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First roll not so great

PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:09 pm
by jdepould
Recently picked up a used N80, it appears to be in good shape, but I'm rather dissatisfied with the results from my first roll. The pictures that I underexposed (by .5 EV) look terrible. I'm hoping the camera just needs to be cleaned, there is visible dust, so I know that's at least part of it. Any ideas as to what happened? Film is Fuji Superia 100, link to samples below.

http://www.pbase.com/jdepould/35mm

PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:02 am
by johnfalky
The dust/dirt visible is common with film, often deposited during handling in the lab or picked up at home, often from the scanner platen. Looking at the image a bit closer I can see an extensive amount of digital noise usually created by a defective scanner. Depth of field appears to be the issue here, and that is corrected by using the camera differently. Overall the only bugs I have had with my N80 where/are 1)Scratching the film (fixed). 2) Dirt can enter the camera through the light seal at the bottom. (Fix by wiping with a Q tip) and 3)Auto-rewind is not working right now. Overall, its an excellent camera.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:09 am
by jdepould
What's the problem with DoF? I shot most of those in aperture priority specifically thinking about DoF . . . I've been shooting with my D50 for awhile, so I understand the mechanics and underlying theory, film really shouldn't be very different.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:35 am
by jestev
Id say just bracket around... do you shoot like fully manual (like you choose shutter and aperture)? That's what I always do and then I bracket around my main exposure by going up or down a f-stop or up or down a little bit with the exposure.

In terms of Nikon SLRs, my N6006 and N70 have never let me down. I even dropped the N6006 (well the strap broke) and broke the battery door and no other problems ever arose. Great cameras! My grandfather has a N80, he likes it.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:52 am
by jdepould
I shoot either manual or aperture priority, once in a great while I shoot shutter priority, but only when I'm trying to capture motion.

Bracketing isn't a good solution because I need to use this camera for a class, I generally shoot without a tripod, and there's no digital editing allowed. I'd really like to have it look good with one push of the shutter release.

PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:45 pm
by thazooo
If you're doing your own scanning you might consider setting the Black and White points in the scanner software. Search...scantips dot com....

I use a rocket blower and blow off the film after it is mounted in the film holder. I then scan it.

If you want to check meter accuracy, shoot a roll of slide film, bracket your shots and record what you've done. If the meter is having a problem you'll then know what to compensate with. Slide film is unforgiving on exposure where as neg has a bit of latitude :-)

If a lab is scanning for you, you're pretty much stuck with the results.

DOF is different on film, crop factor or COC I don't know which. I find it a bit shallower on film.

PostPosted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:26 pm
by jdepould
thazooo wrote:If you're doing your own scanning you might consider setting the Black and White points in the scanner software. Search...scantips dot com....

I use a rocket blower and blow off the film after it is mounted in the film holder. I then scan it.

If you want to check meter accuracy, shoot a roll of slide film, bracket your shots and record what you've done. If the meter is having a problem you'll then know what to compensate with. Slide film is unforgiving on exposure where as neg has a bit of latitude :-)

If a lab is scanning for you, you're pretty much stuck with the results.

DOF is different on film, crop factor or COC I don't know which. I find it a bit shallower on film.


Yeah, I don't have access to a scanner that's worth using, maybe I'll try a different lab.