Can film be overdeveloped?
Overexposed film that has been properly processed will have a considerable amount of shadow detail and dense, blocked highlights. If correctly exposed film has been overdeveloped, the film will demonstrate normal shadow detail, with exceedingly dense and blocked highlights.
An overexposed negative that is overdevelopedappears extremely dense and sooty and is laughing referred to as "bulletproof". The grain will be very excessive for the film used and the highlights will be unprintable. There is almost no way to make full scale prints from such a negative.
An overexposed negative that is overdeveloped appears extremely dense and sooty and is laughing referred to as "bulletproof". The grain will be very excessive for the film used and the highlights will be unprintable. There is almost no way to make full scale prints from such a negative.
Longer development also increases density in the shadows. At a certain point extending development time reaches the point where no more density is achieved. As I recall, with normally exposed film, over development ultimately decreases contrast as the range of highlight to shadow densities is compressed.
Overdevelped films have high density but also have high contrast. These look a bit contrasty. Overexposed films have normal contrast but are dense and often have blocked up highlights.
These include reasons why more experienced film photographers advise against underexposure but say overexposure by a few stops is OK. He also mentions an important note that overexposing is generally only recommended for color negative films because they have better exposure latitude than slide film.
The general guideline for color and black and white negatives is to overexpose them by one stop for every 10 years past their expiry date. However, if you're using a transparency (slide) film, it's recommended to keep it at its original box speed (film speed).
Film grain or granularity is the random optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons.
The best way to check if the film was loaded properly on a manual film camera is to watch the film rewinder crank rotate as you advance to the next frame. The principle is simple: if the take-up spool caught the film properly, the rewinder crank that's connected to the film canister's spool should rotate as well.
Yes. Old film doesn't go bad all at once – colors shift, contrast fades away, and fog builds up. Old film (~10+ years past the process date) will have faded, skewing towards magenta.
Will 10 year old film develop?
There are plenty of people who have gotten quality photos developed up to 10 years after the “expiration” date, you may just notice some of the effects described in the previous paragraph: grainy, foggy, low contrast, skewed colors, etc. Don't fear though, as we'll touch on later, some people might want this effect!
How long can an old film be developed? Film should really be developed within a year of being exposed. After 2 years to 5 years, it might get a little grainy, and the colors might shift/fade a little bit.
6 Stops Overexposed
“Turns out you can overexpose nearly 6 stops until the scanner starts losing the ability to shoot through the negative,” Lachman says. “What I took away from this is that film basically can't be overexposed, it can just be too dense for the scanner to be able to shoot through the negative.
Overexposure occurs when your camera's sensor doesn't record any details in the brightest parts of an image. Underexposure occurs when your camera's sensor doesn't record any details in the darkest parts of an image. Your camera is able to display information about detail loss.
If there's no data, you can't “recover” those highlights…they are just gone. That's why most digital photographers agree that it's better to underexpose an image than to overexpose it. The software does a good job of boosting shadows but can't always bring back those highlights.
Be careful not to overwind or cause excessive tension that could damage the film. Use film leader retriever: If the film has become detached from the spool or is difficult to wind manually, you can use a film leader retriever tool to grip and wind the film back onto the spool.
After taking a photo the camera then wound the exposed film into the cassette automatically. Take another photo and the camera would do it again. So if you accidentally open the back in mid- roll you only ruin the last exposure and probably the rest of the film not inside the cassette.
The Sunny 16 rule states that, on sunny days, at an aperture of f/16, your shutter speed is the inverse of your ISO value. For instance, if you set your camera at an aperture of f/16 and ISO 100, your shutter speed should be 1/100 s. This is one of the easiest photography rules to remember.
It is rare to have a film more than 30 years old render decent color by accelerating or processing direct to color. Expect highly distressed color images (or nothing). The cooler your film was kept over time, the more likely you are to get good color.
–Black and white film has the longest longevity. If the exposed film was keep in room temperature conditions, you can get decent prints after the film has been processed 20-30 years later.
What happens if you overdevelop black and white film?
If correctly exposed film has been overdeveloped, the film will demonstrate normal shadow detail, with exceedingly dense and blocked highlights. Film in this condition will also have an excessive amount of contrast.
Try closing down the aperture for a better-exposed image. After setting your ISO and aperture, turn your attention to the shutter speed. If your image is too bright, you need to increase your shutter speed. Raising it from 1/200 s to 1/600 s will help—as long as it doesn't affect other settings.
Accurate metering always helps.
If you underexpose your shots you have increased grain, less detail in the shadows and mid-tones, and you may experience an unpleasant color shift with greenish shadows and off-color skin tones.
As you intentionally underexpose the film and compensate during development, the shadows receive less exposure. This can result in an expansion of the tonal range in the shadow areas, capturing more details in darker parts of the image.