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Old August 17th 04, 06:36 PM
Rod Smith
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In article ,
"Mike Jenkins" writes:

"Mike Jenkins" wrote in message
...
I used an underwater 35mm camera to take 3 rolls of film while snorkeling

in
Florida. I took these to a lab and had a CD made. The prints were

mediocre
but the CD image when run through photoshop are superb. I then used the
last two rolls of 35mm film from the same bulk purchase with the same

camera
a week later while snorkeling in Hawaii. I sent these to a 24hour lab and
the prints AND the CD images were washed out. The visibility and sunlight
were higher in HI.

Since it was the same camera and film, I'm certain the labs did something
different.


They were also shot under different conditions, so I wouldn't conclude
it's necessarily the lab's fault, although it might be. I bet most 1-hour
photofinishers aren't used to dealing with underwater photos; they'll
likely have different color balance and whatnot than conventional
land-based point-and-shoot photos, which could throw off their equipment.

Is there anything I can do to get the real color and depth from the second
batch of film?


I just realized I checked this film through airport security on the second
trip and carried through security on the first. Could the baggage scanners
make a difference?


In theory, airport security scanners should operate at low enough power
that they won't damage film. If you put the film through the x-ray
machine, though, and if it gave it too much of a jolt of x-rays, the film
could end up fogged. This matches your description, so it MIGHT be what
happened. It could also be problems with exposure or in processing.

To find out, try examining your negatives. It's often hard to judge from
a negative, particularly if you're not used to looking at them, but you
may be able to discern something from them. For instance, look for detail
that's washed out in the prints. If there's more detail in the negatives,
it could be that the lab messed up. (Negatives can hold more detail than
is usually printed, though, and trying to pull out detail at the extremes
can have other negative consequences, like making film grain more
noticeable.) You might also try comparing across rolls -- the roll you
said came out OK on CD vs. the ones that didn't. That should give you a
baseline for comparison.

You might also try taking everything to a pro lab. Despite the name, most
pro labs will happily help amateurs. Show them your prints and negatives
and ask for advice. If nothing else, you can probably get a couple of
sample prints for a buck or so, and use that to decide what else you want
them to reprint or scan onto a CD.

--
Rod Smith,
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking