Am taking 35mm Slide pics - Need help resolving underexposure for indoor pics w/flash

cgw · Jun 17, 2013

A quick question. Are the bad indoor shots all on the same roll or mixed with the good outdoor shots? Asking since the scanned "bad" example almost looks like bum processing--or stale film(?). Not totally sure the mixed color temp theory holds water since the colors look odd for tungsten overpowering daylight flash.

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

cgw said:
A quick question. Are the bad indoor shots all on the same roll or mixed with the good outdoor shots? Asking since the scanned "bad" example almost looks like bum processing--or stale film(?). Not totally sure the mixed color temp theory holds water since the colors look odd for tungsten overpowering daylight flash.

Three different rolls bought from the same store and are from the same lot. They were developed using the same lab. are you suggesting to change both (lab and lot) ?

cgipson1 · Jun 17, 2013

hrzaidi said:
cgw said:

A quick question. Are the bad indoor shots all on the same roll or mixed with the good outdoor shots? Asking since the scanned "bad" example almost looks like bum processing--or stale film(?). Not totally sure the mixed color temp theory holds water since the colors look odd for tungsten overpowering daylight flash.

Click to expand...

Three different rolls bought from the same store and are from the same lot. They were developed using the same lab. are you suggesting to change both (lab and lot) ?

Again, did they get hot? That is the most common reason for that magenta cast!

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

cgipson1 said:
hrzaidi said:

cgw said:

A quick question. Are the bad indoor shots all on the same roll or mixed with the good outdoor shots? Asking since the scanned "bad" example almost looks like bum processing--or stale film(?). Not totally sure the mixed color temp theory holds water since the colors look odd for tungsten overpowering daylight flash.

Click to expand...

Three different rolls bought from the same store and are from the same lot. They were developed using the same lab. are you suggesting to change both (lab and lot) ?

Click to expand...

Again, did they get hot? That is the most common reason for that magenta cast!

They were stored in a refrigerator till they were used. In the store, they were also in proper cold storage (bought them from B&H - which is a big / reputable camera place). Once loaded, the camera has been left multiple times in the trunk or in the house (perhaps sometimes in sun coming thru the windows etc).

But should'nt magenta also show up in outdoor snaps ?

cgw · Jun 17, 2013

Car trunks can get pretty warm. I asked about the consistency of the nasty color roll-to-roll and inside/outside since I've seen that unpleasant brownish-magenta cast from labs with stale chemstry. With so little E6 film being shot now, it's not unreasonable to suspect processing. Wouldn't hurt to try another lab that processes quite a bit of slide film on a regular basis. Those conditions usually assure consistent results. Make sure it's not sent out to another, unknown lab. Your film is likely OK if it's inside stale date and kept fridged by you till loaded. Try to not leave E6 film in a camera forever.

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

cgw said:
Car trunks can get pretty warm. I asked about the consistency of the nasty color roll-to-roll and inside/outside since I've seen that unpleasant brownish-magenta cast from labs with stale chemstry. With so little E6 film being shot now, it's not unreasonable to suspect processing. Wouldn't hurt to try another lab that processes quite a bit of slide film on a regular basis. Those conditions usually assure consistent results. Make sure it's not sent out to another, unknown lab. Your film is likely OK if it's inside stale date and kept fridged by you till loaded. Try to not leave E6 film in a camera forever.

Any recommendations for a good mail order place to send for E6 Processing & Mounting ? (or a good lab in the New York City area ?)

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

Any recommendations for a good mail order place to send for E6 Processing & Mounting ? (or a good lab in the New York City area ?)

amolitor · Jun 17, 2013

There seems to be some difficulty with language or something here.

Have you had a roll of film on which there are BOTH well exposed outdoor shots, AND badly exposed interior shots? On the same roll?

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

amolitor said:
There seems to be some difficulty with language or something here.

Have you had a roll of film on which there are BOTH well exposed outdoor shots, AND badly exposed interior shots? On the same roll?

Yes. On the same roll, I have indoor shots which have magenta tint and outdoor shots which are fine. Infact all outdoor shots look great.

amolitor · Jun 17, 2013

There ya go.

You've just ruled out processing and overheating. It's a lighting/exposure problem, NOT a processing problem and NOT a heating problem (well, it's extremely unlikely to be any of those, at this point, anyways).

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

So far I have gotten the following from you guys - Possible reasons :

1. Light from flash is inadequate (batteries weak or flash settings not propoer and/or bounce should not be used - I always use bounce btw to reduce the harsh effect of direct flash light). My question: Can that induce magenta tint ?
2. Camera setting underexposed indoor shots (not good to use P mode). My thoughts: For all 3 cameras ? Maybe bounce flash did impart underexposure to some extent.
3. Film could be compromised due to heat or bad lab or development process used sub-optimal or stale chemicals. My question: Outdoor shots from the same roll are fine - can that happen ? According to amolitor - No.
4. Light mixing from different sources (i.e. flash / home lighting etc). It was sugegsted to take a picture of Gray Card. My comment/question: Thats normally what we do with print film and digital. They come out ok. Is slide film that much more sensitive to "proper" light mixing and I need a filter or something for color correction or color neutralization ? I will take a pic of Gray Card though to see.

My gut feeling for underexposure is #2.
No clue yet for magenta tint :-(

Helen B · Jun 17, 2013

What is the color of your ceiling?

hrzaidi · Jun 17, 2013

Helen B said:
What is the color of your ceiling?

White. Its not smooth (has textured finish).

hrzaidi · Mar 19, 2014

This thread was started a while back. Wanted to finish off. I had several conversations with Ken Rockwell (maintains the kenRockwell.com site - excellent rersource), and he asked me to shoot the same subject with different flash settings and record details along with the distance. Fundamentally it boiled down to sync speeds and right flash settings. With the right flash sync speed and staying within the flash distance guide, elimnates the red.