Film Camera Photos Are Blurry

I got my first film camera ( an Olympus-OM10) two months ago and I've been gradually learning how to use it. Earlier this week I got my second roll of film developed and about half of the photos were blurry. I was wondering if anyone could tell what caused the blur and how I can prevent it in the future. Here are some of the photos as examples. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

There are two usual ways to get blurry pictures.

 

Most common is when the lens is set (or fixed for cheaper cameras) to a different focal distance than the object.

 

The other is camera (or subject) motion with slow shutter speed.

 

This looks to me more like that latter.

 

If you are using a normally fast film (ISO 400 or so), and reasonably bright subjects (sun is still up, even if low), you should normally be able to use a fast enough shutter speed.

 

You might have, or your camera might have, selected a small aperture and slow shutter speed, and you didn't hold the camera still enough for the selected shutter speed.

 

Usually if I try, especially if I lean against something, I can get reasonable shots down to 1/8 second, especially with a wide angle lens.

But that takes trying to be as still as possible.

 

For comparison, consider how still you should be using a rifle for a deer (or other target) some distance away.

Sometimes it is even best to hold your breath for the actual shot time.

 

Now watch the TV cop shows, when they shoot the bad guy without even trying to keep the gun still.

I agree with @glen_h upon motion of either camera or subject during way too long shutter speed. Look how clearly you can see 2 relatively sharp hinst of the letters on the bus in the 2nd picture.

Film never came with 5 axis in body image stabilization, like some digital sensors now. Try to read up about handholdable shutter speeds and learn to find out how to see if your camera is using them or not.

 

What you posted looks taken with a long lens to me. - Let's say it was a 200mm.

You maybe heard you could (kind of) handhold down to 1/60 sec. - That is (if at all) true for a 50mm lens. The abstract of the rule is "1/*focal length in mm* sec " And the rule is really just for somewhat acceptable 4x6" prints. An other opinion says to better always shoot 2 stops faster; i.e. the 50mm at 1/250sec and a 200mm at 1/1000 sec.

I am aware that somebody will pop up and post they managed to kind of handhold 1/30 (or maybe even 1/15 with their unstabilized 50mm. Those people were damn lucky and had hands, breathing technique and coffee tide of a rifle shooting champion.

 

Get a sufficiently sturdy tripod and some remote (i.e. cable) release. Play better safe than sorry. - If you really want to push your handholding limits: Join a gun club, master the BB rifle and practice photography on a borrowed digital camera (to avoid wasting about $60 - 200 on processed practise / test films with ruined and or meaningless pictures.

 

My 2nd suggestion was to learn seeing what shutter speeds your camera uses. - I am not familiar with OM 10. - It must be a film SLR, as good as any. Some SLRs display the shutter speed they are set to and the one they picked in the VF. - Others have an engraved dial outside and only a needle or traffic light that confirms "correct exposure" inside with the latter kind it is of course crucial to know what shutter speed they are set to. - maybe set them to an absolutely safe speed and learn to count clicks to sense what you are setting them to according to your internal meter.

 

There were fully automatic cameras that only had a traffic light for "handholdable" or not in their VF. That read out (green yellow and red?) was usually catered for 50mm & shorter lenses since most film cameras don't know which focal length you mounted on them. If you are using a long lens on these learn to count aperture ring clicks to make sure the shutter speed will be high enough.

Thanks for the help!

I might suggest using a digital camera when you're learning the basics. The reason is that all the exposure data is saved with the photo. IMHO. :-)

It's clearly camera shake, caused by using a too slow shutter speed.

You have to remember that the 'fastest' colour film is still far less sensitive to light than a modern digital camera.

 

Therefore you need more light or a wider lens aperture to get sharp handheld pictures. You can't be wandering around at twighlight or dawn with 100 ISO film and the lens set to f/8, and expect to get sharp and steady handheld pictures. Not a happening thing!

 

I'm with Karim. Just what do you expect 35mm film photography to deliver that you can't get from a moderately specified digital camera of 12 megapixels or more?

