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Blurriness & White Line | Olympus OM-10

ECD

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London
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Very new to film photography, recently bought an Olympus OM-10 and some Kodak Gold 200 film. I had taken some practice shots to figure out how the camera works, if it works at all and too see how everything goes. So I had the film developed and got it back, and attached are a few of the shots.

As you can see, they're not great. All of them range from slightly blurry to really blurry to the point where you can't make out anything, and every single one has a thin white line that goes across the photo in the same place.

Can anyone please advice me on how to fix these? I think the blurriness may have to do with the shutter speed which the camera chooses itself. And for the white line, could there be a light leak, or a crack in the lens? How do I fix that?

Thanks in advance!
 

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I don't think it's a light leak. They look like film processing marks to me. But I'm sure other Photrio folks would have a better insight.
 
You can get a manual adapter for the OM10 which will then allow you to choose the shutter speed. Are you sure the camera is working and metering correctly as it may be selecting a shutter speed that is too low, if you had the manual adapter you could try different speeds for the same shot to see what result you get.

I am a big fan of the Olympus OM cameras but I never got on with the OM10 or the OM20. I started with an OM40 about 30 years ago and loved that camera. My main camera now is the OM4Ti but I also use an OM1 and OM2 which can often be bought for the same price as some OM10 go for.

The line my well be due to the film catching on something in the camera so check for anything that matches where the line is on the negative.
 
Looks like camera shake during part of a long exposure.
 
Mainecoonmaniac said:
I don't think it's a light leak. They look like film processing marks to me. But I'm sure other Photrio folks would have a better insight.
Click to expand...
I thought it might be scanning issues, and posted that in the other thread.

Oh, by the way, ECD, try not to double-post as it can be confusing
 
Truzi said:
I thought it might be scanning issues, and posted that in the other thread.

Oh, by the way, ECD, try not to double-post as it can be confusing
Click to expand...
You might be right. Another issue may be the film is scratched in the film chamber some how.
 
Mainecoonmaniac said:
I don't think it's a light leak. They look like film processing marks to me. But I'm sure other Photrio folks would have a better insight.
Click to expand...

That actually seems to be the problem, a lot of people have suggested that. It was practically confirmed by looking at the negatives which had no sign of the line whatsoever.
 

I also have the manual adapter, but thought it'd be best to try it without it first, but it really seems like I'm gonna have to learn how to use it. And thanks for your input, it does seem to be an issue with the shutter speed!
 
Truzi said:
I thought it might be scanning issues, and posted that in the other thread.

Oh, by the way, ECD, try not to double-post as it can be confusing
Click to expand...

Oh sorry about that, I thought it would appear in different threads, and didn't know where to post - I'm new to this website
 
ECD said:
[Film processing] seems to be the problem, a lot of people have suggested that. It was practically confirmed by looking at the negatives which had no sign of the line whatsoever.
Click to expand...

How can film processing be the cause and the lines not showing up in the negative ??
 
AgX said:
How can film processing be the cause and the lines not showing up in the negative ??
Click to expand...
Some C-41 machines have roller transports. Poor maintenance can result in dirty rollers and leave marks on negatives. But this is just a guess.
 
Welcome to Photrio.
In case you haven't already done so, I'd suggest a read of the instruction manual .
Olympus America still has it online here: http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/Oly_OM10.pdf
When you work with this camera, it tells you in the viewfinder (along the left side) what shutter speed it is setting.
Assuming you are using the camera with a 50mm standard lens, you can probably hand hold the camera if you keep the shutter speed at 1/60 second or slower shorter.
With some practice, you may be able to use slower speeds hand-held, but 1/60 is a good target.
If the light is too low for that speed, then you should brace the camera somehow - a tripod is best, a solid surface like a table top or wall can work, and there are a few other useful tricks (e.g. beanbags) that can help.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Kino said:
I am sure Matt meant at 1/60th or FASTER...
Click to expand...
Thanks - I've corrected it to read 1/60 second or shorter, but you can use faster to mean the same.
 
Sorry to jump in there; didn't know if you saw that...
 
When something similar happened to me I thought it was marking from the roller-transport developing machine, but there were no marks on the negative, so I figured the mini-lab scanner had something obstructing it's sensor. The lines were too "perfect" and semi-translucent.
I scanned them at home and they were fine. That was also what prompted me to stop procrastinating and finally do my own C41 developing.

I've a friend who uses a "trick" for slow shutter speeds. He finds something to place the camera on (as MattKing suggested) and uses the self-timer. That way he isn't even touching it when the shutter fires - he'll use this for low-light photos indoors for exposures 1/2 second and longer. Just a thought if you don't yet have a tripod.
 
AgX said:
Looks like camera shake during part of a long exposure.
Click to expand...

This refers to the oblique lines in photo #1.
The "blurriness" the OP speaks of? I see camera shake in the other photos too.


But there is indeed a light line in all three photos going in parallel to the film strip.
 
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