Exposure Problem (?)

Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.

There have been problems with replacements for discontinued batteries not
being identical, but severe underexposure doesn't sound right. If they're
out of focus, has the camera had a whack?
Matt McGrattan wrote in message
news
Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.

There have been problems with replacements for discontinued batteries not
being identical, but severe underexposure doesn't sound right. If they're
out of focus, has the camera had a whack?
Matt McGrattan wrote in message
news
Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.

If the edge print on the film has the usual appearance, then it's not
underdevelopment.
Matt McGrattan wrote in message
...
On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 16:31:58 +0100, "Mark Dunn"
wrote:

There have been problems with replacements for discontinued batteries not
being identical, but severe underexposure doesn't sound right. If they're
out of focus, has the camera had a whack?

Well, the battery has been in the camera for a while (4 or 5 months)
and I wondered if it was just coming to the end of its usual lifespan
and this was causing the fluctuating exposure readings.

I have a new battery on order and will compare the meter readings when
that arrives.

I don't think the camera has had a whack ( focus) but I suppose
it's a possibility.

I plan to chuck a colour film through it using an external meter and
take it to a cheap high-street mini lab on Monday to check if focus is
correct.

There's always the possibility there was some error in
developing/printing which explains the blurryness - however, it's not
consistent. Some frames are fine.

Matt



Matt McGrattan wrote in message
news
Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.

Matt,

Have you checked the battery?

The WeinCell should maintain a constant voltage, but in its final days
I suspect anything might happen, certainly I have had most
unpredictable results with mercury batteries just before they expired.
Having said that I think a reduced voltage should lead to
over-exposure.

Have you considered a silver battery if one is available for your
camera? They deliver a higher voltage at 1.55v but this is constant
and you can compensate for it by making a one-off adjustment 1-2 stops
on the film speed. This site may help
http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk

After some disappointing results (but not disastrous like yours) I
have started using a hand held meter to get an ambient reading
whenever I can and also bracketing. It's paid off.

Incidentally any Spotmatic users reading this may wish to note that
they don't need to make adjustments for a silver cell as the Spotmatic
has a bridge circuit which takes care of variations in voltage. (Don't
know if this applies to the F and ES.)

Michael


Matt McGrattan wrote in message . ..
Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

Hello

You haven't said whether the numbers along the edge of the film were
clear or not, as this would tell you if it was the film stock or
processing. It has been a number years since I've used colour film, so my
knowledge is rusty, but it may be something to look at.


The edge of the film is clear with black numbers. It's a black and white,
not colour, film.

It looks fine in that respect.

matt

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

Hello

You haven't said whether the numbers along the edge of the film were
clear or not, as this would tell you if it was the film stock or
processing. It has been a number years since I've used colour film, so my
knowledge is rusty, but it may be something to look at.


The edge of the film is clear with black numbers. It's a black and white,
not colour, film.

It looks fine in that respect.

matt

Matt McGrattan wrote on Sat, 30 Oct 2004 14:58:12 +0100
about Exposure Problem (?)

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

Hello

You haven't said whether the numbers along the edge of the film were
clear or not, as this would tell you if it was the film stock or
processing. It has been a number years since I've used colour film, so my
knowledge is rusty, but it may be something to look at.

--
Regards
Jules

Matt McGrattan wrote on Sat, 30 Oct 2004 14:58:12 +0100
about Exposure Problem (?)

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

Hello

You haven't said whether the numbers along the edge of the film were
clear or not, as this would tell you if it was the film stock or
processing. It has been a number years since I've used colour film, so my
knowledge is rusty, but it may be something to look at.

--
Regards
Jules

Both rolls of film each have a few frames that are proper?? Or just
one of them? One simple way to check the battery is to replace it.
Voltage tests don't always tell the story as most (digital) meters
don't put the proper load on the battery to actually check for a
drain. The meter you are checking the battery with may require far
less current than does your camera meter. One advantage of the Mercury
batteries is they just went dead (for the most part), no in between
degradation.

If the battery doesn't solve your problem, perhaps the meter contacts
have been contaminated, the shutter is erratic, you didn't actually
expose for asa 1600, they screwed up the processing, etc.. I don't
know enough about your particular camera to help much further. Is the
shutter in the lens or is it a focal plane shutter?


8) Jeff


Matt McGrattan wrote in message . ..
Hi,

I have an old Chinon-CS SLR which takes 1.3v mercury batteries. I've
been using a Wein cell replacement which runs at the same voltage.

Last week I shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 1600 exposed at 1600 and
sent them off to Peak Imaging for process and print.

They've come back horribly washed out and dark with no shadow detail
and the negatives are almost completely transparent with no detail in
the dark areas.

It looks like they've been heavily underexposed (by 3 or 4 stops at
least).

The prints also look pretty fuzzy and out of focus as if they've been
shot hand-held for long exposure times (when I know that they
weren't).

I checked my camera meter in case the batteries were failing and the
meter was innacurate. However, wierdly, the meter in the camera is
reading 2 or 3 stops too exposed so the negs should not have come out
this way.

[I compared it to several selenium meters I have and another camera
with a Cds meter]

Is it possible that the Wein cell is losing power and the meter is
fluctating wildly between under and overexposure?

Or is there possibly something wrong with the meter in the camera?

Should the Wein cell lead to consistent under or over-exposure [rather
than both] when the voltage drops?

On both films there are 2 or 3 shots that are properly exposed and in
focus. The rest... phhhht.

Matt

P.S. I've had plenty of rolls of film in this camera over the past 6
months and have never had this problem before. Prints/negs and slides
have been consistently properly exposed and sharp.