I lost 75% of a 7 hr Wedding thanks to a lab screw-up. Never messed up film loading on my end. Just luck of the draw I guess.
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The TREACHERY of film photography
- Thread starter Everythingisnt
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Well, I suppose it might have just been a bad roll of film, but I can't come up with any other explanation for what happened. You can see the graininess all over the negatives, too, so it wasn't just a bad print job - something clearly happened to the film itself. I know it was exposed to the x-ray, so that's what I've always believed was the culprit. Though, you could be right. It's possible, I suppose, that it was just a bad roll of film.
Its likely that the film was actually x-rayed twice.... once each way on a round-trip. Also, the film speed will make a difference. Higher speed films are more sensitive to x-rays. And finally..... perhaps it was an old roll of film that was already feeling its age, and/or had gone travelling (and been x-rayed) previously. Two trips = 4 times through the x-ray machine! I believe that the x-ray effects are cumulative.
I got into the habit of marking each roll of film that had been x-rayed (with an 'X' of course
) each time I travelled. I was suprised one day to find I was about to use a roll with 4 'X's on it. The marked rolls I saved for less important shooting, and only used clean rolls for important stuff.
Its likely that the film was actually x-rayed twice.... once each way on a round-trip. Also, the film speed will make a difference. Higher speed films are more sensitive to x-rays. And finally..... perhaps it was an old roll of film that was already feeling its age, and/or had gone travelling (and been x-rayed) previously. Two trips = 4 times through the x-ray machine! I believe that the x-ray effects are cumulative.
I got into the habit of marking each roll of film that had been x-rayed (with an 'X' of course
I've had 1600 Fuji Colour Superia scanned four times under X-ray with no problems. All the airport staff I have spoken (in 4 different countries) too mentioned that X-ray scanners are a lot more delicate these days. You start to get problems with 3200 film and upwards. All anecdotal of course!
Well, I don't remember the details of the film. But it was probably 400 or 800, but it wasn't anything fancy - just a roll of Kodak or Fuji that you get at the drugstore. It's possible that it was old. I was going on a short family vacation and didn't feel like hauling any expensive film or gear around in a canoe, so I just took the point and shoot. I do know that neither the camera nor the film got wet, so that wasn't the problem, and the camera still works fine, so that doesn't seem to be the issue, either. It was either crap film to begin with or the x-ray machine got it.
A 'real' film camera will hold one sheet of film at a time!
Until you put a rollfilm back on it
Xray could be the explanation if you were in some third world place with a very old and poorly maintained xray machine. Modern machines don't bother film. Another explanation is that the film was stored in some very warm place. Sometimes people leave a camera with film in it in a closed up car in the sun. Film does not like heat. If it were xray then the problem would be fogging. Heat tends to cause a color shift.
Your best bet is to buy film after you arrive and not to bring it from home. Almost any place that has an airport also has film available. Get it procees there too. There are one hour mini-labs all over the world.
Film degradation caused by heat results in magenta cast with not much more grain than normal. My first though when I hear orange and grainy would be underexposure or underdeveloppement.
Happens to everyone at least once, just have to learn from your mistakes. Same can happen in the digital world, I have known people who forgot to put a card in, there are always things that can go wrong, just need to check out your equip before shooting
Funny to see this thread, I just shot 6 rolls of XP2 Super yesterday through my Nikon FE. You can feel and see the film advance on that camera. Although it needs batteries for anything other than 1/90 and bulb. Ah, well, they last for years at a time anyway.