He states that it is his first film camera, so I'm going to assume that he already has a digital camera. If he wants to try out film, why tell him to go back to digital? Besides that, sure, all the above applies about matching the shutter speed to the lens and one's ability to hand-hold.

As Jochen says above the reciprocal rule is a good place to start but people are different so you'll have to experiment. A tripod (assuming it's a sturdy tripod) will nearly always be sharper and tricks like leaning, setting the camera on a handy object, holding your breath and letting it half out, finding a grip on the camera that is comfortable might all help.

If the camera is an early one, it might have shutter problems

 

Early production runs of the OM10 have known malfunction issues with electronics, metering, and shutter magnets. Olympus later changed the shutter to a 'Type II' design to correct the latter problem.

[/url]

Link

Olympus OM-10/20/30/40

All of the pictures appear to be low light examples.

Try some in bright sunshine.

I still use film and love film but I wouldn't take pictures hand held with film when light goes down.

What you show looks absolutely to me like motion blur.

 

There's an old "rule" that the longest shutter speed you use when hand-holding the camera is the reciprocal of the focal length. With a standard 50mm lens and the usual settings on most cameras, that means 1/60. With my habit of a couple of cups of coffee a day and otherwise generally shaky hands, I will use 1/125 with a 50mm lens as a minimum wherever possible to avoid blur(I should add that with vibration reduction, which isn't available on any lens that will work on the OM-1, I can often manage 1/15 or even 1/8 at 50mm, but that also requires a reasonably stationary subject-even a photo of someone talking will often give blurred mouths and hands).

 

"Fast" lenses, or lenses that can let in more light, can only take you so far, although going to an f/1.4 lens from an f/1.8 lens, for example, only gives a marginal amount of help. I wouldn't NECESSARILY consider faster film, either, since in my experience even modern films like Portra 800 give up a lot vs. their ASA 400 counterpart. In all honesty, in the photos you've show I'd have had my tripod out. In the absence of that, there are tricks you can sue to get reasonable sharpness past there. I've taken 30 second exposures by leaning against a wall and letting the camera dangle from its strap around my neck, but that's touchy as breathing can throw it off. An other steady platform can also be used, but may take some creativity(and isn't as flexible as a tripod). Also, avoid touching the camera as much as possible-if you don't have a cable release(your OM-1 should take a standard threaded release that can be had for $10 or less) you can use the self timer. Many self timers have a 2-second setting, or if a mechanical timer will allow you to set times significantly shorter than the standard 10 seconds-for exactly this purpose.

He states that it is his first film camera, so I'm going to assume that he already has a digital camera. If he wants to try out film, why tell him to go back to digital? Besides that, sure, all the above applies about matching the shutter speed to the lens and one's ability to hand-hold.

 

He can practice more with digital, including hand-holding slow shutter speeds.

 

With better digital cameras, he can set a low ISO value, to more accurately represent the conditions of film.

The faster feedback of digital, either on the built-in display, or copying them off to a computer,

will allow faster learning.

 

After enough practice, then back to film again.

Reminds me, many years ago a National Geographic photographer was taking a picture with my father in it, in unusual lighting conditions.

 

Instead of a light meter, he used a polaroid camera. The first shot came out all black.

After a few more, he got close to the right exposure.

 

The final (three exposure) shot included one part that had a circle cut out of a brand-new projection screen.

He states that it is his first film camera, so I'm going to assume that he already has a digital camera. If he wants to try out film, why tell him to go back to digital? Besides that, sure, all the above applies about matching the shutter speed to the lens and one's ability to hand-hold.

I think what he is saying is........"film" is not causing this problem.

The person HAS a digital camera, they can shoot the same scene and compare the Shutter speed, f/stop and ASA.

It might help the guy understand what he has been doing wrong

There MIGHT be a problem with the camera, but i think most of us suspect different at this point.

If there was a problem with the camera, the exposure would be way off. Basically and most likely slow ASA film, using a small F-stop in manual and the shutter going to 1/8 sec. Just very low light. If the camera does not show the shutter speed in the viewfinder, they you will have to take precautions for slow shutters. Usually and decent camera has a "shutter speed warning" but if it's a needle match type. It most likely not give you a slow shutter warning.

