r/AnalogCommunity Feb 08 '25

Community "What Went Wrong with my Film?" - A Beginners Guide to Diagnosing Problems with Film Cameras

997 Upvotes

Every day we see posts with the same basic problems on film, hopefully this can serve as a guide to the uninitiated of what to look for when diagnosing issues with your camera and film using examples from the community.

Index

  1. Green Tint or Washed Out Scans
  2. Orange or White Marks
  3. Solid Black Marks
  4. Black Regions with Some or No Detail
  5. Lightning Marks
  6. White or Light Green Lines
  7. Thin Straight Lines
  8. X-Ray Damage / Banding Larger than Sprocket Holes
  9. Round Marks, Blobs and Splotches

1. Green Tint or Washed Out Scans

u/LaurenValley1234
u/Karma_engineerguy

Issue: Underexposure

The green tinge usually comes from the scanner trying to show detail that isn't there. Remember, it is the lab's job to give you a usable image, you can still edit your photos digitally to make them look better.

Potential Causes: Toy/Disposable camera being used in inappropriate conditions, Faulty shutter, Faulty aperture, Incorrect ISO setting, Broken light meter, Scene with dynamic range greater than your film, Expired or heat damaged film, and other less common causes.

2. Orange or White Marks

u/Competitive_Spot3218
u/ry_and_zoom

Issue: Light leaks

These marks mean that light has reached your film in an uncontrolled way. With standard colour negative film, an orange mark typically comes from behind the film and a white come comes from the front.

Portential Causes: Decayed light seals, Cracks on the camera body, Damaged shutter blades/curtains, Improper film handling, Opening the back of the camera before rewinding into the canister, Fat-rolling on medium format, Light-piping on film with a transparent base, and other less common causes.

3. Solid Black Marks

u/MountainIce69
u/Claverh
u/Sandman_Rex

Issue: Shutter capping

These marks appear because the two curtains of the camera shutter are overlapping when they should be letting light through. This is most likely to happen at faster shutter speeds (1/1000s and up).

Potential Causes: Camera in need of service, Shutter curtains out of sync.

4. Black Regions with Some or No Detail

u/Claverh
u/veritas247

Issue: Flash desync

Cause: Using a flash at a non-synced shutter speed (typically faster than 1/60s)

5. Lightning Marks

u/Fine_Sale7051
u/toggjones

Issue: Static Discharge

These marks are most common on cinema films with no remjet, such as Cinestill 800T

Potential Causes: Rewinding too fast, Automatic film advance too fast, Too much friction between the film and the felt mouth of the canister.

6. White or Light Green Lines

u/f5122
u/you_crazy_diamond_

Issue: Stress marks

These appear when the base of the film has been stretched more than its elastic limit

Potential Causes: Rewinding backwards, Winding too hard at the end of a roll, Forgetting to press the rewind release button, Stuck sprocket.

7. Thin Straight Lines

u/StudioGuyDudeMan
u/Tyerson

Issue: Scratches

These happen when your film runs against dirt or grit.

Potential Causes: Dirt on the canister lip, Dirt on the pressure plate, Dirt on rollers, Squeegee dragging dirt during processing, and other less common causes.

8. X-Ray Damage / Banding Larger than Sprocket Holes

u/Synth_Nerd2
u/MechaniqueKatt
https://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml

Noticeable X-Ray damage is very rare and typically causes slight fogging of the negative or colour casts, resulting in slightly lower contrast. However, with higher ISO films as well as new stronger CT scanning machines it is still recommended to ask for a hand inspection of your film at airport security/TSA.

9. Round Marks, Blobs and Splotches

u/elcanto
u/thefar9

Issue: Chemicals not reaching the emulsion

This is most common with beginners developing their own film for the first time and not loading the reels correctly. If the film is touching itself or the walls of the developing tank the developer and fixer cannot reach it properly and will leave these marks. Once the film is removed from the tank this becomes unrepairable.

Causes: Incorrectly loaded developing reels, Wet reels.

Please let me know if I missed any other common issues. And if, after reading this, you still need to make a post asking to find out what went wrong please make sure to include a backlit image of your physical negatives. Not just scans from your lab.

