Just got my first roll of (CVS-developed) film back. Terrible results

[limr]

Did they scan the negatives and give you a disk? Or did you scan prints that you got back?

 

[jsharp29]

Did they scan the negatives and give you a disk? Or did you scan prints that you got back?

They gave me a disk. The images on this post are from the disk

 

[limr]

It looks like there's something going on with development, and possibly some overexposure (do you have a digital camera or a light meter to check your Canon's meter against?) but some of that can be adjusted with some color correction during scanning. If you're interested in trying to salvage these images, you might want to find a place that will rescan the negatives, or at least the ones that you think might have been 'keepers' without the color errors.

If it's not worth it to you for this roll, then I'd say shoot another roll of the same film, in similar conditions and meter readings from camera, but then bring it to a different place for development. Keep the other variables as similar as possible and just change the development variable.

And don't be discouraged by disappointing early results! We've all been there - how do you think we can come up with theories about what went wrong?

 

[jsharp29]

It looks like there's something going on with development, and possibly some overexposure (do you have a digital camera or a light meter to check your Canon's meter against?) but some of that can be adjusted with some color correction during scanning. If you're interested in trying to salvage these images, you might want to find a place that will rescan the negatives, or at least the ones that you think might have been 'keepers' without the color errors.

If it's not worth it to you for this roll, then I'd say shoot another roll of the same film, in similar conditions and meter readings from camera, but then bring it to a different place for development. Keep the other variables as similar as possible and just change the development variable.

And don't be discouraged by disappointing early results! We've all been there - how do you think we can come up with theories about what went wrong?

I do have a digital camera that I actually took identical shots with. And thanks for the reassuring words. I can actually load some into GIMP and auto white balance and they look okay. I obviously don't want to do that every time though. These are the original then auto white balanced
View attachment 68887

 

[manaheim]

It seems very odd to me that anyone would go through the effort to find, buy and use film... and then have it developed at CVS.

It's seems akin to buying a vintage car... and then bringing it to Maco to paint it.

 

[jsharp29]

It seems very odd to me that anyone would go through the effort to find, buy and use film... and then have it developed at CVS.

It's seems akin to buying a vintage car... and then bringing it to Maco to paint it.

Touche. However, I couldn't wait! Next time I'll be shipping it off to a reputable lab. Any suggestions??

 

[limr]

That looks a lot better. Many times the scans will need a bit of tweaking, just like shots from a digital camera, but it shouldn't need that much correction.

Not sure what part of the country you're in, but if there aren't other options for local developing, you could send the film out. I haven't used them but I hear good things about Dwayne's: A trusted name in photo processing for over 50 years - Dwayne's Photo There are others but I can't think of them at the moment. My head is too busy having a cold

I can almost guarantee that att some point, someone is going to pop in and say "You should develop your own!" Yes, it's easy to develop your own (start with black and white - it's easier. Color film requires more fussy temperature control), but I say there's no need to develop your own until if or when you're ready I actually think you should get a handle on shooting with film before you add your own developing into the mix. Focus on one thing at a time.

 

[jsharp29]

Thanks for the help!

 

[vintagesnaps]

Was the film sold by Amazon or listed by another seller? Wondering if the film could have been expired or improperly stored.

For outdoors daylight I usually use 100 instead of 400 speed film. Depending on if you have more of this film or use something else maybe keep notes on what you do.

 

[Gavjenks]

It seems very odd to me that anyone would go through the effort to find, buy and use film... and then have it developed at CVS.
It's seems akin to buying a vintage car... and then bringing it to Maco to paint it.

Uh, CVS sells film. I know the OP didn't buy it there, but I'm sure a ton of people who get film developed at CVS do buy it at CVS.

And although for a lot of the regulars on this forum it might be something we mainly do for artistic or pacing reasons or whatnot, plenty of people who are complete newbies to photography might choose film due to its lack of up front investment compared to digital. Especially if they inherit old equipment. And for them, CVS likely seems perfectly logical and they don't give it a second thought.

 

[jsharp29]

Was the film sold by Amazon or listed by another seller? Wondering if the film could have been expired or improperly stored.

For outdoors daylight I usually use 100 instead of 400 speed film. Depending on if you have more of this film or use something else maybe keep notes on what you do.

It was sold by Amazon, although I didn't think to look at the exp date

 

[MarkF48]

Not sure it's relevant, but how did the price of the film from Amazon compare to the same film from say B&H or Adorama? Perhaps if the film was old or not stored well (old store stock?) it may have been discounted a bit.

 

[manaheim]

It seems very odd to me that anyone would go through the effort to find, buy and use film... and then have it developed at CVS.
It's seems akin to buying a vintage car... and then bringing it to Maco to paint it.

Uh, CVS sells film. I know the OP didn't buy it there, but I'm sure a ton of people who get film developed at CVS do buy it at CVS.

And although for a lot of the regulars on this forum it might be something we mainly do for artistic or pacing reasons or whatnot, plenty of people who are complete newbies to photography might choose film due to its lack of up front investment compared to digital. Especially if they inherit old equipment. And for them, CVS likely seems perfectly logical and they don't give it a second thought.

Uh, and what percentage of those people join photography forums?

 

[Gavjenks]

It seems very odd to me that anyone would go through the effort to find, buy and use film... and then have it developed at CVS.
It's seems akin to buying a vintage car... and then bringing it to Maco to paint it.

Uh, CVS sells film. I know the OP didn't buy it there, but I'm sure a ton of people who get film developed at CVS do buy it at CVS.

And although for a lot of the regulars on this forum it might be something we mainly do for artistic or pacing reasons or whatnot, plenty of people who are complete newbies to photography might choose film due to its lack of up front investment compared to digital. Especially if they inherit old equipment. And for them, CVS likely seems perfectly logical and they don't give it a second thought.

Uh, and what percentage of those people join photography forums?

1) You didn't specify "on a photography forum" you just said anybody.
2) I also already addressed this distinction quite explicitly in the post of mine that you just now quoted (apparently without reading first).

 

[manaheim]

Well that was a very typical response from you. Thanks for being consistently pedantic and snippy.