So I know that this question seems odd but I'm a total novice when it comes to analog photography. I thought that when you use an ISO 200 film, the ISO on the camera has to be ISO 200 as well, but if that were the case, you shouldn't be able to go up to ISO 6400 or down to ISO 6. So basically my question is wether you can adjust the ISO on an analog camera like you can do on a digital camera to do long exposure photos for example. And if so, dou you have to take the film's ISO into consideration?
Can you change the ISO to something different than 200 even though the film is ISO 200?
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The ISO on a d-camera is a function of how much voltage you apply to the sensor (within sane limits) since the sensor is kin to a regular transistor. So you can vary the voltage on each shot and shoot each individual shot at a different ISO. When you shoot a d-camera you can even let the camera choose what ISO to shoot the image at. Auto ISO setting. With film the ISO is determined when the film is made and cannot be changed mid-roll so to speak. You can push or pull the film, exposing it with the meter set to something other than it's actual ISO rating, but you should expose the entire roll to this new setting since you have to process the entire roll to the same time.
Thank you very much. That answered my question spot on!
Some camera yes; others no. I cannot change the ISO on the Nikon N75, but I can on the Nikon F100.
MattKing
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The ISO of a film is a measure of its sensitivity to light. It is measured under fairly specific conditions, and it is essentially unchangeable.
You can adjust how much light you use to expose that film, and you can also apply other adjustments to the development of that film, in order to change its response somewhat.
When people decide to make those sorts of adjustments to exposure, they usually change the setting on their meter to something different than the "box" or ISO sensitivity ("speed"). The adjusted setting is referred to as the "Exposure Index" or EI used.
Some people prefer the results from their chosen EI as compared to the manufacturer's ISO for the film. In some cases, their EI compensates for the technique used by them when they meter.
The one thing to remember is that a change of EI does not increase or decrease the film's sensitivity (much). And changing development also does not increase or decrease the film's sensitivity (much). When you read about someone "pushing" film, they are usually under-exposing it, and then making as much as they can out of the negative by increasing its contrast. A "push" does not mean you get more sensitivity.
You can adjust how much light you use to expose that film, and you can also apply other adjustments to the development of that film, in order to change its response somewhat.
When people decide to make those sorts of adjustments to exposure, they usually change the setting on their meter to something different than the "box" or ISO sensitivity ("speed"). The adjusted setting is referred to as the "Exposure Index" or EI used.
Some people prefer the results from their chosen EI as compared to the manufacturer's ISO for the film. In some cases, their EI compensates for the technique used by them when they meter.
The one thing to remember is that a change of EI does not increase or decrease the film's sensitivity (much). And changing development also does not increase or decrease the film's sensitivity (much). When you read about someone "pushing" film, they are usually under-exposing it, and then making as much as they can out of the negative by increasing its contrast. A "push" does not mean you get more sensitivity.
Thank you all very much for your answers, you really helped me out a lot!
Seems like I will have to get an ND filter if I want to take long exposure photos at daytime. Any recommendations which brand to choose? Would be nice if it was reasonably priced.
Seems like I will have to get an ND filter if I want to take long exposure photos at daytime. Any recommendations which brand to choose? Would be nice if it was reasonably priced.
Welcome to APUG 
!
!
To start I'd get a cheap ND filter off Ebay, an expensive ND filter will cost more than a second camera body! You could load the second body with a slower film. Keep in mind, too, that if your intent is to shoot exposure longer than one second you are getting into reciprocity exposure territory and will need to give additional exposure over and above what your meter tells you. D-word is much easier for this sort of thing, since reciprocity does not really happen in D-word. And I guess if I wanted it to be easy I would shoot D-word, but I don't.
Keep in mind that a lot of colour negative films (such as Kodak Portra) can be over-exposed by several stops without severely degrading the final image - much more so than most digital sensors...
Thing is, I got a Leica M6 by an old lady, who wanted to throw it away. It belonged to her husband and she's filthy rich, I'll probably never be that lucky again! I tried out every of the three Leica lenses that were in the bag. It took me about 7 hours of taking photos to fill 5 rolls of film with -what i hope will turn out as- useful photos. Even though I was completely by myself, and I hate being by myself, I really enjoyed these 7 hours and it made me want to shoot more photos instead of selling it as planned. Long exposure photography was always interesting to me and since the Leica is the only camera I have (that sentence sounds odd I know), I have to do it analog. Besides, shooting digital is kind of boring compared to analog. I guess I'll also be happier about one good photo on analog, shooting long exposure, than many nice photos using a modern DSLR.
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hi zedolicious
you might look for welding goggles. they are inexpensive and you can use the glass as a filter in front of your camera. there are a handful of groups
on the interwebs that use these goggles and do very long exposures you might find it a bit cheaper than looking for ND filters ...
with regard to ISO .. unlike the sensortastic cousin you can't really change the iso too drastically. film has a exposure latitude some more than others
and its about a 2 or 3 stop spread without adjusting how you process the film .. meaning you will get something on the negative some of the under exposed
and some of the over exposed images may be a bit more difficult to print than a straight shot. some folks like to always over or always under expose and they
adjust their developing methods to compensate for giving the film more or less light, but still there will be a sweet spot no matter if you over or under develop
over or under agitate, use a active vs not so active developer, don't agitate at all. ... you might experiment with a few rolls on your own to decide what sort of
exposures you like the best ... if you get a 100 foot roll ( sometimes less expensive than the same amount of rolls ) you can roll 12 exposure test rolls
and "bracket" that is change your exposures by full fstops for the whole roll. ( iso value plugged in the camera just tells the lightmeter what to think )
so if you put your film, lets say iso 400 ... expose i frame at 400 and then over expose ever frame by 1 stop after that. do the same thing and under expose 1 full stop
and then develop the film and see what you like. you can do the same thing with short rolls to decide how you want to develop your film too, same stop / iso spread
but change how you develop by 30% more or less time ever short roll. you may decide you like to develop your film under exposed 4 stops ( that would be like insead of
setting your iso at 400 you set it at 6400 ) and sporadically agitated using straight print developer for 8 minutes ..
