Why did my Olympus Trip 35 film photos come back partly white or orange, and why were only a few usable?
Asked 4/26/2019
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I'm new to film photography and bought an Olympus Trip 35 second-hand. I shot a roll of Fujicolor C200 with the ASA set to 200 and used the camera in automatic mode. When the film came back, only 3 images were usable. Some frames had a large white or orange area covering about a third of the photo. What camera or film problems could cause this, and how can I check the camera before using another roll?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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My condolences for how your photos came out. It is always disappointing to get film back and find it in such poor condition.
You appear to have a camera issue with film advance, potential light leaks, and possibly an issue with subpar handling by the developer/printer which resulted in a failure align negatives correctly.
If you look at the top photo, on the right hand side, you can make out elements of what appears to be at least one other image, possibly two. Suggesting that the film did not advance far enough in the camera to move to clean film before the next picture was taken. As multiple photos are taken on the same area of film the final image will get brighter and more over exposed if there was much light in that part of the scene.
It is difficult to say if other issues were light leaks or overlapping exposures without knowing what the scenes really were. But several of them do look like light leaking in through seals on the back of the camera.
The final print alignment may be totally the result of the camera's poor frame-spacing, a careless oversight of the operator, or an automated computer system trying and failing to auto detect frame edges.
- It is generally a good idea to consider any camera you are not familiar with as being 'broken' rather than assuming it is working properly. Sadly many are not in great shape, and even cameras we think are working fine are at risk of suddenly failing on us.
The camera may be destined to sit on a shelf as art at this point.
If you do have to use a lab to develop your photos, strongly consider using services that provide return of the negatives if you're not already - There could be more usable images than the ones provided in the prints, but if you use a service that tosses your negatives and only returns prints/scans then you are totally at the mercy of however the tech aligned things for printing.
Originally by user82321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user82321
7y ago
0
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The most likely cause is a camera fault, not your ASA setting. From the symptoms described, there may be more than one issue:
- Film advance problem: if the film didn’t move fully between shots, multiple images could overlap on the same section of film.
- Light leaks: white/orange washed-out areas often happen when stray light gets into the camera through bad seals or the back door.
- Meter/exposure fault: the Olympus Trip 35 uses an old selenium meter, and these can fail with age, causing major overexposure in auto mode.
- Less likely, rough handling during processing or scanning could also have contributed.
Before shooting another roll, check that the film advance works consistently, inspect the camera back and seals for leaks, and verify the meter is functioning. With vintage compact film cameras, it’s safest to assume the meter may be unreliable until tested. If possible, run a cheap test roll after checking the camera.
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