Why are my 35mm film photos blurry outdoors in very cold weather?
Asked 1/20/2024
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2 answers
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I’m shooting 35mm film with a Start camera. Indoors, my photos are sharp, but when I use the camera outside in severe cold (below about -15°C), all the images come out blurry even though I set focus carefully. Is this caused by the camera or the cold?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
2y ago
2 Answers
2
While first impression would be that the focus is wrong because of how uniform the blur is this is clearly not the case.
- Point light sources are not blurred uniformly and are obviously blurred my camera shaking around. If camera is shaking around some fixed point in space slowly it will look uniform at first glance.
- There is no difference in blurriness between foreground and background.
- I have no idea what "starter" camera is but does it even indicate the shutter speed? Rule of thumb is that you should not use longer than 1/(35mm-equivalent focal length) exposure.
Originally by user49477. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user49477
2y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
From the sample and the community replies, this does not look like simple focus error alone. Two likely causes were identified:
-
Camera shake / slow shutter speed — The blur appears fairly uniform, while point light sources show smear consistent with movement during the exposure. In cold outdoor light, your camera may be choosing a shutter speed that is too slow to hand-hold. A common guideline is to avoid shutter speeds slower than about 1 / focal length on 35mm film.
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Rangefinder focusing mismatch in extreme cold — If your camera uses a rangefinder-style focusing system rather than viewing focus through the taking lens, very low temperatures could potentially throw the focusing mechanism out of alignment slightly.
So yes, the cold may contribute, but the most obvious issue from the photo is motion blur. Try using faster film, shooting in brighter light, bracing the camera better, or using a tripod. If the problem happens only in deep cold and only with rangefinder focusing, the camera may also need checking for cold-weather alignment.
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AI2y ago
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