# holes in emulsion



## Tyjax (Nov 13, 2003)

Ok, developed my first rol of 120. There are little pinprick holes or at in the emulsion all through it at random places. Any idea what caused this? Normal chemistry, temp's all same. Puzzled. but that was the only problem with my first roll. besides the fact that the camera didnt expose them well so they all turned out about zone III.  But thats what I get for using a camera made in the early 30's


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## ksmattfish (Nov 14, 2003)

I would look at two things.  It could be either or a combination of both.

1)  Is your camera dirty/dusty?  Dust on the film at the time of exposure would block the light, resulting in a "hole" in the density of the neg.

2)  Your stop bath is too strong.  This is a problem that occurs more with MF and LF than 35mm.  Bits of emulsion soak up dev, and actually explode when dunked in strong stop bath.  Kodak's recommended mix is too strong for film in my opinion.  I just add a splash of stock solution stop bath to the water; just enough to slightly discolor it.  If it looks like lemonade or beer it's too strong.  Back in the old days they just used water anyway.  Although stop does shut down developing, I've always considered it's use to be more about saving the fixer.

Anway, blow out the camera and try a weaker stop bath, and let us know if it solves the problem.


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