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I just had 4 rolls of film processed and scanned, and have been emailed the scans but have not seen the actual negatives yet. The first thing I noticed is some spots in exactly the same location on each frame of the scanned image through all 4 rolls of 36 shot film. Is this likely to have occurred in the camera, or in the scanning?

These are some sample pics I took while testing the night sky and moon that really show the issue that I am seeing. (and the bright white dot in the first two pics is actually the moon - so ignore it)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Without seeing the negatives it really is quite hard to say, if not impossible, what caused these artefacts. Will you receive the negs back anytime soon? \$\endgroup\$
    – timvrhn
    Dec 10, 2020 at 8:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ @timvrhn At the moment the negs are still with the processor and I'm planning on collecting them on the weekend. However while they are there its relatively easy to tell the processor to clean their equipment and re-scan. If I don't look at the negs until the weekend (and then tell them to re-scan) it will mean a longer delay to actually get the negs back. I'd get them mailed to me but this time of year I'm feeling paranoid about the mail. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter M
    Dec 10, 2020 at 13:41
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    \$\begingroup\$ You could call the lab and ask them to look at the negs with a loupe to see if the spots are on them. What camera and lens are you using? Is this a first time use of the lens, have you inspected it? \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Dec 10, 2020 at 17:06
  • \$\begingroup\$ @AlaskaMan That is a fallback position, but I was hoping to be more informed about the subject before calling. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter M
    Dec 10, 2020 at 18:45
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    \$\begingroup\$ It is an information position. If the spots are not on the negs then you know it is not on your end and you can have them re-scanned. That info will help in getting an informed answer here. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alaska Man
    Dec 10, 2020 at 22:22

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Looks like dirt on the scanner's optics. You can ask them to clean/blow the sensor and other optical elements and hope they do it...

If it were on your lens (really the only place for it to be on a film camera) the spots would change appearance with different apertures. You imply that they look the same on frames from all 4 rolls, and it's unlikely you shot all frames at the same aperture.

Edit... You said you were taking pictures of the sky and moon, so I suppose it's possible you shot them all at the same (small) aperture, but even so those spots look a little too distinct to be crud on your lens...

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Funnily enough I just heard back from the lab as you were posting. They admitted to an issue with their scanner. I also just received the new scans and they initially look clean. And actually a lot of the shots were at the same aperture! I was on a manual exposure and was bracketing +/-2 stops by 0.7, and for my F-100 that only changes the speed. However I'm not sure the aperture would have affected it. The front element was clean and it could only haver been dirt on the back end of the lens (unless fungus - which it isn't) \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter M
    Dec 11, 2020 at 21:52

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