iso values, and development times are just a blueprint / suggested values you can really do whatever you want // but you really can't vary your exposures by too too much / roll
... unless you want to
have fun with your new camera
john
you might look for welding goggles. they are inexpensive and you can use the glass as a filter in front of your camera. there are a handful of groups
on the interwebs that use these goggles and do very long exposures you might find it a bit cheaper than looking for ND filters ...
with regard to ISO .. unlike the sensortastic cousin you can't really change the iso too drastically. film has a exposure latitude some more than others
and its about a 2 or 3 stop spread without adjusting how you process the film .. meaning you will get something on the negative some of the under exposed
and some of the over exposed images may be a bit more difficult to print than a straight shot. some folks like to always over or always under expose and they
adjust their developing methods to compensate for giving the film more or less light, but still there will be a sweet spot no matter if you over or under develop
over or under agitate, use a active vs not so active developer, don't agitate at all. ... you might experiment with a few rolls on your own to decide what sort of
exposures you like the best ... if you get a 100 foot roll ( sometimes less expensive than the same amount of rolls ) you can roll 12 exposure test rolls
and "bracket" that is change your exposures by full fstops for the whole roll. ( iso value plugged in the camera just tells the lightmeter what to think )
so if you put your film, lets say iso 400 ... expose i frame at 400 and then over expose ever frame by 1 stop after that. do the same thing and under expose 1 full stop
and then develop the film and see what you like. you can do the same thing with short rolls to decide how you want to develop your film too, same stop / iso spread
but change how you develop by 30% more or less time ever short roll. you may decide you like to develop your film under exposed 4 stops ( that would be like insead of
setting your iso at 400 you set it at 6400 ) and sporadically agitated using straight print developer for 8 minutes ..
iso values, and development times are just a blueprint / suggested values you can really do whatever you want // but you really can't vary your exposures by too too much / roll
... unless you want to
have fun with your new camera
john
Well I can't really do extremely long exposures because the "Bulb" mode on the Leica "only" goes up to 60 seconds which is more than enough but still. I guess I'll just get a batch of cheaper films and try everything out. Thanks!
And again, thank you for the awsome reply! I've already learned so much from this forum!
And again, thank you for the awsome reply! I've already learned so much from this forum!
Where did you read that!?
It was on some Leica forum. I think it only affects Leica M6s.
The very term 'bulb' is a reference to what was true a very long time ago (a century) that you would SQUEEZE & HOLD an air filled 'bulb' to activate a shutter to open it and keep it open until you released the bulb and allowed the shutter to close. There normally is NO TIMER function associated with camera shutters in BULB mode, it is purely manual.
There is a 'T' mode which is sometimes available, Squeeze to open, Squeeze again to close, so that you do not need to squeeze the shutter release continuously during a very long exposure.
You're right, I just tried it out myself. Well that's a lesson to not believe everything on the internet i guess.
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you can say that again !
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Wow!
Do not believe everything you read on the internet.
Some suggestions in regards welding googles for arc welding the lens ( and yes the plain glass is called lens) is usually a shade ten. For gas welding a shade five. Higher the number, the darker the lens. The arc welding lens is usually rectangle, some gas welding goggles are round. Round may make fitting easier. If you are close to a welding supply make the visit. You may find them more helpful and interesting than you imaging.
A side note, industrial photography, good photographs of industrial processes can be quite the challenge.
Have come across timers that fit cable release socket for longer exposure. Nifty mechanical clockworks. Something to look for.
Before you know it you could be the expert resource for long exposure.
Good luck.
Do not believe everything you read on the internet.
Some suggestions in regards welding googles for arc welding the lens ( and yes the plain glass is called lens) is usually a shade ten. For gas welding a shade five. Higher the number, the darker the lens. The arc welding lens is usually rectangle, some gas welding goggles are round. Round may make fitting easier. If you are close to a welding supply make the visit. You may find them more helpful and interesting than you imaging.
A side note, industrial photography, good photographs of industrial processes can be quite the challenge.
Have come across timers that fit cable release socket for longer exposure. Nifty mechanical clockworks. Something to look for.
Before you know it you could be the expert resource for long exposure.
Good luck.
I use 160 iso film 99.9% of the time but always set the iso dial to 100. The film's developed as if shot at the rated 160 though, so slightly overexposed. In the .1% of the time that I use 400 iso film I set the iso dial to 320 but get it developed as if shot at the rated 400, so again, slightly overexposed.
This was a tip given to me by the chap who develops my films and seems to work very well.
This was a tip given to me by the chap who develops my films and seems to work very well.
The ISO rating for film is just a starting point, some folks find that the film's rated ISO works out just fine, others test and adjust for a personal ISO based on camera, meter, and developer. Personal ISO for color film is more likely to match the manufacture's ISO as there is only one chemistry for development C41( unless cross development in E6 or older systems like C22). B&W, many developers which could decrease or increase the ISO of a given film.
In terms of ND filters, I have a set of Corkin from + 2 to + 8 with holders from 49mm to 72mm, although resin rather than glass, I have not seen any loss of sharpness or shift in color.
In terms of ND filters, I have a set of Corkin from + 2 to + 8 with holders from 49mm to 72mm, although resin rather than glass, I have not seen any loss of sharpness or shift in color.
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