newbie help

[nickh]

hi

I just developed my first roll of film from my first camera(slr). a canon elan 7n with a ef 28-105mm usm II. it was a roll of kodak super gold 400 i got for free when i bought the camera. i am very new to this so i dont know what I did wrong but all the pictures came out very grainy, even the ones in daylight.
what could possibly be wrong here? i know if the lighting was low it would cause some grain, but could there be something i set incorrectly on the camera? i believe it was on full auto as i was just testing it out... any ideas?

 

[nickh]

also i had a canon uv filter on it, which i think wasnt so clean...

 

[Artemis]

I doubt it was the UV filter mate. The only thing I can think of for a 400 to give grain is if perhaps you pushed the film? E.g. set it to a 800 by mistake...but on full auto it shouldnt have done that.

Check the manual on how to set your film ISO settings

 

[santino]

Well.. IMO he didn't push it (cause then the pics would be foggy, cause normal labs don't process your roll like a pushed roll ).

Maybe it's just the normal grain of Kodak Gold's ISO 400?

If you could post a pic it would help a lot, I think.

 

[ksmattfish]

i know if the lighting was low it would cause some grain, but could there be something i set incorrectly on the camera? i believe it was on full auto as i was just testing it out... any ideas?

Low lighting doesn't cause grain, but underexposure, which is a problem that occurs in low lighting, can increase grain.

You'll need to post a pic to get good help/advice.

As fancy as the manufacturers claim the auto-exposure modes on their cameras are, they are still dumb machines, and it's easy for them to be fooled.

 

[aggiezach]

i know if the lighting was low it would cause some grain, but could there be something i set incorrectly on the camera? i believe it was on full auto as i was just testing it out... any ideas?

Low lighting doesn't cause grain, but underexposure, which is a problem that occurs in low lighting, can increase grain.

You'll need to post a pic to get good help/advice.

As fancy as the manufacturers claim the auto-exposure modes on their cameras are, they are still dumb machines, and it's easy for them to be fooled.

Yup! You're gonna have to figure out how your camera's meter looks at a scene and meters it. Every meter is different and will give you a different setting for the same scene. My suggestion would be to read up on the things that go into making a photograph like Shutter Speed, Aperture, Quality of light, and things like that so you can get a better understanding of whats going on inside your camera. Also shoot several roles of film of different things and see how your camera handles it, Figure out what you want from that picture and then we can help change the settings on the camera to get the results you want!

Check out this thread It will help a lot : Basic photography Conecpts and Vocabulary


Zach

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I think I've emntioned this before somewhere....
The commonest cause of 'grainy' pictures is micro-reticulation.
When you are processing a film the temperature of all chemicals and the wash water must be the same (within 2 degrees anyhow).
If at any stage of development the film goes into a solution that is colder or warmer than the preceeding one, it goes into thermal shock. This is reticulation.
In extreme cases your film can look like mud in a drought - big fissures and cracks in the emulsion.
If the temperature differential is around 5 degrees the reticulation is much less pronounced and can't really be seen, but upon enlargement reveals itself by making the film look very grainy.
The effect also reduces as you go through processing.
In my experience 8 out of 10 'grainy' films suffer from micro-reticulation. It is nearly always caused by washing the film in water that is significantly colder than the chemicals. The next film you process take care to stabilise all temps. If you still get grain then come back - but my advice will almost certainly cure your problem.

 

[Big Mike]

From the sounds of it...I think he had the film developed. I don't think many people develop their own C-41 (Kodak super gold 400 is C-41 isn't it?).

Do the negatives look grainy? or is it just the prints. Most places will reprint your photos if you are not happy (if the negatives are OK, of course).

Try running some newer film though it. Try lots of different situations and settings. Dark & bright, flash & no flash, inside, outside etc. Than take it to a different lab.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I have know developing houses cock up - quite a lot. Which is why I won't let any of my films get processed by Kodak!
But you're right - teach me to read too fast (or not at all). With C-41 you can get mocro-retic with wash water that's too cold. But more likely they have used a rapid developer - shortens processing time but socks up grain.

 

[nickh]

hi guys, thanks for replying.

I did not make prints, I had just done a transfer from film to digital as its cheaper and i reall dont need prints.

I am thinking could it be the scanning process at the lab? or what chance is it that my lens, the ef 28-105mm usm II is the problem?

I had one test print done from that roll and it still had that fuzzy/grainy look but not as bad as on digital, as the resoultion was quite large i could see the detail.

I guess ill keep trying other rolls to see what happens, i just hope its not the lens or the camera...

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Hmm. Any chance of posting some images so we can have a look see?
Lenses can make images 'fuzzy' or cause interesting distortions and colour effects but they cannot make images 'grainy'.
Graininess is caused by - well, by grain and that's in the film. Grain size is increased by increasing the film speed, push processing for same, or incorrect development. Some developers can increase grain size too. Micro reticulation can give the appearance of graininess.
The camera has nothing to do with it - it's just a box with a hole in.
If you could post some images then one of the tech wizards like Motcon or Matt could come up with some probable causes.