A grumpy T- what is this on my photos?

[Cg_Girl]

Right well as the title goes i am a bit grumpy firstly though i am grumpy at myself because i am not checking each shot with another lightmeter or the DSLR and it's so obvious i need to, especially indoor stuff as they are pants..

BUT........

My question is quite a few of the useless dark shots are covered in what looks like blue streaks? what have i done to cause this??

 

[robhooley167]

Blue streaks sound like light leaks to me, can you upload one of them so we can diagnose the problem more accurately?

 

[Cg_Girl]

Yeah of course 2 seconds... one of them i've slid the blacks right down so it shows the blue up to see it

 

[Cg_Girl]

disaster by Cg_Girl on Talk Photography

So far there are a few like this..

 

[pingu666]

maybe chemical in the devlopment wasnt even?

 

[AJQS]

maybe chemical in the devlopment wasnt even?

I take it you didn't scan them yourself? can you see it on the negatives? I often get streaks in very underexposed areas of home devved B&W, but they don't show on the negative, only scans which have had to be really worked hard digitally to get any image off them.

To me it looks like the image has been scanned with the film still wet.

 

[robhooley167]

Looking at that now, it could be uneven developing

 

[Cg_Girl]

It's pants, i know some are photos i've messed exposure up even some i thought were ok once i start having a mess about you can see it faintly..

I hadn't thought about looking at the negs, i shall do that and i guess in future find somewhere decent to send my rolls and not be impatient

@Alan Clogwyn no not myself it was a boots hour service, i see so many use Asda with no problems i was impatient to try but only boots or max do it around here so far that i've seen

 

[steveo_mcg]

Supermarket/Boots scanning service really struggles with underexposed negs, probably just the way the machines are set up.

 

[Cg_Girl]

I guess that makes sense... I've really got to start checking each shot and paying attention because i was really gutted with this roll

 

[skysh4rk]

I guess that makes sense... I've really got to start checking each shot and paying attention because i was really gutted with this roll

You don't necessarily need to check your exposure for every shot, just if the lighting conditions change from your initial metering. After awhile, you'll start to recognise what settings are best for particular scenes/lighting, but it will take a bit of practice. Handheld meters or knowledge of the sunny 16 are pretty helpful too, although sunny 16 doesn't do you much good indoors.

 

[donut]

@Cg_Girl just wondering if you took any outdoor pics on the same roll and what did they come out like T ? ( in fact did you take any indoor ones that came out alright ?)

 

[Cg_Girl]

@Cg_Girl just wondering if you took any outdoor pics on the same roll and what did they come out like T ? ( in fact did you take any indoor ones that came out alright ?)

Some out door ones from earlier on the roll are fine, some indoor ones are fine, well i say fine they aren't streaked, just my poor focusing, i seem to be getting to close, i guess that's where i am used to the auto focus but i'm not sure how i can correct that...

looking through the photos it does seem to be predominantly on the ones with co'cked up exposure

You don't necessarily need to check your exposure for every shot, just if the lighting conditions change from your initial metering. After awhile, you'll start to recognise what settings are best for particular scenes/lighting, but it will take a bit of practice. Handheld meters or knowledge of the sunny 16 are pretty helpful too, although sunny 16 doesn't do you much good indoors.

My problem really is that even with digital i had no clue on the technicals so i need to get to that point where i can recognise what settings i need

 

[excalibur2]

H'mm T is looks to me like an underexposed shot with a lens wide open causing flare...it also looks like a double exposure as one little portion on the shot looks less underexposed but this is only a guess as you would know what you saw in the viewfinder was what you got? I've had no problem with Asda with underexposed shots, as you can see the detail but unfortunatley full of noise like yours.

 

[big soft moose]

i seem to be getting to close, i guess that's where i am used to the auto focus but i'm not sure how i can correct that...