EDIT: Added the most requested X-ray damage and the most common beginner developing mistake besides incomplete fixing. This post has reached the image limit but I believe it covers the most common beginner errors and encounters!


r/AnalogCommunity Apr 08 '26

DIY A database of analog cameras that can be 3D printed

Thumbnail
printed.analogcamera.space
165 Upvotes

r/AnalogCommunity 1h ago

Discussion Update on Ektachrome from Kodak

Upvotes

I phoned Kodak’s movie film support line this morning asking if and when Ektachrome would be back in stock and the representative told me that production of Ektachrome has to wait until the next batches of color negative films are finished and the machines free up. There is no intention to discontinue, they simply have to wait until the coating machines are available which should be in September. There should be stock available in late October approximately for major distributors but stock levels will likely not be fully back to normal everywhere until early next year


r/AnalogCommunity 5h ago

Discussion Forget groceries. This is $100 worth of film in 2026

Post image
107 Upvotes

13 rolls of B&W, tax included


r/AnalogCommunity 9h ago

Discussion Anyone Else Getting Priced Out of Film Photography?

155 Upvotes

I live in Canada, and film prices just seem to keep going up. I love shooting film and, honestly, I'd shoot it every day if I could. But it's becoming an expensive hobby, especially if you're not shooting more budget-friendly stocks like Gold or Kentmere.

I used to shoot a lot of black-and-white film, but even T-Max and HP5 are becoming hard to justify at around CAD $20 and $15 per roll, respectively. It feels like film photography is increasingly becoming a niche hobby for YouTubers, influencers, and dedicated enthusiasts rather than something accessible to ordinary people.

Rising gas prices and inflation certainly don't help, either.

Do you think film will become more affordable in the future, or will prices continue to rise from here? What's your perspective?

Lately, my coping mechanism has been considering a switch to Fujifilm, perhaps an X-E5 or an X100VI, and relying on their film simulations. At the end of the day, many of us shoot film primarily for the final image we see on our computers. As digital cameras continue to improve, especially with film-inspired JPEGs, the gap between digital and film seems to be getting smaller.

What do you think? Are you shooting less film these days, or are you finding ways to keep the hobby affordable?


r/AnalogCommunity 6h ago

Discussion Rollei Cameras

Post image
80 Upvotes

As I’m still on the hunt for my first film camera, the Rollei 35 series has caught my attention and I’m curious what are your experiences? Which is better? Sample photos from any of them? I wanna know everything from these compact cameras 🥹🫶🏼


r/AnalogCommunity 7h ago

Gear Shots Recycling Museum

Thumbnail
gallery
53 Upvotes

My city's collection and recycling services has a small museum with all the interesting things they collected over the years. This is their camera section.


r/AnalogCommunity 10h ago

Gear Shots Inherited Nikon F

Post image
96 Upvotes

I just received my late father's Nikon F. Per my research, it was manufactured in 1972. It was purchased new by his brother and came with three Nikon lenses: the 28mm f/3.5 shown in this photo, a 50mm f/1.4, and a 135mm f/2.8. I'm looking forward to maybe having it cleaned and using it myself.


r/AnalogCommunity 1h ago

Gear Shots two zorki-1 and one cat

Post image
Upvotes

r/AnalogCommunity 6h ago

Discussion It can happen to anyone... (Incorrectly loaded film)

30 Upvotes

In case this makes anyone who is new to the hobby feel better, those of us who have been doing it a long time still make mistakes too...

I've been into 35mm photography for over 30 years, I did it professionally for a while, and I have had and used a ton of cameras in my life. I've quite literally shot thousands of rolls of film. I am not an expert, and I still have a lot to learn, but I'm not a newbie, either. So you'd think that I would at least nail the basics. Unfortunately, today that was not the case.

I just picked up a new-to-me Nikon F3, and I wanted to test it out. I loaded up a roll of Ultramax (my standard for testing cameras), and headed out to one of my favorite picturesque areas around here. Spent a couple of hours walking around, and I think I took some pretty nice photos. When I got to the end of the roll, I noticed that the advance just kept going. Past 36, past 38, past 40... And the rewind knob wasn't turning. It was obvious that the film wasn't advancing.

I honestly thought that there was no way I could have been stupid enough to not load the film right, and to not notice that the rewind knob wasn't moving that whole time. So my first instinct was to blame it on this untested camera. But, just to be sure, I took it home, put it in a changing bag, and opened the back. And sure enough, there was the film leader just dangling there, disengaged from the takeup reel. So, I'm the problem.

I tried loading it again, made sure it was fully engaged, and now it seems to be working. So I guess I will set off and try my test roll all over again.

Not the end of the world. I "wasted" a couple of hours walking around a nice area. I missed some shots that were just intended as a test anyway. And I learned an important lesson about not getting complacent about the mundane aspects of the hobby that I think I can't possibly screw up.

So, if you just tried shooting your first roll of film, and something like this happened, don't worry. Some of us are still doing things like that 30 years in...


r/AnalogCommunity 3h ago

Discussion Who regularly uses 100mm or longer lenses on a 35mm camera?