The discrepancy is uniform in every image. All the subjects have a 2mm soft border with defined edges. I'm sure it's a problem in the camera, faulty shutter perhaps

The discrepancy is uniform in every image. All the subjects have a 2mm soft border with defined edges. I'm sure it's a problem in the camera, faulty shutter perhaps

 

- It's camera shake. Just look at the wavy light trails in the first picture.

 

There are artificial lights in all the pictures, which show they were taken at dusk or dawn. Low light + slow film = camera shake.

 

"If he wants to try out film, why tell him to go back to digital?"

 

- Because film obviously isn't working for him/her, and (s)he hasn't even grasped a basic knowledge of exposure. Like using a shutter speed short enough to avoid camera shake.

Edited October 3, 2018 by rodeo_joe|1

I'll meet you half way on it Joe. The blurring could be caused by camera movement due to a faulty shutter, which can be rectified by a clean out

 

Link about OM10 shutter problem - "250/sec feels like it's going off at 60/sec or 30/sec"

Olympus OM-10 shutter problem.

 

"The OM-10 is well known for having oil migrate onto the shutter magnets which cause them to stick open"

But a sticky or slow shutter would cause uneven or overexposure.

 

We don't know what film was used, but it doesn't look grossly overexposed to me. Such as if a correct 1/30th or 1/60th s was extended to the best part of 1 second by a faulty shutter.

 

It's operator malfunction in my view.

The OM 10, without the optional manual adapter, is Aperture Priority Auto. Therefore if the photographer chooses a small aperture the shutter speed will go down unnoticed ... I suspect this is the most likely explanation.

Perhaps the OP will comment as to whether or not the camera is fitted with the Manual Adapter.

I noticed something interesting in the pix.

The 1st two pix have ghost images, like there is camera movement + a shutter that is not behaving properly.

Or is it a LONG exposure where you have an initial exposure when the shutter opens, and a final exposure after the camera has moved.

OK . . . Let's go back to the original post, READ IT and see if we can help the poster . . .

 

As someone else noted, this is the poster's first film camera. We can, from that, assume that he has some photography experience with modern digital cameras. Probably, AF and Program mode. He also notes that this is the second roll of film and "about half" of the images are blurry.

 

The fact that about one and 1/2 rolls of film did NOT turn out blurry doesn't prove that the camera and shutter are working properly but it is enough for me to push hardware problems to the back of the list.

 

The multiple images in each frame look pretty well focused. This pushes focus problems to the back of the line. The multiple images indicate classic slow shutter speeds. Likely well past 1/8 second into the 1/2 second or longer range because the camera must be steady long enough for each of those images to form.

 

To me, this just screams the shift from "auto everything" to aperture priority. This is also likely because the images are all shot in fairly dim conditions.

 

You need to go back and brush up on exposure techniques and the workings of these classic cameras. They are not designed to protect you from anything. If you put in ISO100 film, set the lens to f11 and fire away in the dark, the camera will simply assume that you want long shutter speeds either for effect or because you are on a tripod. You need to ALWAYS be aware of the shutter speed selected by the camera.

 

If you have a DSLR or other digital camera with the settings, go out and shoot it in aperture priority, experiment and review the results as you go. You will pick it up quickly and translate it back over to your film camera.

(snip)

 

If you have a DSLR or other digital camera with the settings, go out and shoot it in aperture priority, experiment and review the results as you go. You will pick it up quickly and translate it back over to your film camera.

 

Yes, and set the ISO value to a low value.

 

Consider this as practice.

 

Sometimes with a new (well, old, but new to me) camera, I put a roll in and walk down the street,

or other nearby area. There is a small nature area within walking distance, and also a large

state university. Both have plenty of things to practice on.

 

Digital practice will give faster feedback, and is also cheaper, than film.

 

You might even practice digital photography with a handheld light meter, as you will

be using with many older cameras. Set the camera to M (manual) mode, set the light

meter to the same ISO value as on the camera.

 

You might find this makes digital photography more fun, too.

 

If you develop black and white film yourself, and find an appropriately affordable place to buy it,

it isn't all that expensive. But the faster feedback of digital will speed up the learning process.