[pentaxkat]

Damn my Pentax espio mini. It has so much promise yet always lets me down somehow! Why pentax but such a nice lens in such a poorly built body we will never know.

As an experiment I decided to stick an old roll of Ilford SFX (which I've never used before but is pseudo infrared but I wasn't using a red filter so not very infrared) in it for a formal event I was going to. The espio gave up the ghost halfway through the film which is typical of its erratic behaviour.

I just got the photos back.

1) They have a nice scratch going across them. Great. Thanks espio.

2) The photos are otherwise AMAZING. I adore the qualities of this film (which has been discontinued, just my luck). As usual my espio mini produces tack sharp photos for a compact. I really don't want to go digital for my compact camera (I have a DS but its a bit bulky for parties) as all the photos I see cannot outperform my pentax (when it is not feeling stroppy).

Are there any easy ways to scan the photos and remove the scratches?

Is there anywhere to buy SFX now it has been discontinued or is there a similar film that will produce a slight 'glow' around people but not a heavy IR effect?

Any film camera advice appreciated. I might hunt ebay and see if I can get a better copy of the camera. Strangely enough the next film of reala it had no problem with. Annoying thing. Maybe I load the film badly; it is very picky about film loading but does not have a thread through spool like olympus compacts and pentax film slrs I have used.

I've never had such good black and white shots and all I did was point and shoot!

[SuperJared]

One thing to consider: The scratch may be the fault of the processing center. The film is pulled out and processed (very quickly) by machines and can scratch film easily.

[jfdavis58]

There is a PS tutorial for removing straight-line defects in the PS studio--don't recall the name. Might also try Kelby's Photoshop CS books.

Be very careful about the fuzzy edge of the film canister; it's both a light trap AND a dust trap.

[pentaxkat]

However, I think it was the camera as it rewound to an awful noise halfway through the film for no apparant reason. I probably didn't load it quite correct...Also it was an old canister so maybe dust was trapped in there causing scratches. There is only one scratch but it runs across every photo!

Also, it is a reputable pro-am lab who put a note on it saying it was camera scratches. I'm inclined to believe them as they have always been honest in the past.

I notice my local Oxfam camera sale where I orginally got the camera from (for £15) is on again next week. I might treat myself to a new camera. The guy who runs it is brilliant; very knowledgeable and honest.

[slip]

A dedicated film/slide scanner can do an incredable job of fixing scratches. the newer ones like the canon canoscan and the nikon coolscan use infra technology, meaning it acually scans the surface of the film/slide for dust and scratches and removes it digitally without effecting the actual photo.
nikon uses digital ice technology and canon uses FARE. both very simular

might be an idea to locate someone in your area to scan them on to a disk for you

cheers and good luck

randy

[DAP]

Is the scratch on the emulsion side or the back of the film base? If it is on the back of the film base, they used to sell a liquid product that filled scatches in - kinda like clear bondo meant for film (don't remember the name of it - but I'll do some searching). Never used it but it is an option.

[khardur]

kinda gross, but back during a B&W class I was taking in college, the prof. told us a little forehead grease would go a long way if you've got a scratch (on the film base side, not the emulsion side)

But that would be if you were doing your own printing...

[MRRiley]

The skin oil thing works but be aware it will slightly soften your image.

It'd be better, as everyone else has suggested, to retouch them digitally. If they are great pics and you cannot do it yourself I would take them to a pro lab and explain the problem. They should have the high-end scanners and software to do it automatically.