Why do my low-ISO 35mm film scans look grainy, and will prints look the same?
Asked 5/23/2019
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2 answers
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I shot a roll of newly purchased Ilford FP4 Plus 125 in a Canon AE-1 Program on an overcast but bright day, using program mode or shutter priority. After lab development and scanning, all of the images show a grainy/noise-like texture, especially in low-contrast areas. The scans were delivered at 3089×2048 pixels.
I haven’t seen this before with other low-ISO film. What could cause this on 35mm film, and is it likely to show up in an enlargement around 8×12, or could it be mostly a scanning issue?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
4
Photos taken in... shutter priority... Overcast but bright day.
You probably underexposed the image. Since digital images can be "corrected", you will need to examine the film density directly to determine exposure.
Other possible issues:
- Did you check whether the shutter and meter in your "re-discovered" AE-1 are fully functional?
- Was the film expired? "Newly purchased" does not mean "not expired".
Have you used this film before? Perhaps you're just not familiar with its look vs other films you've used?
The developer the lab uses may increase the appearance of grain in some films vs others.
David Gibson suggests grain aliasing, where grain appears larger when scanned at insufficient resolution.
... will it be present if I were to have the negatives enlarged to around 8x12?
The grain probably won't be objectionable when printed.
Looking at a 3089x2048 image on a standard monitor at 100% is equivalent to looking at a crop from a 32"x21" print. Printing at much smaller sizes will significantly reduce the size of the grain.
You can measure the grain size in pixels to determine how large they will appear in the final print.
Printing on matte or textured surfaces may help "hide" the grain.
Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75526
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
What you’re seeing may not be “noise” in the digital sense, but film grain or a scan artifact.
Based on the answers, likely causes include:
- underexposure, which makes grain more obvious when the scan is corrected brighter
- scanner-related grain aliasing or the scanner/light source exaggerating film texture
- development choices, such as developer, temperature, or agitation, which can affect apparent grain
- expired film or differences in how FP4 Plus looks compared with films you’ve used before
- possible camera issues such as inaccurate shutter speeds or metering on an older AE-1
The best next step is to inspect the negatives themselves. If the negatives look thin, underexposure is likely. If the negatives look normal but the scans look rough, the scan process may be the main issue.
An 8×12 optical enlargement may not show the effect the same way a scan does, because some scanner light sources can emphasize grain or matte/bead texture that darkroom printing light does not. In short: check the negatives first before blaming the film.
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