wonky shots troubleshooting

[earthmanbuck]

I just got back a roll from a few weeks ago, and I'm trying to figure out where exactly these shots went so crappy:

It could be any of the following things, or some combination thereof:
a) Something wrong with the camera (I think this was my first time using this one, which I bought on eBay)
b) it was old expired film
c) Miscalculated light settings (I generally rely on built-in light meters, but because this camera was built for a battery with a voltage they no longer make, I had to wing it and use Sunny 16 [compensating for double exposure shots like #3])

My guess is that it's an "old film" kinda problem, but I am far from an expert and would like to hear what you folks think.

 

[webestang64]

My guess would be old film and underexposed. Old film after development looks very dark for the base has started to develop on it's own (base fog).

 

[earthmanbuck]

My guess would be old film and underexposed. Old film after development looks very dark for the base has started to develop on it's own (base fog).

Does that mean older film generally should be given more exposure than fresh stuff (for example, starting with a "sunny 11" rule or something)?

 

[SoulfulRecover]

Generally old film will need more light but that also depends on how it was stored and all that stuff. The best thing to do is shoot a test roll (if you have a batch of rolls from the same time) and go from there.

 

[Gary A.]

Looks like real old film.
Looks like film that was overheated.
Looks like old development chemicals.
Looks like a bit of fogging in the camera.
Looks like a bit of fogging in the development.
Looks like a combo of any two or more of the above.

 

[webestang64]

My guess would be old film and underexposed. Old film after development looks very dark for the base has started to develop on it's own (base fog).

Does that mean older film generally should be given more exposure than fresh stuff (for example, starting with a "sunny 11" rule or something)?

If color print film gets to that point where after development it looks like you could use it as sunglasses it does not much matter how it was exposed. The base fog from film just sitting can get so dark it's almost black.
I process film all day at my job and a ton of it is, "I found this roll in a drawer". We process it and get the results you see above all the time.
Only outdated film I ever shoot is E-6 cross-processed in C-41. All other films I shoot are fresh and shooting on the expire month is best because the film has reach it's peak curve for color saturation.

 

[earthmanbuck]

Thanks for the info, all. I buy old (sometimes quite old) film on eBay quite a bit and usually it's fine, but every now and then I get a roll that just doesn't do it. I store it in my fridge from the moment I get it until about a day before I use it, but these shots were all from a weekend of being outside in the heat, so I imagine that could have been a factor too. A lot of the film I buy comes in batches so it's easy to shoot a roll and adjust accordingly, but this particular roll was a one-off—putting it in a camera I may or may not have shot with before was just bad judgement.