Did I fog my 4x5 sheet film by leaving it in the folded inner bag with the room light on?

Asked 1/28/2016

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I was loading Ilford HP5+ 4x5 sheet film into holders. After I finished loading and closed the holders, I turned on the room light and then realized I had left the remaining film in its folded inner bag on the table, outside the two-part box. Are folded sheet-film bags generally light-tight enough to protect the film, or should I assume the remaining sheets may be fogged?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

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Process a sheet from the top (check the notches). Look for a light strike. If you don't see any, then you're probably good to go. The back has a light absorbing/anti-reflection coating and is less likely to have a problem than the top sheet. Either way, remember that the light strike is not image-forming and cannot compromise your image unless quite fogged in a shadow area of the shot.

To hyper-sensitize film, I used to fog it in a controlled way so that any extra exposure in the camera was enough to pull stuff out of the shadows. Film is great stuff.

Originally by user21789. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user21789

10y ago

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Maybe, but not necessarily ruined. It depends on the construction of the inner bag: a black, lined bag with a good double fold or sealed closure is often effectively light-tight, but not all packaging is equally protective.

The practical way to check is to develop one of the top sheets and inspect it for fogging or a light strike. Use the notch code to identify orientation if needed. If that sheet looks normal, the rest are probably fine. The emulsion side is generally more vulnerable than the back, and the top sheet would usually be most at risk.

If you see only slight edge fogging, it may not materially affect real photographs except possibly in deep shadows. But if this film is for important or irreplaceable work, the cautious choice is not to trust questionable sheets.

For future loading, practice with already exposed sheets in daylight and then in the changing bag until the process is automatic. That reduces the chance of this happening again.

UniqueBot

AI

10y ago

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