First C41 film development, what could I improve?

Hey everyone,

Developed my first 35mm film in C41 this weekend, this was a one year expired Fujicolor Superia 200 kept at room temperature.
I shot with an older film for this because I didn't want to risk making excellent pictures and then ruining the development of it. (Its a learning process after all)

Also its important to know, I shot this film at ISO 400 by mistake and compensated for this by running -1 stop in the development process.

I'd say for a first time, they don't look too bad. But there is lots to be improved.

Link to the .DNG (RAW scan) and processed .jpg (Lightroom + Photoshop for dust touchups) can be found here:
Download: https://owncloud.bartstuff.eu/index.php/s/3Eyt45B5Ywy6dcj

I've questions about the following things related to the processing of the film:

- The picture has high grain, what caused this and can I prevent it?
- The negative has a strong offset to red and a fair bit to green, what did I do wrong? Possibly I didn't agitate the fixer enough?

- When loading the film for development, I did this with bare/unprotected hands because it gives me a better feeling if I'm doing it correct. Would it be recommended to wear lint-free gloves? Do the oils on my fingers pose a realistic risk to the development?

Some after-development questions:
- The picture suffers from lots of little white spots, some of this is dust but some of it just won't come off with a little bit of air or 99% isopropyl. What did I do wrong when drying or storing the film? (This is a after-developement issue right? Or also a chemical issue?)
- When cleaning films, what is recommended? How sensitive is the film to damage actually?

Thanks!

smiba said:

Also its important to know, I shot this film at ISO 400 by mistake and compensated for this by running -1 stop in the development process.

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Well, that's a mistake for sure. But I assume you push processed, i.e. you developed longer than the standard 3m15 to compensate for the underexposure.

smiba said:

- The picture has high grain, what caused this and can I prevent it?

Click to expand...

Superia 200 is a grainy film to begin with. Exposing and developing it correctly minimizes grain, but it'll remain fairly grainy in even a best case scenario.

- The negative has a strong offset to red and a fair bit to green, what did I do wrong? Possibly I didn't agitate the fixer enough?

Click to expand...

You showed a digital scan, and that says virtually nothing about the negative other than that there is contrast and color. But so much happens in the scanning and editing process (with or without your being aware of it) that is makes little sense to draw conclusions about development from a digital scan. Your scan looks like a typical Superia image, which tends to be fairly contrasty and saturated to begin with. Likely in the digital process, contrast and saturation were enhanced a little further, either automatically or by you intentionally.

- When loading the film for development, I did this with bare/unprotected hands because it gives me a better feeling if I'm doing it correct. Would it be recommended to wear lint-free gloves? Do the oils on my fingers pose a realistic risk to the development?

Click to expand...

Bare hands are just fine. Wash and dry them before loading film and you're fine.

Some after-development questions:
- The picture suffers from lots of little white spots, some of this is dust but some of it just won't come off with a little bit of air or 99% isopropyl. What did I do wrong when drying or storing the film? (This is a after-developement issue right? Or also a chemical issue?)

Click to expand...

Hard to tell. I don't see all that much problems in that single image, but in general, causes for white marks on the positive image (print or scan) can result from:
* Dust sticking to the film after processing when it's still wet.
* Dust on the negative when scanning or printing; obviously you can wipe this off and make sure you work in a more or less dust free environment.
* Particle contamination of processing chemistry, particularly the fixer and final wash. When reusing fix (or blix), you may want to filter it before use to get most of the crud out.

- When cleaning films, what is recommended? How sensitive is the film to damage actually?

Click to expand...

Don't. Just prevent the problem altogether. Any other approach will always be a compromise, a mess, may damage negatives and overall a chore. It's not all that difficult to make clean negatives.

Congrats on developing your first C41 film.
I agree with koraks on all the points.
If you really want to learn C41 the you need to shoot in date film at box speed. I would suggest either Fuji C200 or Kodak Colorplus.
The next thing you need to do is expose your shots correctly.
Then process your film according to your C41 kit instructions.
If you have too many variables then it is hard to pinpoint any problems.
I would also suggest you keep notes (in a notebook) of all you do, film, camera settings, developing time and temps etc) and mark each film with a referance to the notes.
Let us know how you get on, please.

koraks said:

Well, that's a mistake for sure. But I assume you push processed, i.e. you developed longer than the standard 3m15 to compensate for the underexposure..

Click to expand...

Well there you have it, I underdeveloped so now we're -2 stops off!
For some reason I had the idea that by running it at ISO 400 instead of ISO 200 I was working with overexposure but its obviously the other way around.
Thought about it once when I discovered my error and then just assumed my initial thought process was correct and worked from there

foc said:

Congrats on developing your first C41 film.
I would also suggest you keep notes (in a notebook) of all you do, film, camera settings, developing time and temps etc) and mark each film with a referance to the notes.
Let us know how you get on, please.

Click to expand...

I will do so, thanks!
Currently shooting a Fujicolor Pro 400H that's 1 month expired (Kept cooled at 4 degrees Celsius, but been through airport x-ray twice) and after that one is full I'm starting on a fresh, unexpired and untained roll of film.

Thanks to you both for the detailed answers, they're very much appreciated. Hope upcoming developments will look even better, but to be honest considering my mistakes its not too bad!

FYI: I have shot many rolls of Superia 200, over 10 years old. Allegedly stored refrigerated according to the seller. Apart from significant fog, it still produces good images. Probably not as good as brand new film, but perfectly usable for my needs. Of course, fresh film is great and always the best choice, but don't fret over it too much. Slower films are usually fine for quite some time after their use-by date if they have been stored somewhat decently.
Btw, fresh Superia can be had for quite a low price still; enjoy it while it lasts. A few years from now and it'll be gone, most likely. We'll then have to hope Kodak sticks with it.

A month over the expiry date is really nothing....and if the film was cool stored it will perform like it left the factory yesterday. Years start adding up on colour film....but even 18 months expired most users won't notice the difference....if there even is any. Film used to be dated 5 years after it left the factory until quite recently when the standards were changed and made more strict.

As for Fuji Superia 400...there are no rumours that it is going to be axed....quite the contrary the word from Fuji is that Superia 400 is likely to be the "last man standing"....though the re-introduction of Acros surely suggests they're selling more film than expected.