Fuji FP-100C problems?

[Shootar401]

I'm on my 3rd pack of Fuji FP-100C, shooting on an RZ67. From day one I've noticed that I have to meter it for ISO 160 and not 100, every exposure at ISO 100 is washed out and overexposed, on all of my lenses. Is this an issue with the film? I also shoot the FP-3000B and it exposes correctly at ISO 3200. Has anybody else found shooting 100C at ISO 160 is correct? I've followed the instructions step by step regarding development time, keep out of sunlight, etc...

I'm also noticing that most of my shots on the FP-100C, although they look great on paper, when scanning them in over 1200 dpi, they are blurry. I don't expect tack sharp prints from an instant pack, but seems like I or the film could be doing better.

Any options?

 

[kerne]

I haven't had any obvious exposure issues with my packs except in cold weather, but YMMV. They are noticeably temp sensitive.

I assume you're scanning the positives? You'd definitely get better results scanning the negatives. Check Google or YouTube for vids on how to clean the carbon black off them if you not familiar with the procedure. It's fairly quick and easy with a bit of bleach, just a tad messy.

 

[keithwms]

The blurriness isn't a problem of the film, that's for almost certain. You might check your focus.

You may well need to underexpose fp100c to protect highlights. It just depends whether you value highlight or shadow detail more, and how you meter. Are you average or spot metering?

 

[ChristopherCoy]

I've shot 4 or 5 packs now and haven't had an issue. And I've used both my polaroid back on my Hassie, and my Polaroid Land cameras.

I have started allowing to develop at least a minute longer than the instructions say though. I dont know if it really helps or not, but to me it appears a little more contrasty.

 

[himself]

never had any problems with sharpness, unless, you know, I screwed up...
but I usually rate mine at 200asa,so you're not too far off

 

[Heinz]

I expose at 100 ASA and it is in most cases ok. Sometimes I forgot to correct for reciprocity at longer exposures - discussed e.g. in:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
but this results in darker images. There is also the correction for the development time at cold or hot temperatures, but I am in the moment not sure in which directions the errors go in this case.
The sharpness of my images was never a problem, they always look sharp and very contrasty in person and when scanned. It is difficult however to give an idea of the full contrasty colors of the originals in the scanned images.

 

[Shootar401]

Here is a scan from a FP-100C print. I over exposed 1 stop on purpose, so the metering is correct. The first photo is the full frame, the second a 100% crop of the dress details. I just scanned at 300dpi on a V700, no sharpening, or colour correcting has been done. Details: 1/125 sec. ƒ/5.6 on a tripod.

As you can see on the 100% crop it seems blurry, not sure if its a back issue or not, but when I developed the Delta 100 & Portra negs from the shoot, the focus was spot on.

Hope the photos help.

 

[himself]

the full frame looks a little soft too, is it sharper for real?
have you tried scanning at a larger size?

 

[keithwms]

If I remember correctly, my back has some screws for adjustment; why not check your registry. You could open the back and put some ground glass or thin paper there....

 

[Shootar401]

I tried both 1200 and 2400 optical dpi, same issues present there as in the 300dpi scan.

I took a better look at my back thinking it might be a back issue and I found 2 things I somehow missed in the year I had this back. There is a small crack in the clamshell hear the camera mount, I never had a light leak even when using fast film, so I'm not *that* concerned about it, but There is also a 2mm gap between the dark slide and the back body. Thinking it could be an alignment issue?

Could this factor into the film not being on the right plane to achieve a correct focus?

 

[keithwms]

Looks like your darkslide might be bent a bit- probably no big deal. Only one way to know for sure if there is a problem, check it out as I mentioned.

 

[himself]

could then be that the film isn't sat at the right distance, so as Keith says, better get out some tracing paper and test it.
the way I test mine is that I cut a hole in an old film cartridge and put a bit of tracing paper where the film would normally be sandwiched in the pack.