this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026
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Film Photography
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Ah okay, rookie mistake then. I've only done development myself once while using someone else's facilities. This roll was bought and developed at my local lab, though I did scanning myself. I just assumed that the box iso of 3200 was to be trusted. I'm not sure how they developed it tbh, but I assumed it was okay because the edge markings looked way denser than the highlights in most photos. And I assumed that the edge markers are exposed for 3200 iso too.
I probably just overexposed the hell out of this picture, which is why it did turn out fine. Turns out that 3200 iso means that it becomes pretty hard to shoot in broad daylight with a fastest shutter speed of 1/1000th. There are quite a few photos which seem to be ridiculously underexposed.
This photo, for instance, was DSLR scanned and converted with the exact same settings as the one in the post:
It's possible to get a bit more out of it by adjusting the settings, but obviously you can't make information appear that was never recorded by the film. I even took a second shot with different settings because I wasn't confident about my settings, but both shots are completely nuked. Even the sky isn't middle gray
On the plus side, thin negatives are easier to scan. But I do you do your development yourself. BW development is fun, easy, and makes you feel like a hero.
Then get the lab to do the prints. Even Ansel Adams had people do prints for him. He'd get proof prints and circle in red the areas he wanted dodged and burned and by how much.
Labs around here give a disclaimer when you buy either Delta 3200 or Kodak's P3200 that developing according to box speed costs extra.
3200 is indeed difficult to shoot in daylight, especially with older bodies that run out of fast enough shutter speeds. That's why you really should have multiple bodies with you for different lighting conditions, if you're trying to get the best results. I usually carry three, color or BW ISO 100 for daylight, BW@1600 (typically HP5 or kentmere 400) for well-lit indoors, and BW@12800 (typically Delta3200) for poorly lit indoors and night time street photography. I don't like shooting with a flash, so I tend to prefer pushing the hell out of fast film even when shooting in a dim environment.
Even then there's an upper limit to things. Even with the "3200" films you start running into issues when pushing past +5 stops (50k ISO upwards). Metering becomes an issue as well, mine caps at 12800 and isn't really that usable at the high end. My Canon A-1 can technically meter up to 12800 as well, though I'd advise pushing a stop extra if you choose to do that. It's had a tendency to underexposea a bit, possibly related to reciprocity.
If you want to see how the 3200 speed alternatives fare when pushes to the extreme, attic darkroom is a good starting point.
I've two rolls pending development at ISO 25600, I'll try to remember adding examples when I've mixed a new batch of microphen.