My fault?

Riley · 08-01-2011, 05:53 PM

Hi,

I recently was given a ME Super, and have shot a few rolls since. The photo below was from a roll of Ultramax 400 I recently got developed. Are the spots all over the scan something that I've done? Or are they a consequence of the developer not taking enough care with dust when he scanned the film?

Thanks

Attached Images

**Ash** · 08-01-2011, 06:00 PM

Was this an old film? There is an overwhelming cyanotic colour casting and significant underexposing of the film for this shot.
The spots may just be film defects (scratches/nicks etc.), likely induced during processing as the developed film is pretty fragile.

Riley · 08-01-2011, 06:13 PM

Thanks for the reply. It was shot indoors at night under some pretty strong halogen lights, so that might explain the underexposing/cyan tones.

The film I used wasn't close to being out of date.

**Ash** · 08-01-2011, 06:19 PM

Hard to control for WB on film, eh?

Riley · 08-01-2011, 06:27 PM

haha very.

**TomB_tx** · 08-01-2011, 06:41 PM

Clearly dust on the negative. I sometimes use the local Walgreens processing when I'm testing a camera repair, and their "lab" is an open area of the store. Dust on the negatives can be pretty awful in that environment. I've also learned not to judge the exposure by their processing as it can be pretty inconsistent.
When you can stand the wait, sending the film to a good lab is worth it.

Riley · 08-01-2011, 06:42 PM

Thanks. Is it possible to remove the dust off the negatives?

Steinback · 08-01-2011, 09:49 PM

You can blow dust off the negatives with something like a bulb blower. Occasionally I use a very fine soft paintbrush for larger bits of fuzz that won't come off. Many flatbed scanners and dedicated negative scanners have an IR dust reduction setting that does a pretty good job of automatically finding and ignoring dust as it scans. With extremely bad dust or other marks it is possible to re-wash and dry negatives but I haven't had to go that far with any of the several thousand frames I've scanned.

I would guess that most of your dust, colour cast and softness comes from a mediocre scan. If you are considering shooting and digitizing a fair bit of film you might want to read through some of the threads here on scanning and discussing the benefits of different scanners.

Edit: It is also possible to edit or clone dust and scratches out in software.

Steinback · 08-01-2011, 10:17 PM

I'll take it down if you want it down, but here's a quick colour correction, sharpening and dust removal. With the original file it should take under 5 minutes with a little practice.

I didn't start on the horizontal artifacts which are probably also left over from the scan.

**Schraubstock** · 08-02-2011, 12:51 AM

Here is my quick and dirty correction.

Riley · 08-02-2011, 01:06 AM

Thanks for taking the time to help me out. The scan was done by a local lab when I got the roll developed, I won't be rushing back to them any time soon. I've only just started with film (3 rolls in) so i'll definitely get my own scanner very soon, and get a bit more serious about the quality of the scans i'm getting.

Don't worry about taking the pictures down, It's a good demonstration if anyone else has a look at the thread.

Thanks again

08-01-2011, 05:53 PM	#1
Riley New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 9	My fault? Hi, I recently was given a ME Super, and have shot a few rolls since. The photo below was from a roll of Ultramax 400 I recently got developed. Are the spots all over the scan something that I've done? Or are they a consequence of the developer not taking enough care with dust when he scanned the film? Thanks Attached Images

08-02-2011, 12:51 AM	#10
Schraubstock Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,386	Here is my quick and dirty correction. Last edited by Schraubstock; 10-31-2011 at 07:14 AM.

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08-01-2011, 06:00 PM	#2
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Was this an old film? There is an overwhelming cyanotic colour casting and significant underexposing of the film for this shot. The spots may just be film defects (scratches/nicks etc.), likely induced during processing as the developed film is pretty fragile.

08-01-2011, 06:13 PM	#3
Riley New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 9 Original Poster	Thanks for the reply. It was shot indoors at night under some pretty strong halogen lights, so that might explain the underexposing/cyan tones. The film I used wasn't close to being out of date.

08-01-2011, 06:19 PM	#4
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Hard to control for WB on film, eh?

08-01-2011, 06:27 PM	#5
Riley New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 9 Original Poster	haha very.

08-01-2011, 06:41 PM	#6
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	Clearly dust on the negative. I sometimes use the local Walgreens processing when I'm testing a camera repair, and their "lab" is an open area of the store. Dust on the negatives can be pretty awful in that environment. I've also learned not to judge the exposure by their processing as it can be pretty inconsistent. When you can stand the wait, sending the film to a good lab is worth it.

08-01-2011, 06:42 PM	#7
Riley New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 9 Original Poster	Thanks. Is it possible to remove the dust off the negatives?

08-01-2011, 09:49 PM	#8
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	You can blow dust off the negatives with something like a bulb blower. Occasionally I use a very fine soft paintbrush for larger bits of fuzz that won't come off. Many flatbed scanners and dedicated negative scanners have an IR dust reduction setting that does a pretty good job of automatically finding and ignoring dust as it scans. With extremely bad dust or other marks it is possible to re-wash and dry negatives but I haven't had to go that far with any of the several thousand frames I've scanned. I would guess that most of your dust, colour cast and softness comes from a mediocre scan. If you are considering shooting and digitizing a fair bit of film you might want to read through some of the threads here on scanning and discussing the benefits of different scanners. Edit: It is also possible to edit or clone dust and scratches out in software.

08-01-2011, 10:17 PM	#9
Steinback Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: GTA, ON, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,673	I'll take it down if you want it down, but here's a quick colour correction, sharpening and dust removal. With the original file it should take under 5 minutes with a little practice. I didn't start on the horizontal artifacts which are probably also left over from the scan.

08-02-2011, 01:06 AM	#11
Riley New Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne Photos: Gallery Posts: 9 Original Poster	Thanks for taking the time to help me out. The scan was done by a local lab when I got the roll developed, I won't be rushing back to them any time soon. I've only just started with film (3 rolls in) so i'll definitely get my own scanner very soon, and get a bit more serious about the quality of the scans i'm getting. Don't worry about taking the pictures down, It's a good demonstration if anyone else has a look at the thread. Thanks again