underdeveloped film or camera issues?

hello was wondering if anyone could help me, ive just started getting back into black and white photography after doing it in college 2 years ago.

Just for background information. the chemicals i'm using are firstcall photographics own brand(I don't know if anybody knows of them) I bought there developer fixer and stop bath, anyway ive tried processing 3 films 2 rolls of Kodak t-max 100 and a roll of Ilford fp4 125.
now the first roll of kodak due to my mistake didn't load in the camera so that's my stupidity there, but the next two rolls each using a freshly mixed batches of chemicals heated to 20 degrees c each one some pictures have developed others aren't there at all and some are faded out and hardly visible. this has happened on both the tmax 100 and the Ilford fp4 films both films however the tail of the film turned black on each one. and the negatives (the decent ones that came out) have good range of white black and grey it seems to me. but when im out shooting (using Nikon fm-10 with 50mm prime lens series e) the light meter seems not to move or react much at anything it just stays on the red + sign indicating too much light evern with apertaure at 22 and shuter speed at 2000. so is it my camera or just underdeveloping negatives?
im leaning towards the camera having a faulty light meter at the moment.

the developing times were 5 minutes for Ilford and 7 for the Kodak film

thanks

Definitely underexposure. Something's wrong with the light meter on that Nikon. You can't really judge over/underexposure until you your exposures correct, and consistent.

so basically the light meter isn't working so I cant gauge exposure properly? hence sometimes im lucky and it works out other times it isn't?

Not clear

It is not clear to me just what is new to you -- the chemicals or the chemicals and the camera? I would suggest the first thing you do with new developer or new camera is to do a test roll. Try a variety of exposures and write it all down. And don't forget to use the "Sunny 16" rule outdoors. Use whatever setting your light meter tells you is correct but use others too.

ive used the chemicals before at college 2 years ago im familiar with using them and the process and using the camera, but I never knew the brand they used at college so the chemicals I have bout I have never used them before im simply going of there instructions.

I think your FM-10's meter is misleading you. Maybe a bad battery or poor connection or just broke.

Put a new battery in it and make sure the contacts are clean then test it using a sunny 16 front lit scene. With the camera ISO/ASA set at 100, lens set at f16, and shutter speed set at 100 the meter should show the exposure right or very close to it.

You either need to put new batteries in the camera or you have them installed wrong. If they have been in the camera for more than 2 years then they are almost certainly dead. Your batteries can be found in the watch/jewelry dept of Walmart or at most any drug store.

The next suggestion is to read the manual again so you can learn how your camera works. If you lost it or threw it away here is the online version http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/FM10_manual.pdf

Welcome to APUG!

I'm guessing (from the fact that you are using products from firstcall) that you are in the UK.

All the advice above about batteries is good (save possibly the reference to Walmart).

As you are in the UK, it may be better to use "sunny f/11" than "sunny f/16".

Take a roll of FP4+ out on a sunny day and shoot a bunch of photos in groups of three - one at 1/125 @ f/11, one at 1/125 @ f/8 and one at 1/125 @ f/5.6. If you can't achieve a sunny day (high, white clouds instead), use 1/125 second and f/8, f/5.6 and f/4 instead.

Then develop the roll, and see if you get several sets of three negatives, where there is a progression of densities from fairly dense to less dense. If so, your developing is probably fine, along with the functions of the camera (other than the meter).

Be sure to have fun.

Hi Connor,

If you ever took any shots at f/22 and 2000 you would have underexposed practically any film - since you can't trust the meter, look into learning the "Sunny 16" rule and think about it before you take any picture. That's saved me from many a stray meter needle...

i thought as much as i took the picture at those settings, and found it odd that the light meter reading wasnt changing at all it would explain what looks like missing pictures on the developed film i guess also and the seriously faded pictures, i have another roll of fp4 so im going to go out try the sunny 16 rule and il also get some fresh batteries im not sure how old the ones i have in at the moment are and ill see what my results are hopefully i get some nice results this time.

If you have a smart phone/tablet, you can get one of several decent light meter apps to check against your camera. Or buy an old analog meter; I have a spot-on lux that I paid $10 for (including shipping).


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well iv gotten some new batteries and now as I'm looking through the viewfinder and cycling through the aperture the meter is moving fluidly from red + to green circle to red - so looks like it might be fixed, as before it seemed to get stuck on either + or - no matter what I did. I'm however going to go out with my roll of FP4 tomorrow and take the test shots that you guys have recommended so I can make sure it is all working correctly

Connor, if it is a developer problem, then the edge markings on the film will be faint, if it was a camera issue then the edge markings will be fine, so before you do anythhing else check the edge marking on the films,

Connor said:

hello was wondering if anyone could help me, ive just started getting back into black and white photography after doing it in college 2 years ago.