The lens has a distance scale on it (in feet i think) from minimum focus to infinity - use that as a guide to the focussing and don't try to shoot closer than the minimum focus distance (which may be 3ft though i can't recall off hand)

looking through the photos it does seem to be predominantly on the ones with co'cked up exposure

if you are shooting inside in dim conditions , you are going to struggle to get decent shots out of the ME without either using a long exposure (which means using a tripod), or very high iso film (the latter brings its own issues in having grain like golf balls) - also the metering on the ME is basic so on a shot like the above (which appears to be an xmas tree though its hard to be sure) the meter may be fooled into underexposing by the bright points of light - this will take a bit of getting used to as the metering on your DSLR is a lot more sophisticated, and that hand held meter i left you is basic and doesnt cope well with indoor situations.

You best bet would be a compatible flashgun - the good news being that they are very cheap on ebay , try to get one with a poseable head (sometimes called a cobra head) so you can bounce the light off the ceiling so as not to wind up with harsh unflattering lighting and shadows

 

[Cg_Girl]

H'mm T is looks to me like an underexposed shot with a lens wide open causing flare...it also looks like a double exposure as one little portion on the shot looks less underexposed but this is only a guess as you would know what you saw in the viewfinder was what you got? I've had no problem with Asda with underexposed shots, as you can see the detail but unfortunatley full of noise like yours.

I had a couple of under exposed ones on my last roll, that was sent away to be developed, as much as i had to mess with it there was none of the blue stuff, you are right with the lens wide open so maybe it is that, i don't think its a double exposure, i upped the blacks to post it here just so it was more visible

 

[Cg_Girl]

The lens has a distance scale on it (in feet i think) from minimum focus to infinity - use that as a guide to the focussing and don't try to shoot closer than the minimum focus distance (which may be 3ft though i can't recall off hand)



if you are shooting inside in dim conditions , you are going to struggle to get decent shots out of the ME without either using a long exposure (which means using a tripod), or very high iso film (the latter brings its own issues in having grain like golf balls) - also the metering on the ME is basic so on a shot like the above (which appears to be an xmas tree though its hard to be sure) the meter may be fooled into underexposing by the bright points of light - this will take a bit of getting used to as the metering on your DSLR is a lot more sophisticated, and that hand held meter i left you is basic and doesnt cope well with indoor situations.

You best bet would be a compatible flashgun - the good news being that they are very cheap on ebay , try to get one with a poseable head (sometimes called a cobra head) so you can bounce the light off the ceiling so as not to wind up with harsh unflattering lighting and shadows

Thanks i'll look into getting a flash i guess then

 

[s162216]

Thanks i'll look into getting a flash i guess then

Try a Vivitar 283 or 285 as either are possibly some of the most versatile flashes ever made. The 283 is a bit cheaper as it doesn't include the zoom or swivel head or manual flash power modes of the 285, but in any of the 4 auto modes either are so easy to use and nearly always very effective. Just choose the auto mode for the distance your working with (look on the dial on the side e.g the yellow mode for the longest distance away, the purple for the shortest), and set the lens to the relevant aperture for the films ISO and the mode your using (get this from the dial on the side), and then within the range displayed anything will be correctly exposed including when bouncing. As its an auto type flash which works from the light sensor on the front, it will work with any camera, and you'll be surprised how effective this is.

If what I am saying makes no sense then the manual can be found here, which explains it quite well:

http://www.cameramanuals.org/flashes_meters/vivitar_283_larger.pdf

Theres a 283 going quite cheap on ebay at the minute, they usually go for ~£20 and 285s for about double that.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIVITAR-2...ories_CameraFlashUnits_JN&hash=item3a88927bcf

 

[excalibur2]

Thanks i'll look into getting a flash i guess then

Nah not for a lit christmas tree shot as it wouldn't look the same with direct flash....maybe if you aim the flashgun at a white ceiling to diffuse the light, that might work.

