22 replies to this topic

[Cal]

Hey Crew

I need to print LARGE for a project. Large and the image needs to be viewed up close. My current D80 simply doesnt cut it in my mind (contentious, I know).

1) I've got access to a Nikonos V. How much better is the RS then the V? Is it worth trying to track down an RS?

2) I've got the R-UW AF Nikkor 28 mm but am wondering how much fisheye distortion the R-UW AF Fisheye-Nikkor 13 mm produces? Is it crazy fisheye or just moderate fisheye? ( )

I'm shooting some models underwater in a river and need to shoot as wide as possible.

3) Can I use my Nikon d80 as a light meter? I.e. can I set the ISO to the same as the film speed and then use it as a light meter?

4) Black and White film recommendations?

5) Colour film recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Please feel free to throw in any advice you think might help

and before anyone says it - Yes, I know going to film will be hard and I should probably stick to digital BUT i'm still going to shoot film for this


Cheers!

Cal

[decosnapper]

I need to print LARGE for a project. .....
and before anyone says it - Yes, I know going to film will be hard and I should probably stick to digital BUT i'm still going to shoot film for this

Size can be very subjective. How 'large' is large?

And apart from the challenge, is there any other reason - technical or otherwise - to use film?

[Alex_Mustard]

1) I've got access to a Nikonos V. How much better is the RS then the V? Is it worth trying to track down an RS?

2) I've got the R-UW AF Nikkor 28 mm but am wondering how much fisheye distortion the R-UW AF Fisheye-Nikkor 13 mm produces? Is it crazy fisheye or just moderate fisheye? ( )

I'm shooting some models underwater in a river and need to shoot as wide as possible.

3) Can I use my Nikon d80 as a light meter? I.e. can I set the ISO to the same as the film speed and then use it as a light meter?

@ 1 - I (still) have both those cameras and they are very different beasts. The SLR RS - will give you more confidence that you've got the shot. But for shooting wide angle of models in a river - the Nik V might be fine.


@ 2 - The Nikonos V 15mm sees about 90 degrees - without too much distortion. The RS's 13mm is a full fisheye - 180 degrees and bendy. The 28mm is a fish lens - not a people lens. The 20-35mm was wide enough to shoot people.

@ 3 - Yes. I last shot film on my Hasselblad (in the pool) and used my D700 to meter. What was nice was that I could also use it to flash meter - using the same manual flash on both.

Regarding the film versus digital thing - just consider that almost every single person who owns those cameras - never uses them any more.

Alex

[Cal]

Hey

Size can be very subjective. How 'large' is large? - 2m or so , I should have clarified that.

And apart from the challenge, is there any other reason - technical or otherwise - to use film? Absolutely not Im just learning as much about UWP as I can.

Alex - Your awesome.

The Nikonos V 15mm sees about 90 degrees perfect

Yes. I last shot film on my Hasselblad (in the pool) and used my D700 to meter. What was nice was that I could also use it to flash meter - using the same manual flash on both. Good to know. Any tips?

Thanks a ton!

Cheers

Cal

[MikeVeitch]

always wondered when film would become like bell bottoms and disco music.. a cool retro thing for the young uns

didn't take long!

yes, your d80 is the perfect polaroid for film... google it if you don't know what polaroid means
Nik 5 and the 15 should be perfect i would say. set the lens to 3 feet and shoot with the setting between f5.6 and 8 for infinite focus. you can focus
6 inches from the lens
as for the film to use.. do they still make film?! i doubt you can find bw slide film so would have to be some sort of print film. go with 100 as anything higher is too grainy

[Cal]

always wondered when film would become like bell bottoms and disco music.. a cool retro thing for the young guns ........ I hate to say it....... but thats exactly what this is. I purchased a Diane F+ Lomo camera, fell in love with it, and am now going 'retro' with film to be cool haha

Thanks Mike!

[MikeVeitch]

i can sell you a 15mm and viewfinder for $2000 if you would like Nik 5 body costs extra

[Cal]

$2000 just to impress chicks! shesh I'm better off getting a gym membership and drinking soy lattes....... haha

[TheRealDrew]

google it if you don't know what polaroid means

I still have those around. The good old days of test polaroid shots. (Then there was the real old ones where you pulled the piece off after it developed. Not sure if I got one of those around anymore. Remember my Dad using those and the smell of the developer. Good times, but I will take my digital nowadays )

[MikeVeitch]

I still have those around. The good old days of test polaroid shots. (Then there was the real old ones where you pulled the piece off after it developed. Not sure if I got one of those around anymore. Remember my Dad using those and the smell of the developer. Good times, but I will take my digital nowadays )

your dad was ansel adams right?

$2000 just to impress chicks! shesh I'm better off getting a gym membership and drinking soy lattes....... haha

soy doesn't impress anyone, least of all chicks so you should buy my 15mm

[Cal]

Ok so a lesson in current Melbourne Chic - Retro Polaroid cameras are back in a big way!

I'm trying to find one for under $100 at the momment

Alrighty then, back on topic - I just searched through some old gear i've picked up along the way and I have an old Nikonos 1 with a 35mm. What can I do with that? Just fish? Portraits maybe?

