few months, and about 200 rolls running
through my various Nikon bodies, I realized the problem followed the
F100. After examining the angle of the metal piece against the film,
it seems likely to be the culprit.
Would someone out there with an F5 offer some input regarding this?
Randy Howard
says...
> Ken, last night I already removed the the metal piece ( two screws ),
> and bent it back away from the film, in a similar position to where
> it's positioned in the N80. It will take some time to determine if
> this helps of course, because the problem only occurred occasionally.
> Please follow up on your test rolls, I may run through a similar
> exercise.
> When this problem does occur, it is one single scratch, exactly
> parallel to the film, with about the same depth. For a while I blamed
> the lab of course, but after a few months, and about 200 rolls running
> through my various Nikon bodies, I realized the problem followed the
> F100. After examining the angle of the metal piece against the film,
> it seems likely to be the culprit.
>
> Would someone out there with an F5 offer some input regarding this?
I missed the first part of this thread, so I'm not exactly what
is being discussed here. I have an F5 and would be happy to look
into it, given a propert set of directions.
--
Randy Howard
Ken
to see what he is referring to:
I’ve been collecting data on this for months, and I’ve determined it’s
not my labs,
and it’s not my FE2s,FM2s, not my N6006.
Here’s what’s happening.
I occasionally, get a single scratch, along the length of a roll, on the
non-emulsion side.
By occasionally, this could be one out of 10 rolls, but it has also
occurred on
consecutive rolls. When the scratch occurs consecutively, it is in the
exact same location.
The scratching will go away, but can come back and is not is the same
place as previous occurances.
I’ve tried to align the scratched film strips to the mechanics inside
the camera, but this in inconclusive.
I have two theories, I’d please like to get comments, even from those
who’ve never seen this problem.
Theory 1.
A bit of dirt, gets caught somewhere on the film pressure plate and the
film, and the tension of the film plate against the film has been
increased on the F100. This may make it more likely to scratch the
non-emulsion side of the film.
On my Bronica ETRsi for instance, on newer backs, Bronica increased the
pressure of their plate after focus problems which they suspected might
have been helped by holding the film flatter, more pressure.
Theory 2,
Randy Howard wrote:
--
mailto:ken...@sprynet.com
BRMCFARLAND
reprints, so I never did anything about it.
But it is only every so often, as you said.
Randy Howard
> Here is Mark's original post, with a web link
> to see what he is referring to:
>
The pictures make it really clear what is being talked about. On my
F5, it is probably halfway in between the photo of the F100 and the
N80 on that website. It is slightly behind, but not as far away as
the picture of the N80.
--
Randy Howard
mark najjar
the scratch, from the leader to about frame 36. However the scratch abruptly
stops before Frame 37 ( AKA frame 'E'), and the additional inch or so after
the 'E'. I think this is exactly where this suspect piece of metal can't
reach.
Nigel Hunt
moves to a new location after changing rolls
How can it be this small silver plate then?
I would suspect something dragging on the pressure plate and like a previous
poster said, you could have dust mites.
Try cleaning the camera (Take your time) Inspect it for things out of the
ordinary.
"mark najjar" <mnaj...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:39A038C4...@mindspring.com...
mark najjar
wrote:
>You say in your post that the mark is parallel the length of the film but
>moves to a new location after changing rolls
>
>How can it be this small silver plate then?
If you look at the silver plate on the F100, you'll notice the edges
are not smooth and polished but rough and sharp. I think based on the
angle of the plate against the film, the scratch is caused by a small
piece of grit caught here when the film is rewound into the film
cannister.
This explanation is supported in a previous post where I discover the
scratch only runs to about frame #36 in a roll, and abruptly stops at
frame #37, and the little bit of film after this. This is the part of
the film then never passes under the plate.
>I would suspect something dragging on the pressure plate and like a previous
>poster said, you could have dust mites.
I have seen assorted scratches in the past that are due to grit or
dirt on the pressure plate. It's always on the non-emulsion side of
course, and it has a tendancy to move as the film advances and
sometimes, through the succession of frames, I've seen it work it's
way to the edge of the film and even drop off. This happens
occasionally with all my Nikon bodies.
I probably do have dust mites, and a number of other unmentionables.
Unfortunately, I'm still accepting assignments in non-sterile
environments.
No Spam - apologies, remove the 86 to reply