 

[big soft moose]

something like this would do http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vivitar-Z...shUnits_JN&hash=item5af78ccedd#ht_1127wt_1018 - dedication on the ME is limited to setting the sync speed and giving a fash ready lighht so any non dedicated unit should fire ... though you'd have to set the speed manually to 1/125 (that one is buy it now, but a lot are available on 99p auctions)

as mentioned your other option would be high iso film - this tends to be black and white , and give iso of either 1250m, 1600, or 3200. However you won't find it cheap unless you get some expired rolls on ebay. ( I may have some 3200 Tmax in the fridge, i'll have a look because if theres any left you'd be welcome to play with a roll)

 

[big soft moose]

Nah not for a lit christmas tree shot as it wouldn't look the same with direct flash....maybe if you aim the flashgun at a white ceiling to diffuse the light, that might work.

well there is that - i meant in general. For a lit xmas tree in an otherwise dark room you need a tripod and a longer exposure

 

[Cg_Girl]

Try a Vivitar 283 or 285 as either are possibly some of the most versatile flashes ever made. The 283 is a bit cheaper as it doesn't include the zoom or swivel head or manual flash power modes of the 285, but in any of the 4 auto modes either are so easy to use and nearly always very effective. Just choose the auto mode for the distance your working with (look on the dial on the side e.g the yellow mode for the longest distance away, the purple for the shortest), and set the lens to the relevant aperture for the films ISO and the mode your using (get this from the dial on the side), and then within the range displayed anything will be correctly exposed including when bouncing. As its an auto type flash which works from the light sensor on the front, it will work with any camera, and you'll be surprised how effective this is.

If what I am saying makes no sense then the manual can be found here, which explains it quite well:

http://www.cameramanuals.org/flashes_meters/vivitar_283_larger.pdf

Theres a 283 going quite cheap on ebay at the minute, they usually go for ~£20 and 285s for about double that.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VIVITAR-2...ories_CameraFlashUnits_JN&hash=item3a88927bcf

It does kind of make sense, thank you! it's times like this i feel useless for not knowing some of the simple basics, i don't have a flash for my DSLR everything i have done has been with natural light, so shall read up the links to and then have a play once i have got one...

i was hoping to soley use the film camera for xmas, idea general indoor stuff but maybe that's not possible if i keep mucking up, not sure i can get a flash before xmas now

Nah not for a lit christmas tree shot as it wouldn't look the same with direct flash....maybe if you aim the flashgun at a white ceiling to diffuse the light, that might work.

woohoo that's is one thing i do know lol, not for a xmas tree with lights

something like this would do http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vivitar-Z...shUnits_JN&hash=item5af78ccedd#ht_1127wt_1018 - dedication on the ME is limited to setting the sync speed and giving a fash ready lighht so any non dedicated unit should fire ... though you'd have to set the speed manually to 1/125 (that one is buy it now, but a lot are available on 99p auctions)

as mentioned your other option would be high iso film - this tends to be black and white , and give iso of either 1250m, 1600, or 3200. However you won't find it cheap unless you get some expired rolls on ebay. ( I may have some 3200 Tmax in the fridge, i'll have a look because if theres any left you'd be welcome to play with a roll)

It will have to wait till after xmas now, the kids and their pressies have to take priority over me, i'm going to write settings down and use the light meter app for this roll i have just put in and see how it comes out and where i am going wrong especially indoor stuff

 

[srichards]

My first thought was they weren't streaks but just OOF branches of the tree, assuming that was an xmas tree with baubles you had taken photos of.

Indoor and dimly lit is going to be tripod time with film. I'm at iso 1600 with a digital for indoor gloom quite a lot of the time. If you are using a basic centre weighted meter they are fooled frequently by bright spots. If you can lock exposure then point the camera at a more evenly gloomy spot then use that for exposure. That's a reasonable cheat if you haven't got an incident light meter knocking around.

 

[excalibur2]

It will have to wait till after xmas now, the kids and their pressies have to take priority over me, i'm going to write settings down and use the light meter app for this roll i have just put in and see how it comes out and where i am going wrong especially indoor stuff

Even a 50p P&S camera can take good shots and I nearly always use flash for indoor shots...and it's not that I'm clever but I want to make sure the shots come out, as it's always best to over expose negs than under.

Nikon p&s bought for 50p using flash.