Cheers

Cal

[Cal]

Also, What sort of film should I use? Ideally i'd like it to be black and white. I'm guessing ISO 100 as I want to print these as 'fine art' prints.

Suggestions?

[ornate_wrasse]

Also, What sort of film should I use? Ideally i'd like it to be black and white. I'm guessing ISO 100 as I want to print these as 'fine art' prints.

Suggestions?

I actually do a lot of black & white topside photography and develop and enlarge in the darkroom.

Here are my suggestions for black and white film at ISO 100 along with comments:

1. Kodak TMAX 100

"Super tight grain, moderate contrast and an extremely long tonal scale are all characteristics of this superb film from Kodak. For those shots that require a high degree of enlargement, you'll be hard pressed to find a better film than TMAX 100. Best processed in TMAX developers, but can be processed in more conventional developers also."

2. Fuji Neopan Acros 100

"Fuji Neopan Acros 100 is a medium speed black and white film with rich gradation and outstanding sharpness. These features make it a good choice for a wide range of photographic applications including portraits, landscapes, architectural and product photography.

Boasting Fuji's Super-fine Sigma Grain Technology this update of the older Neopan 100 has exceptionally fine grain yielding smoother and sharper textural depiction even under substantial enlargements."

I have shot Fuji Neopan Acros quite a bit and I really like it. I haven't used Kodak TMAX 100 but a lot of people like it. According to the above comments, it's great for shots needing a high degree of enlargement, which would be great for you.

The following films are black and white films at ISO 125:

1. Ilford FP4 Plus

"Ilford FP4+ is an exceptionally fine grain, medium speed (ISO 125) black and white film. It is ideal for high quality indoor and outdoor photography, particularly when substantial enlargements are to be made. In addition to general photography, FP4+ is also suited to copying and internegative work, and has many applications in scientific technolical and industrial photography."

2. Kodak Plus-X

"Here's a classic in an extremely fine grained, medium speed film with excellent resolving power, high acutance and superb detail in both highlights and shadow areas. Responds well to both push and pull processing in standard chemistry, for maximum ease of use. Highly recommended for general photography in moderate light situations."

Hope that helps. There are many other excellent black & white films, but that should be enough to get you started :-) If you were local, I'd offer to develop the film and make prints for you.

I'll just mention one fairly recent color film, although I know you wanted to shoot b&w. It's Kodak Ektar. It's ISO 100 but is very much like Velvia, in that it has very saturated colors. I really like it and I think it would work well for your application if you're doing color. I have shot a fair number of rolls with this film and am pleased with how it comes out.


Good luck with your project!

Ellen

[loftus]

If you want to really blow up large use a really fine grain film like Kodak Panatomic-X ASA 32 if you can find it, or Ilford Pan-F 50 ASA

[TheRealDrew]

your dad was ansel adams right?

Yup, and you can say you know me

[ornate_wrasse]

If you want to really blow up large use a really fine grain film like Kodak Panatomic-X ASA 32 if you can find it, or Ilford Pan-F 50 ASA

Panatomic-X hasn't been made for years.

Ilford Pan-F would be great for enlargements and I actually shot and developed a roll of Pan-F a couple weeks ago. Since it's such a slow film it's often shot using a tripod for topside shots, meaning a long exposure is often needed. When I used it recently, I was using shutter speeds of 1/8 of a second or more. If I hadn't used a tripod, there may have been a lot of blur in the images. I'm not sure that a film this slow would be good for the type of shots he wants to shoot.


If you want to go with something similar to Panatomic-X you might choose Fotokemika Efke iso 25, a film made in Croatia.

"Efke films are manufactured using classic emulsions with very high silver content. This results in a large grayscale reproduction. Unlike modern flat crystal films, which are very unforgiving to use, these films allow beginners to produce quality images. The nature of the film also easily allows large, grain free, enlargements to be made from negatives."

Ellen

[Scubatooth]

Cal - If you were in the US i would reccomend that you process the B&W film by Dr5 (www.dr5.com) labs in colorado. Its a process that takes B&W neg film and the end result is a positive.

My favorite B&W films are Ilford Delta 100 (especially in DR5) as the tonal range/contrast, Dmax is excellent. Other reccomendations would be Ilford PanF 50, Tmax 100. I have has many prints .66m x 1.00m (~24x36) from 35mm DR5 slides and normal negs. I hadnt printed bigger then that as of right now but my lab is limited to a max of 45" by what ever long you want.

[ornate_wrasse]

Yup, and you can say you know me

In that case, I'd like you to come to Portland and give a talk on the The Zone System

[Cal]

Wow!

Thanks for the great answers and info.

This has saved me a great deal of time and research.

Before the question gets lost in this thread - what can you shoot with a 35mm on a nikonos?

Cheers!

[Cp]

Or you could save yourself a whole lot of trouble and shoot it with a PhaseOne 645DF with a P65+ back or the new 180iQ back. 80 megapixels medium format with 12.5 stops of DR. And then tether it up to your computer by the pool. Chicks would definitely dig that. Or not.

Cheers,
Cp