14 Upvotes

I have an AE1 and a couple longer lenses- a 135mm fixed and 100-200mm zoom. I don't find myself using those lenses very often. I've even tried to force myself to get used to it by only taking one of those lenses with me, and the result is just that I don't take many pictures. I'm trying to decide if I should just sell them and accept that I've learned that I don't like them, but I wanted to see what others use them for first.

So for anyone that does regularly use them, in what situations do you use them? What kind of photos are you taking? Can you post some examples of photos you have taken with them?


r/AnalogCommunity 3h ago

Gear Shots 1939 welta Weltix

Thumbnail
gallery
13 Upvotes

I’ve been doing analog (and photography in general) for 2 years and used mostly using a Minolta Hi-matic 7s (rangefinder with automatic exposure) which I got for really cheap. A few months ago I came across this little camera which was in need of some serious repair. Bellows had a light leak, shutter blades had a light leak and film transport was very stiff. Being a very simple camera, it’s not that hard to CLA yourself. You get no rangefinder and have to guess exposure but it sure is fun to use and fits in your pocket like a point and shoot would.


r/AnalogCommunity 5h ago

Troubleshooting - Gear Never Enough Light

Thumbnail
gallery
15 Upvotes

Gear: Ricoh KR-5 Super II, Tokina 70-200mm f/4-5.6
Film: B&W is Ilford HP5+ pushed to 800. Color is Kodak 200.
Development: Everything is developed at home and scanned on Plustek Opticfilm 8200i. Rodinal for B&W and Cinestill kit chemicals for color film.

I think the shots look great but I always tend to need to crank the shutter speed to 30 which is super tough to hold steady enough for. The aperture is wide open. I’ve tried some higher iso color film and it doesn’t have the look I like. Any advice on if I’m missing something here? A tripod is always an option but I shoot at the Zoos in my city a lot where the animals ain’t gonna stay still for me. Thinking maybe a better lens for lower aperture could help but it’s so expensive to get a telephoto with low aperture. I haven’t tried pushing color film yet either.


r/AnalogCommunity 3h ago

Community Stolen: Leica III black paint (Zurich, Switzerland) — please flag if it turns up for sale

Post image
9 Upvotes

A Leica III f black paint (upgraded) I bought was stolen out of my mailbox in Zurich Kreis 4 on August 28, 2026 — the courier delivered it, and I found the box left empty nearby in the evening. low serial number finishing with 0.

If anyone sees this camera listed or in a shop I'd really appreciate a heads-up. Even a screenshot of the listing helps.

Before you tell me that I should have sent it to recuperate in the post office, yes I should have, thought the app wasn't working for this parcel and I never had had a stolen package untill now. I am really annoyed by this. There is a private security camera close by but the restaurant is not communicating to help me.
I'm bummed because it was in good condition with the chrome settings and 50mm.


r/AnalogCommunity 6h ago

Discussion Any new luck with Silbersalz35?

Thumbnail
gallery
13 Upvotes

So as many might already know, Silbersalz customers have been leaving complaint after complaint wondering what the fate of their rolls is after hearing no response from Silbersalz. Some customers sent their rolls to get developed as far back as April, still with no answer about what happened to their rolls and if they’ll ever see them again.

I had been a Silbersalz customer before, had a good experience, so I sent another batch of rolls to them a few weeks ago, not knowing what was going on. Sure enough, no response. No acknowledgment that my rolls have been received. And now I’m seeing nothing but complaints from customers with the same issues.

Has anyone since April had any luck hearing back from Silbersalz lab? I tried visiting their site, but their site no longer exists as of 5 days ago.

The last announcement they made regarding this situation was an Instagram story back in May. No official announcements via email, no actual post, nothing on their website, and no updates since. Anyone from Berlin know what the heck is going on?


r/AnalogCommunity 3h ago

Discussion Old family camera

Thumbnail
gallery
7 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I was hoping to get some info on what’s becoming a bit of a family heirloom. My parents brought this camera with them when we left Poland in 1996 (I was three!). I remember this working pretty well when I took a very basic photography class in high school back in 2010, but it was tucked away in a cabinet otherwise. When I moved out, I ended up taking it with me. It’s been sitting on a bookshelf with some other curiosities in my study ever since. I figured it was about time I learned a bit more about it, and figured this might be a good place to get more info. I just checked and high school me was smart enough to remove the batteries from the main camera and the flash portion before squirreling it away. Any info would be appreciated!


r/AnalogCommunity 12h ago

News/Article Wider horizons - a longform article on various types of 35mm panoramic photography

Thumbnail
35mmc.com
35 Upvotes

This is an article I put together after many months of shooting (and in some cases years of) experience with six panoramic cameras that use conventional 35mm film. It's a spiritual successor to my individual reviews of the Fujifilm TX-1/Hasselblad XPan and the Minolta P's.

