Help: Why do these pictures look so bad and also blurry?

[Karlatortilla]

I just got some film developed and scanned and the pictures just look quite awful in quality. They’re very grainy as if I had gone on vsco and added extra grain and also quite blurry. I’ve shot with the same film and same point and shoot for years and have never had pictures look this bad. Do you think they were developed wrong? Or is it just a bad scanner. The picture with the horse even looks blurry on the sides where the dog is and this is just very odd. Normally with my point and shoot everything is sharp with the exception of a very blurry closeup once in a while. I paid a whole lot of money for this as well since developing pictures is not cheap in London. What should I do? I think I want to get them rescanned perhaps if it’s due to poor scanning.

 

[480sparky]

The look out-of-focus.

 

[Karlatortilla]

The look out-of-focus.

They all kinda look like this except for some that look okay. I’ll post a few decent ones to compare it to from the batch. They all look bad quality, but I’m just not sure why.

 

[Rickbb]

You say you shot film, then had them scanned.

Did you not get prints made from the film? Are they/you scanning from the negatives? Did they/you scan the prints? What kind of scanner, what kind of film, what kind of camera? Was the lens smudged/dirty?

Lots of things could be in play here, need details to try and narrow it down.

 

[Soocom1]

What was the film speed?

 

[dxqcanada]

Looks like your camera is failing to consistently focus on subject and also measure exposure.
What camera is this?

 

[Karlatortilla]

Looks like your camera is failing to consistently focus on subject and also measure exposure.
What camera is this?

I have a yashica t5. It’s a point and shoot and it normally focuses just fine. This

You say you shot film, then had them scanned.

Did you not get prints made from the film? Are they/you scanning from the negatives? Did they/you scan the prints? What kind of scanner, what kind of film, what kind of camera? Was the lens smudged/dirty?

Lots of things could be in play here, need details to try and narrow it down.

I took in 15 rolls of fuji film 35mm to be developed and scanned. I use a yashica t5. I don’t know what kind of scanner they have. I didn’t get any prints, just had scans transferred to my email. I’ve used this camera for 3 years, it’s just a simple point anf shoot with autofocus. Have never had an issue before. Very strange. It also looks beyond grainy.

 

[Karlatortilla]

Looks like your camera is failing to consistently focus on subject and also measure exposure.
What camera is this?

It’s a yashica t5. Normally the pictures look more like this.

 

[Karlatortilla]

What was the film speed?

It’s a point anf shoot so it just automatically does it all for you. Not sure.

 

[Rickbb]

First thing to check is for a dirty lens, and/or the IR sensor that is used to auto focus. Perhaps just dirty, clean them just in case. After that just shoot one test roll and see what it looks like.

If it still looks bad, then;

Might be time to get a digital point and shoot. A Cannon Power shot can be had for probably less than processing 15 rolls of film.

 

[cgw]

A few questions. What speed film? Lab known to you? Asking since C-41 processing can go sideways if chemistry is stale and/or equipment is on auto-pilot.Crap scans just compound iffy processing. Some shots are OK given the camera and its age; others look under-exposed which ramps up grain. Try some cleaning as suggested, maybe new batteries?

Sorry but the little Yashica T4/5, despite their cultish following, didn't always age well and are all but irreparable. Many current phones run rings around them. I like the Ricoh GR II/III for this sort of shooting. Just a thought.

 

[webestang64]

I looked at the data from the image. They scanned with a Noritsu scanner and EZ (Noritsu software) in what they call a 4 base scan. I use a Noritsu scanner at work at there are 3 sizes. 4 base scan, 16 base scan and 32 base scan.

From my experience you got a low end scan which is 1002 x 1512. That could be why they look soft.

Here are the specs per each Noritsu scanner. I use the HS-1800 which can scan a 35mm to a 16-bit tiff if needed.

LS-600, LS-1100:
1002 x 1512, 2000 x 3000, 4000 x 6000 pixels

LS 1100:
1002 x 1512 pixels

HS-1800:
1037 x 1565, 2000 x 3000, 4492 x 6774 pixels

Our standard scan at my work for 35mm is the 16-base (2000x3000).

 

[cgw]

I looked at the data from the image. They scanned with a Noritsu scanner and EZ (Noritsu software) in what they call a 4 base scan. I use a Noritsu scanner at work at there are 3 sizes. 4 base scan, 16 base scan and 32 base scan.

From my experience you got a low end scan which is 1002 x 1512. That could be why they look soft.

Here are the specs per each Noritsu scanner. I use the HS-1800 which can scan a 35mm to a 16-bit tiff if needed.

LS-600, LS-1100:
1002 x 1512, 2000 x 3000, 4000 x 6000 pixels

LS 1100:
1002 x 1512 pixels

HS-1800:
1037 x 1565, 2000 x 3000, 4492 x 6774 pixels

Our standard scan at my work for 35mm is the 16-base (2000x3000).

Yup. Had similar results with Fujifilm.ca's in-house Frontier scans sometime back. Regular operator on vacation when all scans ran through at lowest resolution for a week before it was corrected. Ooopps...

 

[jcdeboever]

I see a lot of underexposed images and with c41, color, this is not desirable (mushy color, clumpy grain). Most C41 color film will handle over exposure well, but not under. I shoot a lot of Portra which has a great deal of latitude when it comes to over exposure. Under exposure...not so much, maybe one stop in good lighting conditions. Interestly, your underexposed shots did better with auto focus. Your scans are small but still, many missed focused shot. I wouldn't blame the scans per say because you can clearly see some are sharp, others are not. Easy to check if you have a loupe, or 50mm lens turned upside down, and a light table or iPad with bright white jpeg.

I would venture to say your camera is the culprit. Try cleaning it, fresh batteries. If you have a way to make the camera over expose a stop or 2, do that when you can. You also want to properly store your c41 film, never leave in car. Use fresh, properly stored film.