kodak $10 snapshot camera/film

I picked up one of those $10 cameras with film in it that they sell
these days. When the processed film and prints (all kodak) came
back, one outside shot looked normal, but all the shots taken with
the flash had exploded grain or what looked like exploded grain on
every print. Looked like the prints were printed on polished
granite sheets. I guess the flash is only good for about three feet
or so.

Will scan some of the negatives to see if they are as bad, but I was
wondering if this is normal. The film went through the airlines, so
it might have been xrayed, but the outside shot looked ok.

Also have what looks like a fuzzy thumbprint in one corner of
several prints.

You get what you pay for I guess

 

Airline luggage scanners and some mail scanners do expose film. You can
find sample photos online. The carry-on scanner should be harmless.
The metal detector definitely won't hurt anything.

It's also possible that your grain is actually dust or smoke illuminated
by the flash. The smaller the camera, the worse the effect.

 

Typical high-speed film used in these cameras has a combination of fast
large) grains and slow (small) grains to get more dynamic range and allow
for less than perfect exposures. Your outside shot is OK because there was
enough light to expose all of the grains. The indoor shots are
underexposed due to the weak flash so that only the large grains got enough
light to be developed into dye. The smaller unexposed grains in between
basically get washed away in the processor, leaving you with the large
grains you see in the prints.
The thumbprint in the corner would be from having a finger in front of the
camera when taking pictures. This is common with built-in flash cameras.
Even if a finger is not directly in front of the lens, enough light is
reflected from it to be caught on the film due to lens flare or internal
reflections.

 

Greetings Nobody?,

I can appreciate your frustration.

You are right, the flash on the camera is only good for about 6-8 feet or
so, depending on the type of Single Use camera you purchased. Once the light
falls off, you are at the mercy of the ambient light. If much reduced or in
a low light setting, it will appear grainy as it is grainy (not enough light
for a good exposure).

Sorry that happened, but the flash range is not much different for most of
the point and shoot digital cameras or regular film cameras. Staying inside
the flash range is the key with such cameras.

Talk to you soon,

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company