Just for background information. the chemicals i'm using are firstcall photographics own brand(I don't know if anybody knows of them) I bought there developer fixer and stop bath, anyway ive tried processing 3 films 2 rolls of Kodak t-max 100 and a roll of Ilford fp4 125.
now the first roll of kodak due to my mistake didn't load in the camera so that's my stupidity there, but the next two rolls each using a freshly mixed batches of chemicals heated to 20 degrees c each one some pictures have developed others aren't there at all and some are faded out and hardly visible. this has happened on both the tmax 100 and the Ilford fp4 films both films however the tail of the film turned black on each one. and the negatives (the decent ones that came out) have good range of white black and grey it seems to me. but when im out shooting (using Nikon fm-10 with 50mm prime lens series e) the light meter seems not to move or react much at anything it just stays on the red + sign indicating too much light evern with apertaure at 22 and shuter speed at 2000. so is it my camera or just underdeveloping negatives?
im leaning towards the camera having a faulty light meter at the moment.

the developing times were 5 minutes for Ilford and 7 for the Kodak film

thanks

Click to expand...

Is the battery fresh?

RR


Oops! Just read the rest of the thread. That'll teach me to dive in with the first thing to come to mind...

RR

the edge markings are faint on the ilford (i developed 5 minutes developer mixed to 1+15 as the bottle stated agitated first 30 second then 10 second every 30 seconds) developed the kodak at the same mix and same agitation for 8 minutes on that the edge marking were dark black the ilford film however the few pictures that seemed to work i have dark blacks (sky) in them and as i said the end of the film that gets exposed when loading turned dark black also i did note that the developer when i emptied the tank it wasnt purple as it had turned when i developed the kodak.

i have to admit i have my doubts with the developer also was considering changing to another developer local shop here sells a fotospeed one but ill use it to develop this test film to see if it was just my camera and its meter it does seem to be working better now.

what is the normal dilution of your developer?
is it supposed to be dilute 1:15 for normal use ?

sometimes when you are unsure of equipment and developer and film
it is best to rule out certain things and use a standard operating procedure

use fresh film, and fresh developer and use to what the standard dilutions and developing times.
use fresh batteries in the camera, and use your eyes / sunny 16 to back up meter.

develop

if the film is fresh, and the developer used to the strength and time it recommends and is fresh developer
and the meter and sunny 16 seems to jive then the camera's shutter might be off and need a CLA.

good luck with your situation connor, it stinks when there is a ghost in the machine!

john

ps do you have the print developer DEKTOL ?
if it is fresh it can be used as a film developer for your developer test

1:7 for 7 minutes at 68ºF ( agitate full min, 10 seconds each min )
if you like using it, use it ... was originally used for film back in the day .. ( as well as prints )

Connor said:

the edge markings are faint on the ilford (i developed 5 minutes developer mixed to 1+15 as the bottle stated agitated first 30 second then 10 second every 30 seconds) developed the kodak at the same mix and same agitation for 8 minutes on that the edge marking were dark black the ilford film however the few pictures that seemed to work i have dark blacks (sky) in them and as i said the end of the film that gets exposed when loading turned dark black also i did note that the developer when i emptied the tank it wasnt purple as it had turned when i developed the kodak.

i have to admit i have my doubts with the developer also was considering changing to another developer local shop here sells a fotospeed one but ill use it to develop this test film to see if it was just my camera and its meter it does seem to be working better now.

Click to expand...

Connor, I have never used the Firstcall developer but I have tried the Fotospeed film developer and I wouldn't use that again, To get anything remotely printable on either Ilford film or My personal favorite, Fomapan I had to double the given developing times, I found it to be useless, Why not try good old ID11/D76, used at stock and following the Ilford times and instructions you will get 10 films per litre of stock, or if you prefer a 1 shot liqued developer then any of the Ilford developers would be a better bet, or for ecconmy then try Promicrol, they all work well,

well i took all you advice well as much as i could at one time so i shot my last roll of fp4 today nice an sunny in the garden i kept camera pointed in the same place took pictures at apertures from f/16 down with shutter speed at 1/125 to match film speed, did this times in different places also tried it indoors to see what those pictures were like then i took a bunch of snap shots from shade to sun light with lots of sky relying on nothing but the light meter.

I mixed new batch of film developer this time i used a 1+7 mix for 3 minute development time (i can see no discernible difference between this and 1+15 at 5 minutes)

So when I took the film out to dry it my graded pictures cycling from f/16 to f/4 shows clear graduation in the pictures the ones I tested the light meter on they are the problem ones a one of my dog hadn’t even showed up others were extremely faded and others not even visible, the ones using sunny 16 rule worked very well from blacks a range of greys and whites in them but ones where I relied solely on the light meter are all pretty much no good.

So the meter is toast.

You can just ignore it and use sunny 16 and work with the ideas in the ultimate exposure calculator

You could also get a better camera, like a decent working N90s pretty darn cheap so yours probably isn't worth fixing. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...TRC2.A0.H0.Xn90s&_nkw=n90s&_sacat=0&_from=R40 with a little luck that search works. Be sure to make sure that the one you get has been tested and is working. I've had 4 of these and they are incredibly underrated by the market. Still have one.