Went for a holiday during CNY and shot a few rolls of film (all ISO400) which I got developed here in Taiwan. Unfortunatley the prints and scans don’t look that good, there is way too much blue in them. The photo shop claims they didn’t adjust the colors.
So, based on the fact that I used a “normal” non-digital SLR with films purchased at different places and didn’t fiddle with any settings, what is more likely to be the cause - the film/camera or the photo shop?
Here are some bad examples; pictures are unmodified, i.e. as provided by the shop on CD-ROM:
Different kinds/brands of film have different colour casts. What film were you using exactly? Also, shooting landscapes in the middle of the day will make your images come out blueish anyway; you can use a mild orange filter to correct it.
Plus, you don’t need ISO 400 for outdoor shots on a bright day; those pics would have looked far less grainy had you used ISO 100 or maybe even 50.
[quote=“Stray Dog”]Different kinds/brands of film have different colour casts. What film were you using exactly? Also, shooting landscapes in the middle of the day will make your images come out blueish anyway; you can use a mild orange filter to correct it.
Plus, you don’t need ISO 400 for outdoor shots on a bright day; those pics would have looked far less grainy had you used ISO 100 or maybe even 50.[/quote]
I don’t agree with you, a 400 can be used at bright days to flatten out your contrast as it could be that a 100 or 50 has to high contrast … the use of a UV filter could actually have caused less blueishness and a polafilter would have deepend your colors. A blue haze is normal in shadow parts on a blue sky sunny day …
I had the same years ago when I was shooting with 400 ASA slide film in bright sunlight in rather tropical regions. I guess the amount of UV or whatever was too much to bear even for my skylight filter and the 400 ASA, originaly developed for dark days or fog, could not cope with it. Mine were rather blueish I think, but that may be chance.
I recommend ASA 400 only in a 2nd camera body for the darker hours…
EDIT: UV is strongest round noon.
A simple camera which does not adjust the exposure properly and has a dark lens may do fine with a 400 ASA though…
And once I had greenish or blueish with a very old 400 ASA even on not so sunny days, when I had the film exposed in the camera for half a year. Guess 400 ASA is vulnerable.
Thanks for the replies. I guess I shouldn’t have used the ISO400 film, never had such problems before when I used ISO100 or 200 films.
Also never used any other filter than a UV/Skylight filter btw.
Well, will manipulate the pictures from the CD-ROM and throw most of the prints into the bin …
[quote=“Rascal”]Thanks for the replies. I guess I shouldn’t have used the ISO400 film, never had such problems before when I used ISO100 or 200 films.
Also never used any other filter than a UV/Skylight filter btw.
Well, will manipulate the pictures from the CD-ROM and throw most of the prints into the bin …[/quote]
200 is a good option …
Did you have a look at the expiry date of your films? But anyhow, the lab should have filtered it out …
Years ago Fuji used to have a greenish hue compared to Kodak or Agfa, Kodak went to the red/yellowish …
It’s a good idea to put a UV filter/skyligh filter on your lenses, it’s a good protector against scratching.
using whatever iso is a choice of the photographer, I sometimes use a 100 or 200 when it’s a gray day instead of 400, gives a better contrast. Modern 400’s are less grainy than they used to be in the old days … but in the end it depends on the occasion and in the tropics it’s what’s availabe if you don’t bring your own stock …
Plus … if it’s a shitty lab and their developer temps are of or they don’t replenish enough you can use whatever film you want, it won’t be good …
Before you trash your prints, try this. Go to another shop in the afternoon and have a couple of prints made. You might see a big difference. If the processing machines are turned on in the morning, the chemicals won’t stabilize until after lunch. Many people run out in the morning and drop off their film to be developed only to be disappointed by the quality.
In addition, if you’re using Fuji film, go to a shop where they’re using Fuji chemicals…for Kodak film, Kodak chemicals.
I’ve brought some old negatives back with me that I’ve been meaning to have digitized for some time. I could just drop them off somewhere to have them scanned, but would like to try it at home first.
Problem: I don’t have a dedicated film scanner. My Epson Stylus does a good job, and the resolution is more than adequate, but negatives have an orange mask that I’m having trouble compensating for in Photoshop.
I imagine that solution to filtering the orange mask is similar to what Rascal would have to do were he to scan and filter out the blue. Any ideas on how to best go about this? Automatic adjustments won’t do it and I’m consistently missing the sweet spot.
I’ve brought some old negatives back with me that I’ve been meaning to have digitized for some time. I could just drop them off somewhere to have them scanned, but would like to try it at home first.
Problem: I don’t have a dedicated film scanner. My Epson Stylus does a good job, and the resolution is more than adequate, but negatives have an orange mask that I’m having trouble compensating for in Photoshop.
I imagine that solution to filtering the orange mask is similar to what Rascal would have to do were he to scan and filter out the blue. Any ideas on how to best go about this? Automatic adjustments won’t do it and I’m consistently missing the sweet spot.
cheers.[/quote]
In your scanning software there should be an option to compensate negative scanning or you could download and add-on scanner software to do the trick … and right now I can’t recall the name of this beauty …
I’ve brought some old negatives back with me that I’ve been meaning to have digitized for some time. I could just drop them off somewhere to have them scanned, but would like to try it at home first.
Problem: I don’t have a dedicated film scanner. My Epson Stylus does a good job, and the resolution is more than adequate, but negatives have an orange mask that I’m having trouble compensating for in Photoshop.
I imagine that solution to filtering the orange mask is similar to what Rascal would have to do were he to scan and filter out the blue. Any ideas on how to best go about this? Automatic adjustments won’t do it and I’m consistently missing the sweet spot.
cheers.[/quote]
Try using levels and curves in Photoshop. Just hit ctrl-L if PC, or cmd-L if Mac, to bring up the levels window. Click on the white eyedropper (the right most one) and then use it to click on something in the image that should be white. Do the same for the black eyedropper (the leftmost one) and find something that should be black in the image. Then hit OK.
Next hit ctrl-M (cmd-M) to bring up curves. Use this to fine tune until it looks right. The best way is to click in the center of the grid to create a center point, then also in the bottom left quarter and top right corner. This sets your anchor points. Then, hold the top right anchor point and just move the curve around as needed - up and right to brighten, down and left to darken. Repeat with the bottom left anchor point, then finally, use the center point to adjust the midtones and contrast.
[quote=“belgian pie”][quote=“AWOL”]agreed that 400 is usually too much for daytime.
the beauty of film is that you learn why things dont work and you become a better photog for it.[/quote]
It works for me … and I know why it works and how I can make it work [/quote]
i wasnt picking on you mate. i was saying most people think 400 is the std for all weather/conditions photography, as lazy assed people in shops recommend it. those who know how to use film know how to use any speed. some of the best images i have seen were taken with 800 middle of the day in bright light and only worked due to the skill of the photog. to everyday folk like me, 400 is a pain in the ass. i mostly use 100, occassionaly 200.
Thanks for the tips. Having tried, and seen the results, now I’ll have no regrets about paying someone else to do this for me. I’ll keep playing around though.
[quote=“Comrade Stalin”]Before you trash your prints, try this. Go to another shop in the afternoon and have a couple of prints made. You might see a big difference. If the processing machines are turned on in the morning, the chemicals won’t stabilize until after lunch. Many people run out in the morning and drop off their film to be developed only to be disappointed by the quality.
In addition, if you’re using Fuji film, go to a shop where they’re using Fuji chemicals…for Kodak film, Kodak chemicals.[/quote]
Thanks, I will keep that in mind next time.
I’ll keep playing around though.