Film/Scanner problem?

[dztr]

Hey all -

My shop is producing really bad scans that come out faded and very muted. I can't tell if this is a film, camera, or scanner problem - could you guys help with your input? I'd like to know what is up.

Here are 5 pics labeled with the camera/film - I'd appreciate any input anyone could give!

 

[mfogiel]

There are all kinds of issues here:
- colour cast
- flare
- incorrect exposure
- dust
- overlapping frames
- lack of critical sharpness

It could make sense, to make another film on a different camera, taking care to expose correctly ( expose C41 film at half box speed), focus well and stop down, perhaps even on a tripod, and then use the same shop to scan. If the results are still going to be bad, send the two films to scan a few frames to a pro lab and compare the results.
A shorter solution, and probably less expensive long term, would be to get one of these Plustek scanners and DIY, or shoot colour outright on digital.

 

[Ranchu]

No more reason to shoot color digital than there is to shoot black and white digital. Tones still the same. The first thing I thought is that you're way overexposed, you might check your meter(s) and shutters.

http://120studio.com/dynamic-range.htm

 

[mani]

The five images look rather different to me - ranging from frank disaster to pretty much ok: something terrible has happened to the image of the car, but I like the kid with the tiger face for instance, where the high-key tones fit the subject very well.

To be honest, my first step before messing around taking new shots would be simply asking the lab what they think might be the cause of the inconsistent results. It's important to not be confrontational, otherwise they'll just blame you for everything - just try to get some honest advice and if possible try re-scanning some of the shots.

If you do want to make some new test rolls then I agree with Ranchu that you should double-check exposure.

Don't bother with digital color which is markedly inferior to modern films like Portra. Here are some nice examples of film color:


http://www.twinlenslife.com/
http://www.johnnypatience.com/andalusia/
http://www.raylarose.com/

 

[Addy101]

Some look as they got the wrong colour balance during scanning. Did you scan yourself and were the films fresh?

 

[charjohncarter]

No more reason to shoot color digital than there is to shoot black and white digital. Tones still the same. The first thing I thought is that you're way overexposed, you might check your meter(s) and shutters.

http://120studio.com/dynamic-range.htm

I thought the same when I looked at them, but more important you should try to investigate this problem logically.

1. check the camera and meter
2. look at some other negatives to see if your negatives somewhat resemble the others: density. color, base.
3. if you are using a lab; get another one, if you are scanning yourself read the manual and use the recommended settings. My scanner has a home use and professional setting: use the home; which should be simplest.

 

[skopar steve]

I find the scans I get when having Ektar 100 developed at Walgreens are pretty bad. I use them like I would a contact sheet, just to determine which images are worth scanning on my film scanner.

On another note, I find Ektar 100 to be a little more exposure fussy then most C-41 films.