1

I just received negatives back, and on the last 10 or so exposures there is a constant black horizontal line on the bottom left of the image. Does anyone know what it is? Thanks in advance!

enter image description here

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

A hair. Looks sharp enough that it could be on the film side of the shutter in which case getting it out should be easy. If it is on the other side of the shutter and your camera has an interchangeable lens, you should be able to get at it with removing the lens and putting up the mirror. If you don't have an interchangeable lens, it might require convincing the camera to open shutter while the back is open. Don't prod the shutter itself: it's easy to bend the blades and that is bad news.

If you already reloaded the camera, you can either pray or rewind the film. It's not likely to be a problem of development: if this happened while scanning the negative, the hair would show as white.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    I'm seeing something a little thicker than a hair. Maybe a bristle from a cheap cleaning brush?
    – Michael C
    Jun 9, 2021 at 0:05
  • @MichaelC The full image height is just 24mm and a hair is 20–50µm. I find that relation plausible. Also a "bristle" is more likely than a hair to follow gravity rather than sticking around obnoxiously. So I would really suggest looking carefully and not expecting some thick and obvious obstruction.
    – user98068
    Jun 9, 2021 at 1:22
  • I've had experience with both back in the 1980s-2000s when I shot plenty of film. It looks larger than a normal human hair to me. Maybe a fake eyelash with mascara caked on would be that large, or hair from an elephant (4X as thick as average human hair) or other animal with hair that is a lot thicker than human hair.
    – Michael C
    Jun 9, 2021 at 3:41
  • 1
    More worrying, if the shutter is made of cloth... What is the make/model of the camera?
    – xenoid
    Jun 9, 2021 at 9:21

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.