Old slide film effect vs. yellowed Takumars?

[snik75]

<p>Hi all -</p>

<p>I tried two experiments at once, testing a new-to-me set of Takumars (35 and 50mm, with moderate and mild yellowing respectively) with an SP1000 using some Velvia I got basically free but that is out of date by about 5 years. :-) The slides look great, as they tend to do, but the scans showed some colors that are definitely off. Do you all think this is the effect of old film, or of the yellowing of the lenses? On a DSLR the colors come through okay, so I am not that worried about it if it is the lenses. But I wonder if I should just throw out the old slide film (many more rolls in a bag). </p>

<p>I don't see blown highlights on the slides, so I wonder about the scanning technique the lab uses, but maybe I just can't see without magnification or projection (I am pretty new to shooting slide film at all). They aren't the best shots, I know. But I don't want to spend $20 a roll practicing if the attempt is doomed from the beginning. What do you all think?</p>

<p>Thanks, Nick</p><div></div>

[snik75]

<p>#2 - also off</p><div></div>

[snik75]

<p>#3 not as bad</p><div></div>

[snik75]

<p>#4 Similar</p><div></div>

[snik75]

<p>And this one was with a Lenmar M42 lens that I have since passed on, hard to focus and auto only, so hard to use on digital. It's a loust picture. But - much less yellow.</p><div></div>

[ronald_moravec1]

<p>Use the lens for monochrome or try the UV light soak to cure the yellow brown. </p>

<p>All but the last slide is worthless.</p>

[r.t. dowling]

<p>Do you use auto white balance on your DSLR? If so, that might be why the yellow cast isn't showing up on the DSLR -- the camera is correcting for it automatically.</p>

[snik75]

<p>Exactly, RT, which is why, if it is the lens(es) I am not that worried, as I will primarily use them on a DSLR shooting RAW. In fact I just tested the more yellow one, and compared to an F series lens the 35mm Tak shows distincly yellower color with white balance fixed. I assume that will show up on slide film? Does the expired nature of the film ever cause an effect like this? I do hear it can throw off color, and I hate to put a roll through one of my K mount cameras if it'll be just the same. Maybe there is no way of knowing but to do it and see. Thanks!<br>

Also, the colors on the slide are much, much better. I think I will go back to the lab and see what they say.</p>

<p>Ronald, thanks also; I will try the sunlight cure. But I highly doubt the last example has more value than the preceeding ones. :-)</p>

[r.t. dowling]

<p>Velvia tends to go a bit magenta sometimes as it gets older. I don't recall ever seeing it go yellow, although I don't usually shoot it more than a year or two past the expiration date.<br>

<br /> To get a better idea of what the film actually looks like, shoot a roll with a lens that <em>isn't</em> yellowed, and that will give you a much better representation of the film. Also make sure that you're having it processed by a lab that processes a LOT of E6... if the lab only does a few rolls a week, then their chemistry may not be up to snuff compared to a lab that does higher volumes, and that can definitely have an effect on the colors of the film. I once had some slide film processed at a pro lab whose volume of E6 had dropped to only seven or eight rolls a week, and the slides came out with a reddish cast. I then sent another roll, from the same batch of film, to Fuji (via Wal-Mart) and the slides came out perfect with no cast at all. And Wal-Mart only charged me $4, compared to $10 at the pro lab... gotta love it!</p>

[rogerdaltx]

<p>Nick, I'm not sure about the Velvia, but if you want to clear the Taks, have a looks at my thread from November. Heck, assuming you're in the states, if you want to borrow the CF black light PM me with your address and I'll mail it to you. Cleared my 50 1.4 in days. <br>

http://www.photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/00RYOO</p>

 

[a few images]

<p>I love the warm effect of my S-M-C Takumar 50 f1.4.. I use it enough that it doesn't get too bad, but it still has the yellow glow of radioactive decay. Using my Spotmatic and Kodak slide film iso 200, the kodak lab at CVS gets the images right. If I shoot with HD or Gold, it comes back with either too much yellow cast or none at all. If I scan the negs myself, it's not an issue.</p>

[snik75]

<p>Thanks Guys. Definitely the next roll I shoot will not be with those lenses, we'll see how it turns out. I still want to check with the lab, because I suspect they did something not quite right in their scanning also. The slides look much better (but it seems they always do?). Roger, thanks for the kind offer. I suspect with shipping costs to and fro I am better just buying my own. Plus that way I will be set to throw raging black light parties, ha ha ha.</p>

[ricardo_tomasi]

<p>#2 looks great, classic old slide look. If you decide to dispose of those rolls I'd be happy to pay for shipping :D<br>

Are you sure the lab is not applying automatic correction to the scans? That would explain the blown highlights and inconsistent color balance. If it looks alright in the slide, it should look the same on the scan, there's no magic in light, and a scanner should have enough dynamic range to deal with slides without a hitch.</p>

[snik75]

<p>For what it is worth, I went back to the lab and had them redo the scans. I don't know what they did, but the second batch came out much better, the highlights were better and the yellowing less pronounced. And I am awaiting my CFL black light to get the party started... no, to clear up my yellow Taks. Thanks again all!</p><div></div>