 

[big soft moose]

It will have to wait till after xmas now, the kids and their pressies have to take priority over me, i'm going to write settings down and use the light meter app for this roll i have just put in and see how it comes out and where i am going wrong especially indoor stuff

I do have a spare non dedicated flashgun - but i think the xmas post might struggle to get it to you in time now. That aside the rule for indoor non flash shots that arent suited to long exposure (such as kids opening presents etc) is to get as much light on the subject as you can whether thats from natural light from window, using a big bit of white card as a reflector, or using more lamps and spot lights etc (although i suspect you are using daylight balanced film, so you will see a colour cast if you shoot under predominantly artificial lighting). Also try to use a relatively fast film like 400 iso.

For the more creative shots where slow speeds don't matter, if you havent got a tripod rest the camera on something - a bean bag is ideal, but if you havent got one ive had decent results with a rolled up fleece tucked under the lens, or even the back/arm of a sofa

 

[Cg_Girl]

My first thought was they weren't streaks but just OOF branches of the tree, assuming that was an xmas tree with baubles you had taken photos of.

Indoor and dimly lit is going to be tripod time with film. I'm at iso 1600 with a digital for indoor gloom quite a lot of the time. If you are using a basic centre weighted meter they are fooled frequently by bright spots. If you can lock exposure then point the camera at a more evenly gloomy spot then use that for exposure. That's a reasonable cheat if you haven't got an incident light meter knocking around.

I'm not even sure why i thought i'd be able to take shots inside without flash especially dimly lit without any major natural light in when i struggled with the DSLR without flash... i think i'm having a :bonk: moment..

the blue streaks are defintely not xmas tree oofness as it's on a couple of outside shots as well

Even a 50p P&S camera can take good shots and I nearly always use flash for indoor shots...and it's not that I'm clever but I want to make sure the shots come out, as it's always best to over expose negs than under.

Nikon p&s bought for 50p using flash.

Maybe i will see if i can treat myself to a cheap flash.... the guy in the shop told me it was better to under expose??? although looking at someof my rolls i don't see how that would work

 

[excalibur2]

Maybe i will see if i can treat myself to a cheap flash.... the guy in the shop told me it was better to under expose??? although looking at someof my rolls i don't see how that would work

The man in the shop is an idiot.....and is only right if you were using slide film, but for neg, err on the over exposure side.

 

[big soft moose]

the guy in the shop told me it was better to under expose??? although looking at someof my rolls i don't see how that would work

On digital that used to be true - not so much anymore

on film , nah lovespuds, print film at least gives you a lot more lattitude to expose to the right without blowing out the highlights (of course whether the scanner can retain the highlight detail may be another matter).

Of course its better alround to get the exposure right, or as close to it as possible - but with film a stop or so over won't be a disaster in most circumstances
underexposing may retain detail (and allow for a faster shutter speed) but it will create a shedload of noise when recovered digitally.

The other thing worth mentioning is that you can push film a stop without a problem - that is you can shoot a roll of iso 100 with the settings on iso 200 (or 400- on 800 and so forth) but you must tell the lab when its being developed, and most supermarkets won't cope with it.

 

[Cg_Girl]

I do have a spare non dedicated flashgun - but i think the xmas post might struggle to get it to you in time now. That aside the rule for indoor non flash shots that arent suited to long exposure (such as kids opening presents etc) is to get as much light on the subject as you can whether thats from natural light from window, using a big bit of white card as a reflector, or using more lamps and spot lights etc (although i suspect you are using daylight balanced film, so you will see a colour cast if you shoot under predominantly artificial lighting). Also try to use a relatively fast film like 400 iso.

For the more creative shots where slow speeds don't matter, if you havent got a tripod rest the camera on something - a bean bag is ideal, but if you havent got one ive had decent results with a rolled up fleece tucked under the lens, or even the back/arm of a sofa

Thank you for the offer but it's cool, that one isn't a bad price to get me started, i will look and see if i am lucky enough to get one cheaper, not that i'm tight but funds are in a bad way right now, i have done the whole lamps before some i worked some didn't at the start of my 365, i guess with film it's the not being able to see after if i have got it right etc

 

[Cg_Girl]

The man in the shop is an idiot.....and is only right if you were using slide film, but for neg, err on the over exposure side.

