35mm Film Advice

rachel45116

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Hi there! I have a Canon EOS 1000F film camera. I have always had no problem taking pictures with this beginner's basic camera. I have been taking my film to the same place for developing. However, an entire roll of film I just got back appears to be really underexposed (that's what I'm thinking at least). My previous film had a blue streak across the photos, so I used canned air to clean the dust/sand out of it. I was taking some shots outside and I did get caught in some heavy rain with this camera, so I have also wondered if water somehow got into the camera and damaged the film. For reference, I am using Fuji Superia ISO 400 film. Thanks for your help
 

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Is it expired? Don't keep it in the car on a hot day, especially color. Your sample image looks like it got cooked. I always over expose color film by one stop. 2 for expired ot poorly kept. Check light seals on camera. As far as blue streak, could be in scan. Try another lab or develop and scan yourself. Color is tricky to scan.
 
Maybe the meter is faulty. Knowing the settings and the lighting conditions would help address that.
 
I agree with Jc - that image looks like something other than simple exposure issues. The loss of contrast and slight color shift suggests something going on with film (expired? Exposed to heat?) or development.
 
I would like to see another example photo. Do the negatives appear "thin", meaning weakly-exposed? One,single photo is difficult to base a decision off of. There could be a number of issues, like the meter being faulty, or heavy minus exposure compensation being dialed in, or the ISO level being set wrongly, or if it uses DX-coded film canisters, perhaps one of the DX-encoding pins is damaged, or the lens diaphragm is malfunctioning and is closing down the lens too far or otherwise setting the wrong aperture value at the moment of exposure, or perhaps when using the canned air the shutter was somehow damaged. Or...the film itself could have been exposed to intense heat at some point in the supply chain, or during transit. Really difficult to say without more information, For example, did you buy the film from an outlet-type store, or was it mailed/shipped more than one time? Additionally, was the picture you posted here a scan? That is why I asked if the negatives look "thin"...I think this could be an under-developement problem, or it could be a scanning issue.

@webstang64 would be the TPF member who I think might best be able to diagnose the issue with certainty.
 
I'm uploading another photo for reference. The film was definitely expired, but for all my film I pretty much buy expired via ebay, etc. The film was bought from ebay and delivered in July, if I remember correctly, the package was pretty warm when I got it from the mailbox. Never crossed my mind that this could be the reason why. I myself am thinking it is more film issue than exposure, as I've never really had problems with before this
 

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Type of film? ISO/ASA? What aperture and shutter speed used?
 
Also worth noting--I travelled with this film from USA to NZ, was located in carry on baggage, so I've also been looking into how the xray might have had an effect on it. I was also on a connecting flight, so probably went through xrays twice.

@480sparky 400ISO Fuji Superia, color
 
I always over expose expired film by 2 stops. I stopped using expired film some time ago, just never know how it was kept and getting the colors to scan right was a PITA. These looked cooked to me. The second shot looks cooked and out of focus. I guess you could just buy some good film and see if your exposure looks better to eliminate the camera. I've never had an issue with film going in a carry on but I always take them out of the canisters and place them in a zip lock and ask for a hand check. Sometimes they will do it but for some reason, Detroit Metro usually tells me to put it in a bin. Still never noticed an issue.
 
I don't have any experience with expired film but the scans look under exposed and it seems like the lab was trying to recover it. There's a bit of green shift in the shadows in the first image, which is common when you're trying to recover the shadows on film. Then again, it could be the expired film. ISO400 should be ok through the xray machines. I've had my Portra 400/800 through several xray scanners when I went to Scotland.
 
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Expired film, film that arrived and sat in the mailbox and got hot, traveled on air flights possibly x-rayed twice, a recipe for bad images. With the cost of film and the value of pictures and the cost of processing I see absolutely no reason to buy expired color film, unless you want pictures it look like the ones you shown us. Buying film from eBay vendors is very sketchy unless those vendors happen to be big stores with refrigeration and an actual, legitimate supply chain. Buying boxes or bricks of expired film from Rando's on eBay,well that is just really fraught with danger.
 
Caught in the rain, hot mailbox, xrays... and I'm thinking the exposure may have been off in the second picture but who can really tell? lol Seems like not much else could have been done to this film, but actually there is more/worse that could've been done, there are people who do this type thing on purpose, for effect! Look up Lomography, or Revolog film. On Revolog's shopping page scroll down to expired Kodacolor, that example photo resembles your photos (except their film was probably way more expired than what you used!).

I've used expired film and it was fine, but I consider it to be experimental and use it for something not all that important. There likely is some in my fridge now. It depends on how it was stored; it should be cold stored unless you plan to use it before too long.

I agree, buying film on ebay is iffy at best. If it belonged to Uncle Whoseywhatsis and was in a camera bag in the attic for years/decades, the seller might not even know how long it was up there or that film shouldn't be left in the heat.
 
You could try doing some adjustments to the scanned images; I saw one person's photos on Lomography's site when I searched expired Kodacolor and they weren't bad. If you played around with your first one you might get something interesting out of that subject.

Forgot to mention that color film is more likely to have color 'shifts'; B&W can last indefinitely (at least longer than color film, and the negatives/prints can be fine for decades). Color film can be more of a crap shoot.
 
Those images look very underexposed (you must have thin negatives).
Airport x-rays cause light banding, curved streaks of fog. Heat can ruin film if left in heat for a long time, Sitting in a mailbox for a day or two should not harm the film too bad unless your in 100+ temps.
Expired film........the month that is listed on the film box is when the film is at it's peak. I try my best to shoot film on the the month it "expires". Once it reaches that point the longer it sits the darker the base fog will get. Sometimes at my lab we have film that is so old it looks like very dark sunglasses. Should be safe with film up to 10-15 years old (still dependent on storage conditions) after that good luck.
 
.............I agree, buying film on ebay is iffy at best. If it belonged to Uncle Whoseywhatsis and was in a camera bag in the attic for years/decades, the seller might not even know how long it was up there or that film shouldn't be left in the heat.

These days, most people aren't even aware that film (film in a photographic sense) is sensitive to light and can be ruined simply by opening the back of the camera. Seriously. They think that as long as it's in the camera, it's OK.
 

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