Film Photography

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St. Lambertusbasiliek [Ilford Delta 3200, Minolta XG9, 28mm f/3.5] (feddit.nl)

submitted 1 month ago by gerryflap@feddit.nl to c/analog@lemmy.world

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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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[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Delta 3200 has long been considered an ISO 800 film that is designed to be pushed. Expose it at 800 and you'll get nice dense negatives with small gain and normal contrast. Expose it at 3200 and you'll have to push Fresno l development, with lighter density, larger gain, higher contrast.

You'll have better results using a push developer (IIRC ascorbic acid developers are recommended). Some people enjoy using Diafine with it, shot at around 2000. But Diafine divides opinions.

The Massive Dev Chart is a resource I always check before developing. This article has examples of Delta 3200 developed in various solutions (both positive and negative results).

[–] gerryflap@feddit.nl 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

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

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

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.

[–] antimidas@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 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.

[–] gerryflap@feddit.nl 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A little update on this. I went back to the lab and they apparently developed it at the development times for 800 iso, because that was what the table of their developer listed as the normal for Ilford Delta 3200. In fact, it didn't even list dev times for 3200, only 400, 800, and 1600.

This also checks out with this shot, because I vaguely remember messing up the math in my head, thinking that I went up and down a stop to cancel out, while I actually added 2 stops of exposure. Something I realized when cycling away. So ironically this is the only good shot precisely because it's 2 stops overexposed when measuring the church wall, which counters the 2 stops of underexposure from development. This shot would've been completely nuked if it had been developed as I intended.

Anyway, some learning for me and the lab. Next time I'll tell them the intended iso with b/w rolls.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

Ask them if they have push developers. It's likely to be a vitamin C based one, which is recommended for T-grain films like this. Typical ones would be XTOL, DD-X, Microphen, T-Max, Acufine.

Note the developer they use and check the recommended ISO setting for Delta with that, so you can properly expose the film.

When dropping off the film, write down the developer you want them to use and the ISO setting you shot at.