Photos coming out blurry and overexposed

Hannahlee · Aug 4, 2020

Hi! I found this minolta hi-matic g camera at an op shop and tested out a roll of film, everything pretty much came out like this except for a photo i took inside which came out slightly better. I've only shot with a point and shoot before, is this something i can fix with the settings on the camera or is the camera no good? thanks!

RVT1K · Aug 4, 2020

Are you sure the film was still good?

We will need to know what your camera was set up like to be able to help.
What ISO? What shutter speed? What aperture? Flash/no flash?

Hannahlee · Aug 4, 2020

yeah the film was brand new! i used fujifilm 200

ill attach photos of how everything was set up, no flash because i dont have one to attach to it

zombiesniper · Aug 4, 2020

The two outdoor images almost look like the lens was fogging.
If it was humid out did you check to ensure the lens hadn't fogged over prior to shooting? This may not be the problem but I have this issue a decent amount in the summer months when taking my camera from the house when I go out to shoot.

Hannahlee · Aug 4, 2020

pretty sure it wasnt humid or anything, i shot throughout the month too inside and outside they all turned out like this if there was any sunlight in it

zombiesniper · Aug 4, 2020

Since it is creating so much flare in brighter light I would be leaning to a lens clarity issue. This could be due to cleanliness or glass defect. Can you see an appreciable amount of debris or scratches on the lens? Do you have another lens that you can try?

Mike Drone · Aug 4, 2020

wfooshee · Aug 4, 2020

Just what I was going to say. A mismatch between the film and the meter settings. The ASA tells the meter in the camera what sensitivity film you're using. Problem is, setting the meter to 400 and using 200 film would result in underexposure, not over; the camera thinks you have more sensitive film and thus halves the exposure.

Is there any indication in the viewfinder of what the meter is doing? Do you see aperture and shutter indications? From what I can find about the camera, you have no manual control of exposure, it picks what it thinks will work, although it shows you the settings in the viewfinder, and if the needle is in the yellow area, it should expose well. Focus is weird, too, with four "zones" selectable on that front ring, or actual distance on the rear ring. That doesn't sound clumsy at all... :boggled:

But first indication is that the meter doesn't work, or some internal setting doesn't work, because if you shot 200 film with the meter set at 400, your pictures should be dark.

I also read that light seals aren't very good on this camera... if these were the results I'd gotten, I'd write it off and bin it. Maybe keep it on a shelf with an "old cameras" display. Ten bucks down the tubes.

Derrel · Aug 4, 2020

Looks like the lens is fungus- or dust-encrusted: If you shot 200 ISO film at 400, it would give under-exposure Which is why I disagreed with Mike above. I would try cleaning the lens both front and rear and repeat your testing. I am almost certain from looking at your one photo of the camera that the lens is extremely dusty and needs to be cleaned.

Soocom1 · Aug 4, 2020

MAJOR fungus and/or dust thee.
Looking at the photo of the front of the camera shows what looks like a zombie eye.

I agree with Derrel on this, the whole of the lens needs to be cleaned.
THEN, given another aspect I saw, that being the over exposing, not only the light meter, but check the back for light leaks.

zombiesniper · Aug 4, 2020

Soocom1 said:
Looking at the photo of the front of the camera shows what looks like a zombie eye.

Hey! My eye had nothing to do with that lens.

JBPhotog · Aug 4, 2020

Agree with @Derrel, do a complete lens cleaning. If the camera has no film you may be able to clean the rear lens element by opening the camera, have a close look at the rear lens and see if it is clear. Another option, but you'll only have 1/30 sec. to assess, is to trip the shutter with the battery removed while looking through the rear lens. If you see a fogged pattern then likely the lens has fungus growing between the front lens group and rear lens group.