Blue cast problem solved

Turns out the heavy blue cast I had in my slides was due to the lab that I was using. I shot several rolls of Provia and had them processed at a different lab and they've all been fine. Same batch of film from B&H, plus one of the rolls was shot at Tahoe where it was around 40 degrees out, so definitely the temperature didn't affect the film that much. Of course, when I underexposed my shots, there was a blue tinge to the snow, but it wasn't that heavy. I tend not to notice slight casts in color, so if it stands out to me that means it's very very glaring. Once I scan in some photos I'll add them for comparison so that you can see exactly what I mean.

The dreaded Provia blue cast problem?

So I'm a relative novice when it comes to shooting slide film, I haven't gotten into all the nuances of shooting with a particular film. I had heard about problems with a blue cast when shooting Fuji Provia 100F in the shade or in general when it is underexposed, but my first ten or so rolls I did not encounter this problem. I've been mostly shooting sunsets recently, so I'm mostly exposing for the sky, leaving the foreground completely underexposed. The sky is usually very orange during sunsets (as you can imagine), and that's what I had been getting in my shots.

Recently I shot a series of sunsets which all turned up a heavy blue cast in the sky instead of the familiar orange that I normally see in my shots. The blue was very very severe. I didn't change any of my shooting procedures though - I used center-weighted metering, pointed my camera completely into the sky, took a meter reading, then underexposed my final shot so that it matched that reading. I'm confused as to how this could have resulted in such a heavy blue cast when previously I had not had this problem.

Some other possible considerations:
- I did just buy a batch of 10 new rolls from B&H Photo. One of the rolls was from a Wolf Camera, but most of them were from B&H. I suppose I could have gotten a bad batch.
- I had all of the rolls processed by one particular lab. I had used them once before without any problems, but since all of these rolls were processed at the same time, maybe they messed up the development by using bad chemicals? When I asked the lab about the results, they indicated that the results I got were typical Provia and that there was nothing wrong with the processing.
- The rolls had been in the freezer until about seven hours before I shot them, and the ambient temperature was in the low 50's. I heard somewhere that Provia tends to have a blue cast when it is physically cold. Do I need to heat the film up to 70 degrees or so before I shoot?
- Maybe I've just been lucky with my shots so far, since everyone says that Provia reacts like this?

I guess it's time for me to buy an 81B filter to protect myself from these kinds of results in the future. I'll get shoot a few more rolls without the filter and develop them somewhere else just to verify that this is in fact a problem, then I suppose I'll just have to learn when I need to use the 81B and when I don't.

Canon EOS-3 vs. EOS-1v

So now that I've decided to stick with film, I've been searching for a second body to load a different speed film on. The idea originally was that I would load a slow slide film like Fuji Provia 100F in my main body, the Canon Elan 7N, and then buy a cheaper body, like a Rebel T2 or even another Elan if it's cheap, and load 400 - 800 speed film, maybe negative, maybe Provia 400F. So I walked into Keeble and Shuchat Photography's used department to see what used Canon EOS cameras they might have.

What I found instead was several Canon EOS-3 cameras there, all at over 60% off MSRP. I suppose I should have realized that the mid-to-top end of Canon's film cameras would be readily available now that everyone is switching to the Canon 5D and 1Ds, but to see that I could get that much off of the retail price was pretty amazing. I was extremely tempted to buy the camera right then and there, but honestly I had never even considered buying an EOS-3 so I had no idea what the feature-set of it was.

While researching the EOS-3 I came across advice that indicated that the EOS-1v was a serious step up from the EOS-3, and that I would not be satisfied with the EOS-3 once I tried the EOS-1v. So I started reading up on the feature set of the EOS-1v, and saw that it had the one feature that I've been dying to have ... the ability to record your exposure information onto the roll of film. Being as I am a simple novice, I'm always trying to learn more about how to expose things properly, and I'm constantly frustrated by my poor memory when I'm reviewing my shots. The ability to review that information while looking at my processed film would be invaluable to me.

The only problem, of course, is that the price drop for a used Canon EOS-1v isn't nearly as dramatic as that for the EOS-3. I'd still have to pay almost $1,000 currently for a used EOS-3 in good condition. I don't really need any of the other professional features of the EOS-1v, so it's hard for me to justify paying twice as much for an EOS-1v as an EOS-3. So that causes me a great dilemna. I could just wait and see if used prices for the EOS-1v continue to drop, but I could really used a second body right now as I'm constantly switching between 100 speed and 400 speed film as I go from shooting outdoor landscapes to friends indoors. What to do ....

If I was being fiscally responsible, I would just buy a new Rebel T2 for just $180, which is much closer to my budget than even a used EOS-3. *sigh* I really need a good telephoto lens too. What to do, what to do ...