Pls Advice on Film to use

[Logan]

Hello CSers... I am not sure if this is the right sub-column to post this thread and if it isnt, pls do pardon me ya?

Well, I have volunterred to shoot a stage band/dance performance this weekend. Problem is, I am trying not to use flash as that, in my limited experience, would take away all the ambient effects and tends to make the photo 2-D....also, flash tends to distract the performers, yes?

Is it ok if i use a film of a really high ISO rating, like ISO1600 without using flash and still get pictures of good expoure quality? I never have had any experience with films higher than ISO 800... could anyone please advise me on this matter?

BTW, i would be positioned just infront of the stage

Thanks...

 

[Witness]

depends..
higher speed films have higher grain too... i suppose u could use ya iso 800 film and push it to iso 1600... buten diff film have diff effects when this is done

 

[kiumjoon]

i recommend shooting with slides with higher ISO. pro slides's grain don't really have that much of grain.

 

[jimtong]

i recommend shooting with slides with higher ISO. pro slides's grain don't really have that much of grain.

depend if he need to print the photo and printing 4R with slides are expensive. and slides are not so forgiving.

Logan,
use at least a ISO400 film. and btw, do you have a fast lens? It helps.

 

[Logan]

Good morning people. Thank you for your replies.

Unfortunately, using slides is out due to the budget and i also do not have much experience in using slides, you see. Guess that i have to make do with film negatives, then.

Witness, will using Fuji800 and pushing it to 1600 have any adverse effects? I mean, can i still get shots with good exposure without flash? Really trying not to use flash.... I have used the 800 before and gotten nice results, but have never pushed the ISO rating....

Jimtong, i dun have a fast lens. Planning to use the Nikkor 70-210 F4-5.6 lens (been having this for quite some time) to get nice and tight crops, also using the normal zoom 35-70, which is also not that fast. Thats why me thining of using such a high ISO-rated film...

 

[theITguy]

when you push you will increase the contrast. If you got the chance to see their practise section try shoot 1 roll of Fuji ISO 800 Press and another roll ISO 800 Press push to 1600.

 

[foxtwo]

normal: konica centuria 1600
push: Fujifilm NPZ 800 shot @1600, dev push 2 stops @3200
(as recommended in photo.net)

good luck, remember to post some pics!

 

[Zerstorer]

Isn't Fuji NPZ 800 unavailable in singapore? Personally I find NPZ 800 less forgiving than Fuji Press/Xtra 800 when it comes to underexposure. With Fuji Xtra/Press 800 you can underexpose by 1 stop and process normally and still get decent colours.

Personally, I would advise the use of mild fill flash to fill in facial shadows and clean up the skin tone. ISO 800/1600 film + flash would still retain quite a bit of ambient light which is what you want.

 

[fw007]

Yup NPZ 800 is not available in Singapore; Press 800 is, though, and the folks at CP told me that it's pushable to 1600 and a lot of people do that--just remember to bring the films to a reputable shop that understands what push processing is; Fotohub will charge 50% more for development of pushed films, though. Or, you can shoot black and white, and get Ilford Delta 3200 (not sure if it's in Singapore, though I've heard of people using it here so you might be able to get it at Ruby, at Peninsular Shopping Centre, if anywhere, or at Ron's Camera at Adelphi).

Or you can also try Fuji's Superia 800 X-TRA, it looks pretty good too, though from my own experience Press800 gives nicer colours and saturation and packs more punch.

 

[LKSC]

I have some NPZ800. If you are interested to have roll to use, contact me via PM.

 

[foxtwo]

oh it's unavailable? i didn't know that. shucks.

 

[Hewland]

Hi Logan,

Sorry a bit OT.

I've shot Kodak Supra 800 at ISO1250 with flash. The pics came out horribly grainy.

On the other hand, I've overexposed Supra 800 at 400 and the pics came out very nice - punchy colours and good contrast too.

Good morning people. Thank you for your replies.

Unfortunately, using slides is out due to the budget and i also do not have much experience in using slides, you see. Guess that i have to make do with film negatives, then.

Witness, will using Fuji800 and pushing it to 1600 have any adverse effects? I mean, can i still get shots with good exposure without flash? Really trying not to use flash.... I have used the 800 before and gotten nice results, but have never pushed the ISO rating....

Jimtong, i dun have a fast lens. Planning to use the Nikkor 70-210 F4-5.6 lens (been having this for quite some time) to get nice and tight crops, also using the normal zoom 35-70, which is also not that fast. Thats why me thining of using such a high ISO-rated film...

 

[Logan]

Hi people, thank you all so much for helping me out.

Ok,from what i understand, the direction is heading towards me using Fuji Press 800.... but i guess whether to push or not must decide only after seeing the lighting... its prob going to be a typical setting in a Community Center...

Could someone kindly tell me which shops can handle film-pushing? Normally, i go to Konota (Penn Plaza Branch).... Btw, where is fotohub?

Hewland, do you mean to say that u pulled the 800 film to 400? Din know can do that.... :bsmilie:

 

[Hewland]

Hewland, do you mean to say that u pulled the 800 film to 400? Din know can do that.... :bsmilie:

Sure you can. Well if you can push, why not pull too? The results were rather surprising (and pleasing) with negligible grain. I think I discovered this by accident. I had seen some pics and asked the ubitquitous "What film?" question I was told it's Supra 800 shot at 400.

But Supra shot at the rated speed can result in rather flat and somewhat grainy pictures.

OTOH, Fuji Press 800 is more tolerant of underexposure than Supra 800.

 

[Nick80]

Logan

A couple of months ago, I helped in shooting a stage play without using flash. I used Press 800 pushed to 1600 and the results were quite good, no grain at all. However, I could only use my 85mm f1.8 lense for the shoot, as the other lenses with apertures of 3.5-5.6 resulted in too slow shutter speed (less than 30) to be usable handheld. Depends on the lighting you expect, you may want to borrow a couple of fast primes in case you need faster lenses.

Hope this helps.

Nick

 

[Stoned]

Well generally even with excellent stage lighting you would only be able to achieve shooting speeds of about 1/160 even at f2.8 with ISO 800. Very rarely does stage lighting allow shutter speeds to exceed 1/250 except at very well lit performances.

I would recommend that you rent an f2.8 constant telezoom or a couple of fast primes at least. Press 800 and Delta 3200 is not a bad choice. Be aware though that pushing Press 800 will increase the grain by quite a bit.

 

[Logan]

Hmm...I am confused hewland. It makes sense when you want to use a 800 film pushed to 1600 to shoot in lower-light settings.... but why would you want to pull a film down ya? :dunno:

 

[Logan]

Thanks Stone and Nick... you two broght up something that I missed completely, the shutter speed! Well, I might be using a flash after all then, based on the comments i get...

 

[Hewland]

Hmm...I am confused hewland. It makes sense when you want to use a 800 film pushed to 1600 to shoot in lower-light settings.... but why would you want to pull a film down ya? :dunno:

Let's just keep things that way...

 

[Logan]

Hi again everyone... the event has been 'shot' and its time for the 'washing'...

Could someone please tell me which shops actually practice the developing of pushed films? Had an extra film and decided to push it - and fork out my own money - for the sake of experimentation.....

I usually go to Konota in Penn Plaza..do they offer this 'pushing' service?

Thanks people.....