My last E100D shots tend to be darker (processed by Dwayne)

[winbert]

I just received my last 7 reels of E100D processed by Dwayne.

I noticed that although pictures are acceptable but they tend to be darker than usual. My previous lot (processed around April 2011) was not like this.

Who is going to be blamed?

film stock?
Lab?
Camera?

I admit that I changed my camera from previously Minolta 64 to Elmo super 106.

Any similar situation you have recently? or can someone enlighten me?

thanks

winbert

[Shanec8mm]

100D is easy to underexpose if your camera doesn't read it correctly. I had this problem when using a Minolta D6. First roll came back from the lab (Dwayne's) very dark (underexposed). On the next roll of film I opened the F-stop by 1. When that one came back from the lab it was perfect. I must add though that my Minolta D6 does not expose the 100D properly, so in my case I needed to compensate. I am now shooting 100D with a Bolex P4 and K2 (regular 8 cameras) and have set the auto exposure to match that of the Minolta D6 after fixing the problem. Results have been excellent. In my opinion 100D looks best when slightly overexposed. The film has good latitude for reversal. Overexposure, in my case, has given skin tones that look more natural.
In your case it's hard to say, however Dwayne's is known for giving excellent results. I've never had problems with them, and they've been my lab of choice since day one.

[Shanec8mm]

Forgot to ask does your Elmo use a button battery for the auto exposure meter? Did you use auto-exposure? Reason I ask is because modern replacement button batteries are sometimes rated at 1.5 volts so compensation is needed as the original mercury batteries were 1.3 volts. I had to compensate with my Bolex cameras by setting the ASA from 100 to 40. Just a thought here I guess.

[winbert]

Hi Shane,

My Elmo uses 4*AA batteries. So I belive these batteries work for camera as well as the meter.

And yes I used auto exposure. May I ask why you ask this?

I am more a film collector than a film maker, so I shoot 8mm for the sake of keeping this format alive. Therefore I know nothing with photographic terms such as "On the next roll of film I opened the F-stop by 1."

Can you explain this in more laymen word please.

[Shanec8mm]

Hi Winbert,
The reason I asked about the batteries is because some of these Elmos used the mercury button and some did not. I wasn't sure which camera you had. But it sounds like yours just runs on the 4 AA batteries mentioned in your last post. All cameras use an aperture that opens and closes based on the amount of light that is entering the lens. An F-Stop is a numerical value that is there to help the user know how much light is reaching the film. An F-Stop of 16 would mean the aperture has closed down to allow less light to hit the film. An F-Stop of 1.4 would mean the aperture is wide-open and most of the incoming light is hitting the film. So for example a user can use the "Sunny 16" rule as it's been known to be called. Goes something like this. Think of the "Sunny 16" as being a scale or ruler of numerical values. I hope that makes sense, Ha.
F1.4 ,F2, F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16, F22. If you were shooting at the beach an F-Stop of 16 would normally be used. Although for 100D in bright condition over-exposure is possible, so the user would need to use an F22 instead, this would further close down the aperture. Let's say the scene changed and some clouds rolled in, an F-Stop of 16 or 11 might be used to get a better exposure. Remember this only applies if you are using the camera in manual mode. But it can also help in auto-mode. I've had experiences, like at the beach, were I felt the camera was a little off and so I applied my understandings of F-Stops, and you know what, is looked great when the film came back from processing.
So in short the camera uses these basic F-Stop values that a user can see when filming. Sometimes the F-Stop values are not visible in the viewfinder, and so may be on the front of the camera. My Bolex K2 is this way. The Bolex P4 I use shows the F-Stop values in the viewfinder, which is quite handy. When I am using the K2 I often have to recheck the F-Stop values. Good luck and I hope this helps. Also here's a link to Wikipedia explaining what the word aperture means.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture Others here may chime in and help explain this differently.

[Shanec8mm]

I also wanted to add that, like you, I am not a professional film maker. I shoot 8mm for fun, making home movies of family, wife, etc. Also I project my films, I feel this is the best way to see your work. Telecine is fine I'm sure but for me the reason to shoot film is to also see it in it's most organic state.

[Shanec8mm]

Here's a photo showing the different aperture settings.

[jpolzfuss]

My Elmo uses 4*AA batteries. So I belive these batteries work for camera as well as the meter.

There are three different versions of the Elmo Super 106:
Oldest version: 4 x 1.5v AA + 1 x 1.3v button cell for the meter
Later version: 4 x 1.5v AA + 1 x 1.3v "self charging" button cell for meter
Latest version: 4 x 1.5v AA + no separate battery for meter
If I recall correctly, the "button cell" (if any) is placed near the lens = far away from the 4xAA-batteries

[kII]

are you sure that elmo reads 100D? all my elmo's expose 100d as 160asa..
Dwayne's E6 processing is superb and very reliable.
Reckon its your camera mis reading the stock..

[Shanec8mm]

According to the Super8wiki page his Elmo should expose 100D properly. Here's the link.
http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Elmo_Super_106 I would assume this info is correct? It could also be that his cameras auto-exposure is not accurate anymore?

[winbert]

are you sure that elmo reads 100D? all my elmo's expose 100d as 160asa..

What I got at now is actually seen OK (I believe) for general viewers, but a bit dark for me. It gives an impression like the below picture:

olsen.JPG

Skin tone and other colors tend to be more saturated.

Just if my Elmo read 100D as 160 will that give very dark or a bit dark like above?.

[Shanec8mm]

winbert wrote:
Skin tone and other colors tend to be more saturated.
Just if my Elmo read 100D as 160 will that give very dark or a bit dark like above?.

Yes 160 is higher than 100D. So if a camera reads 100D as 160 the results are under-exposure. Hence the dark saturated colors. This is exactly why it's important to know if your camera is metering 100D correctly. As I posted earlier my Minolta did the same thing so I just opened aperture 1 F-Stop. So for example if the meter read F22 I would increase the exposure slightly to F16. This allows more light to hit the film.

[Shanec8mm]

I believe the difference between 100 and 160 is 2/3 of a stop?

[Shanec8mm]

One basic thing to remember is the higher the number or ASA of the film the more sensitive it will be to light.

[Lunar07]

[.................] So for example a user can use the "Sunny 16" rule as it's been known to be called

hehehehehe the good old Sunny 16 rule. I remember it from my first photojournalism class. Our teacher used to always repeat it. Now class say after me:
On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO film speed or ISO setting for a subject in direct sunlight.
The good old days.
Of course in film shooting, one has to adjust the aperture f-stop of the rule to take into account the shutter speed (and shutter angle) of the movie camera.