[ryan s]

So I finally got a chance to go back home from school and I remembered to take a look at my negatives. As was guessed by a few of you, the spots were not on the negatives for all I could see, so it was just a bad scan process, and that's not surprising, since they were all badly scanned. Now to get it redone at a place that knows what they're doing...

Thanks for all your help!
Jack

One thing you (2nd person plural...everyone...) needs to understand about mini-labs...they are automatic, process thousands of pics per day, and are sometimes run by people who aren't very smart.

How do I know? Used to work in one. There's just no way to inspect every print that comes out in a neat little stack.

If people are going back to yell, complain, get their way, etc...keep in mind that there's a reason why smaller shops charge 2-3x times the price for the same service...

That said, it's good to know that your negs are salvageable. Perhaps time to search for a lightly used Epson scanner?

[jzietman]

I don't mean to offend all mini-labs, it's just that I've had numerous bad experiences with this one, it just happens to be cheapest in my area, and sometimes they getit really right.

If I can find a cheaper scanner, I'll bite.

[ryan s]

"You get what you pay for..."

Keep an eye out for a 4490 scanner. You should be able to get one for less than $75. Check out Epson's clearance site and sign up for their email...right now, they're offering free shipping with a code. Other times, it's 10-20% off...free paper with purchase...stuff like that.

[yodar]

Hmm, so, on further inspection, it looks like the blotches show up on almost all the shots from that role, just never again quite so obviously. The same blotches show up consistently in another role with another lens, both light and dark blotches in the same place. And there are some other blotches of a similar sort (but only lighter and in different places) in some shots from another role.

Could it be a bad developing process? The rest of it was done so badly, I wouldn't put it past Walgreens. That doesn't explain the regularity of the blotches, though. Maybe there's something weird going on inside my camera? The thing is, the blotches are very visible in some photos, only slightly visible in others (even when they're over an almost solid black area) and not at all present on others.

Here's an example (a terrible shot, but the blotches are clear) using another lens (M 50/1.7, I think).

I am the son of a film photographer, taught photography ans set up the materials processing center where I taught. Those splotches are from corona discharge
or static..
Sometimes from the film canister's felt if the film is withdrawn swiftly

Sometime you get a corona discharge from the felt light block on a processing machine if the film goes thru it fast. I have even seen it from within the camera itself. I encountered it with large format roll-film aero cameras with motor drives.

My bet is somebody was in a hurry to load that cassette into a machine and it was a very dry environment

sparks !


yodar