That then helps me a bit because he told me to watch my exposure after my first roll he done, so this last film i was probably under exposing most of them

 

[Cg_Girl]

If i search for flashes on ebay do i have to watch what i get for my given film camera? sorry i know i probably sound really useless but i've never used flash before

 

[excalibur2]

That then helps me a bit because he told me to watch my exposure after my first roll he done, so this last film i was probably under exposing most of them

Well other than tricky shots, I like to get my exposure spot on, but to make sure of minor cock-ups set the ASA dial to 160 for 200 ASA (ISO) film.......but with a bad over exposed shot the detail is there, but a bad under exposed shot the detail is gone for ever.

 

[big soft moose]

If i search for flashes on ebay do i have to watch what i get for my given film camera? sorry i know i probably sound really useless but i've never used flash before

It needs to either be pentax dedicated, or non dedicated ... if you get something like a canon flash (or a third party canon dedicated) it won't work as the hot shoe connections will be different.

that vivitar i linked to is non dedicated. Pentax dedicated would be better as it will automatically set the sync speed and give you a flash ready light, but non ded is fine as its a simple matter to remember to set the speed to 1/125.

also watch out for buying dedicated flashes that are meant for digital - they'll probably still work, but will be much more expensive

 

[excalibur2]

If i search for flashes on ebay do i have to watch what i get for my given film camera? sorry i know i probably sound really useless but i've never used flash before

Well a fully mechanical camera can take any flashgun, but am not sure what camera you are using as if you are using a more electrical camera it's best to get a flashgun that has a low "trigger" voltage..e.g. my Canons are for about 5volts flashguns, Minolta cameras are lower voltage still

 

[Cg_Girl]

It needs to either be pentax dedicated, or non dedicated ... if you get something like a canon flash (or a third party canon dedicated) it won't work as the hot shoe connections will be different.

that vivitar i linked to is non dedicated. Pentax dedicated would be better as it will automatically set the sync speed and give you a flash ready light, but non ded is fine as its a simple matter to remember to set the speed to 1/125.

also watch out for buying dedicated flashes that are meant for digital - they'll probably still work, but will be much more expensive

no i was searching flashes for film cameras so that's ok, so non ded is fine and set to 1/125... always??

 

[Cg_Girl]

Well a fully mechanical camera can take any flashgun, but am not sure what camera you are using as if you are using a more electrical camera it's best to get a flashgun that has a low "trigger" voltage..e.g. my Canons are for about 5volts flashguns, Minolta cameras are lower voltage still

It's a Pentax ME

 

[srichards]

If you've never used flash before a dedicated flash is a much better idea altogether. It saves a lot of faffing about and wasted film.

Found this one for £17 + a few quid for postage on a buy it now: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PENTAX-AF...ng-Order-/190890300178?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

It seems like it should be the sort of thing to get. It's been on a while and they have best offer so you may be able to get it a little cheaper.

 

[AJQS]

Still using the ME? ANY manual flash will do, there's nothing to dedicate on it, no TTL, no cleverness, nothing.

 

[excalibur2]

It's a Pentax ME

Ah! I don't have that camera...but the best advice is don't panic over a flash gun as I've bought three of the best flashguns around for my non Pentax cameras and never paid more than £12.

 

[Cg_Girl]

If you've never used flash before a dedicated flash is a much better idea altogether. It saves a lot of faffing about and wasted film.

Found this one for £17 + a few quid for postage on a buy it now: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PENTAX-AF...ng-Order-/190890300178?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

It seems like it should be the sort of thing to get. It's been on a while and they have best offer so you may be able to get it a little cheaper.

We all like a haggle lol.... I appreciate you looking thank you

Still using the ME? ANY manual flash will do, there's nothing to dedicate on it, no TTL, no cleverness, nothing.

Well that will help the search too, thank you!

Ah! I don't have that camera...but the best advice is don't panic over a flash gun as I've bought three of the best flashguns around for my non Pentax cameras and never paid more than £12.

I always stress especially now when i get things so wrong, you do manage to find the bargains don't you!