this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026
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Film Photography

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My first time shooting a film stock with an insane iso like this, previously I hadn't gone for anything higher than iso 400 and mostly colour. I also pushed myself a bit out of my comfort zone with the 28mm, as I rarely feel comfortable shooting below 50mm.

Somehow this was the only shot of the roll that seemed properly exposed, with many others mildly or wildly underexposed. I've since checked the lightmeter of my XG9 against other references at 3200 iso (or rather 1600 iso -1 stop because the XG9 doesn't support 3200 iso). But unless I push it way harder than I'd ever do irl, I see no fault there. Edge markings and this shot are also fine, and the camera has previously behaved normally, so it was probably just a skill issue somehow.

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[–] antimidas@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

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.