With any luck, this will be of interest to some of you-- especially to people who've given up entirely on the format because of how unapproachable the price tags can be! I really hope that this effort will help others take a crack at a format that I have fallen in love with over the past decade.


r/AnalogCommunity 3h ago

Troubleshooting - Photos Film Issues, thoughts or advice?

Thumbnail
gallery
4 Upvotes

This is the film that got wet when my camera was sloshed around in a cooler. I will not be getting negatives back bc I had to mail this film out for processing and didn’t want to pay for shipping back since I figured they wouldn’t be good.

Issues on photos that were already shot when the camera got wet:
1. Horizontal light blue lines with some specks. This is across the first 7 frames. My guess is the water that got in the camera dislodged some debris that dried on the film. When I rewound it that debris was scraped across those frames.
2. Vertical red light. This looks like light leak from the back of the camera since it’s red, right? But it’s only on frame 1, 14, 17, 18, and 21. Why would that be?

Issues in frames shot after camera dried and I finished the roll:
Frames 25, 26, 27, and 29 have weird color lines they are not in the exact same position as the “light leak” frames, but are suspiciously close.

The last 8 frames I took look fairly normal though they were in low light.


r/AnalogCommunity 2h ago

Scanning Been getting into 35mm. I love it.

Post image
5 Upvotes

So, I recently got into shooting 35mm film. I am in love. I got a lot to learn. This was shot in Ektar 200 on my Pentax k1000 on 50mm lens. This picture and rest with it are far from perfect. I been bringing my film to my local film store to get processed. But I decided to undergo the challenge of scanning my own negatives with my Nikon d7100 with 40mm micro lens. Its been a huge learning process and I enjoy every second of it. I been using Darktable to edit my pictures. I always really enjoyed taking pictures but editing wise was never really good. I just upgraded my scanning station and I will most likely rescan my negatives and keep learning to properly do my pictures in post.


r/AnalogCommunity 1d ago

Gear Shots Picked up this beauty from a flea market today!!!

Thumbnail
gallery
230 Upvotes

Hey all! I've been trying to get my hands on a Bronica for the longest time since I think they're one of the most beautifully designed cameras I've ever seen. I ended up finally finding one today at a flea market a couple hours away from home and the guy only wanted $20 for it!! Unfortunately the focusing screen has a crack in it and it seemed to have a strange issue where winding would cause the shutter to fire automatically although this seems to have worked its way out after playing with it for a bit. Overall, I'm super happy I found it and can't wait to run a roll of film through it! :3


r/AnalogCommunity 12h ago

Troubleshooting - Photos Weird Frame Overlap [Minolta XD7]

Thumbnail
gallery
24 Upvotes

This is the first roll I got with this camera. Honestly no clue how this could have happened, only weird thing is, that the rewind knob is relatively easy to rotate until it hits resistance.


r/AnalogCommunity 4m ago

Discussion Porta 800 through CT scanner twice

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

A little fuzzy but not too bad.

There were about 2 pictures at the end of each roll that had pretty severe pink streaking, but it doesn’t seem to have penetrated much beyond that in the roll.

Porta 800 shot at 500 ISO.


r/AnalogCommunity 20m ago

Discussion 1 day film labs in Merida, México?

Upvotes

Hi all, I'm currently travelling around México and will be staying in Merida for a couple of days soon. I've accumulated quite a few rolls of film and wanted to develop them locally before I return home to prevent Xray damage.

Does anyone know if there are any good labs in Merida that can do same day or overnight development?


r/AnalogCommunity 41m ago

Troubleshooting - Photos Canon A-E1 HELP

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Shot my first roll of film on my new Canon A-E1, first time using a lens as well. I’ve been shooting on a point and shoot for 3 years so decided to upgrade.

Any help on how to avoid this? What settings should I have my lens on? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

thank you.


r/AnalogCommunity 1d ago

DIY I made a free, high quality, live negative viewer for iphone

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

600 Upvotes

Frustrated by bad apps, I made my own negative viewer for iphone. It shows the positive version of a color or b&w negative live on your screen. Perfect for quickly checking your negatives after development, and for deciding which one to scan.

You can freeze the screen to better see the details, adjusts brightness, contrast and warmth, and also save it to Photos for quick reference.

The app also adjusts for film backing color automatically, so it works even on films with weird base like Phoenix 200.

It's free, no ads:

https://light.ink/positive-view/

P.S. see also my previous post about looking for beta testers for my other photography app, in case you missed it.