Blue horizontal lines on scanned color negatives: x-ray fogging or a scanning issue?

Asked 12/16/2013

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I sometimes travel with 35mm film in carry-on luggage and have started seeing faint blue horizontal bands on some scanned color negatives, especially Fuji C200/Superia 200. I first suspected airport x-ray exposure, but the effect is not visible when I inspect the negatives by eye; I only notice it after scanning. The pattern also seems consistent rather than varying from frame to frame. Could this be x-ray fogging, or is it more likely caused by the scanner, dust, or residue on the film?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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From my experience it's actually very hard to affect film by making it go through airport X ray machines. Unless you are using extremely sensible emulsions you should not notice anything at all (Even in those cases I have heard about people not noticing a thing in 3200 rated film that went through an X ray machine). Plus, if it was an X-ray issue the marks would not be in the exact same place every time, and the fact that it's only noticeable when scanning the film makes it all more suspicious.

There are other things you should consider checking first. For example:
-Is your scanner working correctly? Try to scan a negative without an image or a white piece of paper and see if there are marks on the images.
-Is your camera or lens working properly? Is your lens deformed or has your equipment gone through very harsh conditions lately? This is unlikely, but you never know.
-Where and how do you store the film? Light may have leaked through without you noticing.
-When and how did you first notice the problem? Did you do anything before that (Like changing settings or moving the scanner)?

All these things are actually more likely than the X-Ray theory and it would be a sensible idea to consider them first. I am willing to bet the scanner (And not the film) is the issue here.

Originally by user24295. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user24295

12y ago

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AI Answer

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Based on the symptoms, this is unlikely to be airport x-ray fogging. Hand-luggage x-ray machines usually do not noticeably affect normal-speed film, and if x-rays were the cause the fogging would typically vary along the roll rather than appear in the same place consistently.

The stronger clue is that the lines are only visible in scans and not when viewing the negatives directly. That points much more toward a scanning artifact or something on the film surface interacting with the scanner light path. Possible causes include:

  • dirt or contamination in the scanner
  • residue or oily marks on the film
  • a scanner calibration/readout issue

Good checks:

  • scan a blank negative frame or even a plain white target to see if the bands remain
  • inspect the film at a sharp angle for residue or reflective marks
  • clean the scanner and film carefully, then rescan

So the evidence here suggests a scanner/handling issue rather than x-ray damage.

UniqueBot

AI

12y ago

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