[Louicio]

Hey guys, I recently picked up a Z-1 and ran a roll of cheap fuji 400 through it to look for any issues with the camera. One question I had was on the sample photos I've attached, the little white specks? Are they from dust? Or something in the processing? Or is it normal?

My second question is does anyone have any good suggestions for book or internet reading regarding the finer points of film photography such as film types and other things I may need to know that differs from digital? Cheers for my lumpy questions.

Attached Images

   

[boriscleto]

Dust spots on the negatives.

[elkarrde]

Yeah, it's dust.
It's pretty hard to get rid of that stuff - I'm constantly cleaning the scanner and film strips, but it keeps reappearing...

[gofour3]

Most scanning s/w/scanners have a dust removal feature, so that would help. However some do not seem to work for b&w film.

Phil.

[Brohan]

A good book to try that's covers film and other technical aspects may be Ansel Adams: The Camera. I found it to be a great start for any photographer.

[stevebrot]

Yep, dust.

In regards to Adams, The Camera...yes, it is a good reference. I would also recommend The Negative from the same series for its thorough discussion of exposure theory.


Steve

[tuco]

Inferred cleaning and ICE cannot be used on BW film. It's the silver in the film vs color film which is only dyes.

[aurele]

such as film types and other things I may need to know that differs from digital?

a basic point is that : underexposure means no information recorded by the film, so expose for the shadow. Light are harder to burn on film.

For film type : the slower the finest the grain will be, in most of the case.

Each film has its own caracteristics, so try some differents one to see what you like.

[B Grace]

Cool shots. I know it's pretty common for aircraft engines to stop at the same relative crankshaft position but it's still neat to see the props all at nearly the same angle in that second shot.

I think those of us who started with film and adopted digital still think of the sensor as the film substrate, the ISO settings and ratings to be one and the same, the picture color and white balance settings as the different types of films, noise as grain, and unfortunately dust as dust. Working with scans is similar to working with output files. If only some of the digital cameras could be as nice to use as some of the old film cameras.

For info on different films I suggest reading the manufacturers' sites which include spec sheets and sample photos.

KODAK PROFESSIONAL Films

Kodak routinely makes their film page more difficult to find so expect that page address to change again soon.

Films | Fujifilm Global

Welcome to the ILFORD PHOTO Website

I'm convinced Ilford is a great supplier to support.

[Louicio]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated. I think the Z-1 has a bit of dust in it, I'll clean it before I use it again. I will find the books you mentioned in Swinburne uni library I believe I have seen an Ansel Adams book in there previously.

[titrisol]

Cool pics, you have a good eye

I would highely reccomend the Hedgecoe books for a beginner

[k0og]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated. I think the Z-1 has a bit of dust in it, I'll clean it before I use it again. I will find the books you mentioned in Swinburne uni library I believe I have seen an Ansel Adams book in there previously.

I agree with Titrisol: You are off to a good start!

The dust spots on your photographs are not from dust in your camera, but from dust on the negatives when they were scanned for the computer. Dust is generally not a problem in the camera (but of course, it is good to keep it clean).

-Joe-

[asaru]

Most reasonable image-processing programs have a "heal" feature that lets you remove the dust specks from the scanned image file. The one that comes with GIMP works pretty well.

As an introduction to photography, I think few books beat Herbert Keppler's The Pentax Way. It's not actually about Pentax cameras so much as about how to shoot using a basic manual film SLR.

[wizowel]

I have a lot of info you might find helpful on my blog...

I Still Shoot Film Too (Also)

...also, be sure to check out the "Cool & Helpful Links" on the lower left side.

[Clay]

Re props all in same position: When returning a rental plane, a vertical
prop tells the fuel truck it needs a re-fill. Horizontal prop means its still
has enough for at least another hour's rental plus reserve fuel.

Best regards,

/Clay