Urgent Help Needed on shooting in clubs/discos.

[marcwang]

Hi guys,

I will be covering an informal event for my university tonight. It will be held at a club- dark, smoky, tricky. I was wondering how shld I shoot this event. My fastest film is the Fuji Superia 400, and I dont have time to go get NPZ800 that a friend suggested.
My queries.../

1) Shld I shoot in Slow Sync or Normal flash mode ?

2) Shld I use my lenses wide open with flash ? or shld I stop it down to f5.6 or f8 to minimise wash out.

3) Other suggestions welcomed.

My equipment is listed below. Many thanks. Urgent reply needed.

 

[Zerstorer]

Originally posted by marcwang

1) Shld I shoot in Slow Sync or Normal flash mode ?

With slow sync you will have a chance of capturing part of the ambience.

2) Shld I use my lenses wide open with flash ? or shld I stop it down to f5.6 or f8 to minimise wash out.

Don't think there would be washout unless u are too near for the flash to sqeulch. Keep them wide open for more ambience but just watch your depth of field.

3) Other suggestions welcomed.

Seriously consider grabbing a roll of Fuji Press800 if you can. Used with flash it should give a nice balanced lighting in those conditions and you can probably use it without if pushed to 1600.

Also, note that use of flash in smokey conditions will result in a fogging effect.

 

[marcwang]

How about pushing my Fuji Superia 400 to ISO 800 ? Anyone tried before with reasonable results ?

 

[scanner]

Originally posted by marcwang
How about pushing my Fuji Superia 400 to ISO 800 ? Anyone tried before with reasonable results ?

I've not tried pushing Superia 400 before, but did it with NPH400. It was a wedding event and the lighting in the church was so bad that I've to restort to push the film 1 stop even with flash on. The result turns out well.

Personally, if you're taking event pics, I would strongly recommend you to shoot with higher speed film and fast len. It is better to have better end result. If you know you're going to have bad result, I would rather not take any pic.


Another alternative is to shoot as per normal rating (this method is high risk and not highly recommended). Use a roll for test shot and the rest for the events. Develop that roll 1st. From there, you will more or less gauge, how much you have underexposed and you can decide how much you need to push the rest of the films.

 

[SniperD]

Originally posted by marcwang
How about pushing my Fuji Superia 400 to ISO 800 ? Anyone tried before with reasonable results ?

Not recommended for the superia 400... the colours will be quite washed....

I would suggest that you quickly make a trip down to AP/CP/Ruby/TCW to grab some Press800.. that will be more gauranteed.

Also, for indoors with flash, try it with apertures of f3.5 to 5.6 (flash) and f2.8 with fills and ambience

Good luck!!:thumbsup:

 

[reignman77]

Originally posted by marcwang
I dont have time to go get NPZ800 that a friend suggested.

where can u get NPZ in S'pore???

 

[marcwang]

Thanks Guys.... . I wished I was in Singapore... but I'm in Aussieland. Just went to the shop to buy Fujipress800 . SGD16.50 per roll..... %^$&(*&#$*(@&#$ . How much issit in Singapore ?

 

[marcwang]

Oh yes... SLOW SYNC or Normal flash mode ? Using an external flash with omnibounce.

 

[djchris]

I think in SG, its around $8-10 cheaper..

 

[SniperD]

Originally posted by marcwang
Oh yes... SLOW SYNC or Normal flash mode ? Using an external flash with omnibounce.

ahh.. depends on what kind of effect you want... 1st curtain and 2nd curtain all has it's virtues.. if you just want to shoot as it is, just the 1st curtain (normal flash mode) will do. 2nd curtain sync may sometimes turns out not the way you want it. :thumbsup:

 

[Larry]

Originally posted by marcwang
Thanks Guys.... . I wished I was in Singapore... but I'm in Aussieland. Just went to the shop to buy Fujipress800 . SGD16.50 per roll..... %^$&(*&#$*(@&#$ . How much issit in Singapore ?

it's $6.20-$6.50 a roll, depending on which shop you frequent. SGD of course...

ouch. i forgot how expensive film is in Ozland. used to get my frens to mail me films when i was there.

 

[Zerstorer]

Since you already have high speed film, you can safely use 2nd curtain sync or just normal Matrix/TTL flash.

 

[willyfoo]

Not an expert here but here's what I'll try..
I would generally switch between 2 kinds of shots...
- Potrait/Groups
- Activity/Mood

For potrait shots,
I would use
F4-F5.6 to get the group in focus
1/30s - 1/60s
Bounce Flash (or direct flash if there is no fog and subjects are far/group is big)

For the activity/mood shots, I'd want to capture the mood, movement, blur is fine... the flash can help freeze some movement.
F2.8 - F4
1/8s - 1/30s
Bounce Flash or No Flash

Then again I'm shooting digital so I can change ISO settings which will probably vary between 320 to 800

I have no experience shooting film but here's the advantage of shooting digital where you can find out. Depending on the metering may not work that well in a disco due to the constantly changing lighting conditions. I would use manual mode for this, take some test shots, find out how they turned out, then i know my boundaries.