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Light spill (?) on the edge of frame


Edgar Nyari

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Hi there,

 

Recently I made some very low light tests with a new camera, and when I got the material back from telecine, I noticed a light spill of some sort on the left edge of frame.

I framed it in black so it's easier to see. Don't mind the poor quality of the transfer (plus the image is kinda grainy, because it was exposed intentionally under limiited light conditions).

 

Couple of things come to mind. Could it be light spill from the sprockets on the telecine?

One other thing is that, the door and viewfinder I was using has a kind of a mirrored double image on the left side which I can see in the viewfinder beyond the black frame. I have other doors that don't have this "problem" (if it is a problem...I really have no idea...). So I was thinking, what if the light of the mirrored image somehow going back through the groundglass?

 

Any opinions would be most appreciated.

 

thanks

post-67183-0-87395700-1467544813_thumb.jpg

Edited by Edgar Nyari
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Sorry I forgot to mention. This is 35mm, Arriflex 35-3... and I haven't gotten the negs back from the lab yet to check if this is present on the negative. I got the files first by internet, still waiting for the negs.

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Those cameras have a single pulldown position and that's the right side of the frame when exposing, so when you play it back, it's the left side. It would be worth looking at the negative to see if the sprocket area is over exposed or if it's just one little line.

 

The line is so straight and perfect, it's gotta be coming from the gate. I don't know that particular camera very well, but I don't quite understand how the viewfinder could have caused this issue without other parts of the frame being over exposed as well.

 

It could be the transfer, but I think that maybe the last option. I can't quite think of how you'd achieve that on any modern transfer machine.

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Well, since it's a super35 gate, the edge of the pressure plate comes pretty close to the edge of the gate, so maybe a tiny slit is somehow made there. But on the other hand, there should be no light in the camera body even if the pressure plate didn't close the frame, because otherwise the entire frame would be exposed once it gets out of the mechanism and runs freely on the inside. Honestly, I can't imagine what could cause such a thin leak....

 

As for the telecine....I don't think it's a very modern telecine machine. It was a very cheap transfer. Might have been a very old Rank. I'm even seeing slight ghost images of high contrast details, such as street lamp posts, which is something that's certainly an artifact of the telecine process.

Edited by Edgar Nyari
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The problem side is standard 35 side with the pull down. Its only the other side, the non problem side which would have been increased for super 35. So it's not a s35 problem in my eyes.

 

Can you check the negative?

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Isn't the image upside down in the gate? So the left side would actually be the right side in camera?

 

Sure, but the images he posted weren't upside down...

 

You can see here that the Academy (sound) image is offset to the right with the soundtrack area to the left of the image:

http://www.northwestchicagofilmsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/310-to-Yuma-China-Girl-002-e1317956111796.jpg

 

Yes, running through the camera, that would right side I guess (?) since the image is upside down, so opposite the door to the camera, if one is thinking that's where the light leak is coming from.

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Here is gate, and the pressure plate. I did a little cleaning so I took the chance to take some good photos. Does anyone spot any anomalies here? I really don't have experience, but to me everything seems fine. I'll add two more photos later if needed, there is a post limit.

post-67183-0-10473200-1467588219_thumb.jpg

Edited by Edgar Nyari
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Here is the eyepiece "problem" I was talking about. Notice a mirror image left to the black framed area that contains the groundglass image. This mirrored image happens in the door, and not around the actual groundglass. Even when I open the doors and look away from the groundglass window and the camera body, into empty space, I can still see this. My other doors don't show this problem and have everything black around. Is this normal, or did something maybe fall off inside the door?

post-67183-0-94962100-1467588638_thumb.jpg

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I'd wait to check the neg. Gate reflections should mirror the lighting changes of the scene, so the intensity should vary. The gate looks fine anyway. The fact that the bright edge line extends past the lens image circle would suggest that it hasn't happened in the camera gate. Perhaps the film got edge fogged at some point, exposed to light while in a roll? Anyway the neg will tell you more.

 

The viewfinder double image is just from the prism, it shouldn't affect the film. If you had a bright light source shining into the open eyepiece (and you weren't covering it with your eye) the light could travel back to the ground glass and potentially cause some flashing/fogging, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.

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Finally I got the negative back in mail today. I see absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But I guess I'd have to create an even-light background to see subtle changes in density. It's a very thin part of the negative. This shot was one or two stops under I think.

post-67183-0-68377500-1467811647_thumb.jpg

Edited by Edgar Nyari
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No I meant the camera gate, you can see a faint dark line along one side of the negative frame that corresponds to the reddish line on the edge of his positive footage. It's just so subtle that perhaps it really is gate flare, maybe the car headlamps in the background caused some kick on that edge of the gate. A very slight crop would get rid of it. I'd consider a test where he shoots someone panning a flashlight from side to side and up & down to see if that edge flare comes and goes.

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David I think I know what you are seeing. I see a slight darkening also, but the problem is, it's on the wrong side of the frame. The side of the frame where the yellowish "leak" is in the teleciine is in the upper part of the neg on this photo. And over there I really see nothing. And as for car lights, and panning flashlights, as I mentioned in one of the previous posts, the entire roll of film has the same consistent yellowish line. It seems to be equal in width and intensity in every frame of the entire roll.

Edited by Edgar Nyari
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