Which speed to use by night with Cinestill 800?

Kowloon · Sep 26, 2022

Huss said:
Congrats and excellent results! The U2 is the N75/F75. I had one, excellent camera. Just let the camera do its thing et voila!

Thanks for suggesting the U2, bang for the buck!

Pictures have been taken with a roll of VIBE 800. Next time I will try Portra 400 to have something without the red halos and perhaps less grainy.

AZSkip said:
I did not know taking photos of neon signs was a thing but now I am looking forward to trying my hand at it. Thanks to Kowloon for starting the thread and to those who have contributed.

I have a Canon A-1. Would aperture priority, shutter priority, or program mode be a better choice for this? From what I’ve found on the ‘net, the A-1 has one metering mode, “centerweighted average metering.”

I don't know if it is "a thing" but there is a bit of story telling here, in Hong Kong. Making neon is a local know how that becomes lost because they are all switching to LED. On top of that, when neon was trendy during the 70's/80's, almost all of them where installed without governmental authorization so nowadays many signs are being scrapped on a weekly basis. Which is a shame because it is one the symbols of this city.

If anyone fancy to know more, I am using a dedicated website which shows all the local signs on a map (remaining and scrapped). Then I cross check with google street view and plan my journey ahead. It takes time but I know that most of what I shoot won't last long in the street anymore.

The whole topic is really interesting for me because related to the local heritage.

Huss · Sep 26, 2022

Keep posting those neon shots Kowloon! Love seeing them.

Kowloon · Oct 2, 2022

Today's batch - Cinestill 800/Nikon U2/50mm

Still having a hard time getting neat shots if the neon is really too bright or (interestingly enough) if it is a mix of green and red color. Next time I will try to see how I can get the same result. Much cleaner than my shots, with a camera simpler than mine, so should not be impossible.

Helge · Oct 2, 2022

AZSkip said:
I did not know taking photos of neon signs was a thing but now I am looking forward to trying my hand at it. Thanks to Kowloon for starting the thread and to those who have contributed.

I have a Canon A-1. Would aperture priority, shutter priority, or program mode be a better choice for this? From what I’ve found on the ‘net, the A-1 has one metering mode, “centerweighted average metering.”

Blade Runners Neo Noir, the production design and Jordan Cronenweths cinematography still echos through this.

Arperture priority is vastly overrated.
Always shutter. You can easily suss exactly what shutter speed you want.
Not so with aperture.
Wide lens and you can get away with slow.
Long and you want at the very least the focal length in speed.
50mm and a super steady hand or steadying on something, and 30th is manageable.
Motion blur effects are also a lot easier to imagine than how exactly DoF will look. Stop down is no help. Especially not at night.

Kowloon · Oct 2, 2022

Helge said:
Blade Runners Neo Noir, the production design and Jordan Cronenweths cinematography still echos through this.

Arperture priority is vastly overrated.
Always shutter. You can easily suss exactly what shutter speed you want.
Not so with aperture.
Wide lens and you can get away with slow.
Long and you want at the very least the focal length in speed.
50mm and a super steady hand or steadying on something, and 30th is manageable.
Motion blur effects are also a lot easier to imagine than how exactly DoF will look. Stop down is no help. Especially not at night.

In my case, set with shutter priority at 1/60, the camera does the rest. Lens is 50mm f/1.8 and camera always hold by hand.

Huss · Oct 2, 2022

Kowloon said:
Today's batch - Cinestill 800/Nikon U2/50mm

Still having a hard time getting neat shots if the neon is really too bright or (interestingly enough) if it is a mix of green and red color. Next time I will try to see how I can get the same result. Much cleaner than my shots, with a camera simpler than mine, so should not be impossible.

These are great! Nice work.

AZSkip · Oct 3, 2022

I like your photos Kowloon. Appreciate the backstory.

Thanks for the advice on shutter priority. I’m used to pure manual so this will be another learning experience.

Helge · Oct 3, 2022

AZSkip said:
I like your photos Kowloon. Appreciate the backstory.

Thanks for the advice on shutter priority. I’m used to pure manual so this will be another learning experience.

It’s better to end up with a slightly underexposed frame than one with motion blur from handshake.
Negative film is meant to be interpreted anyway.

Helge · Oct 3, 2022

Kowloon said:
Thanks for suggesting the U2, bang for the buck!

Pictures have been taken with a roll of VIBE 800. Next time I will try Portra 400 to have something without the red halos and perhaps less grainy.

I don't know if it is "a thing" but there is a bit of story telling here, in Hong Kong. Making neon is a local know how that becomes lost because they are all switching to LED. On top of that, when neon was trendy during the 70's/80's, almost all of them where installed without governmental authorization so nowadays many signs are being scrapped on a weekly basis. Which is a shame because it is one the symbols of this city.

If anyone fancy to know more, I am using a dedicated website which shows all the local signs on a map (remaining and scrapped). Then I cross check with google street view and plan my journey ahead. It takes time but I know that most of what I shoot won't last long in the street anymore.

The whole topic is really interesting for me because related to the local heritage.

Have to admit I only read this fully now.
That is a truly great site.
And a very noble cause.

Neon is not replaceable with LED. It’s not the same thing at all. We desperately have to make people understand this.
The spectral lines of neon is much sharper. Leading to much clearer and subtly eye catching colours.

Neons is also not expensive.
It’s almost the same price as a comparable (in size and lumens) LED sign to have made.
It can last a very long time with a little maintenance.
And the power draw is actually not bad at all compared to regular LED, and when compared to the atrocities of daylight LED screens neon is a downright saint.
I guarantee you that a place like Times Square is using a hundred times the watt hours it used in the eighties.

You might be happier with something like Provia 100f and a small tripod. Provia you can just let expose with the build in metering for minutes without worrying about reciprocity failure.
Slide will also let the neon really glow. Speaking from experience.

Kowloon · Oct 9, 2022

Quick question: I have bought 3 rolls of Kodak 500T, re-rolled. I cannot set the ISO on my camera, it reads the DX code on can. The DX code on the can of the 500T is ISO 400, I have ISO 800 stickers that I can put on it, and ultimately I can compensate the exposure on my camera but only 0.5 by 0.5. Which ISO do you think I should use if I want to try this film on neons at night?

brbo · Oct 9, 2022

You can shoot it at 400 or change the USO code on the film cassette with a piece of tape and a pair of scissors.

Huss · Oct 9, 2022

Kowloon said:
Quick question: I have bought 3 rolls of Kodak 500T, re-rolled. I cannot set the ISO on my camera, it reads the DX code on can. The DX code on the can of the 500T is ISO 400, I have ISO 800 stickers that I can put on it, and ultimately I can compensate the exposure on my camera but only 0.5 by 0.5. Which ISO do you think I should use if I want to try this film on neons at night?

You should be able to compensate up to + or - 2ev. At least I did with my F75 aka U2

meowdameow · Dec 2, 2022

Have you tried Samyang lenses they’re cheap in Hong Kong 2nd hand market.

Kowloon · Dec 3, 2022

meowdameow said:
Have you tried Samyang lenses they’re cheap in Hong Kong 2nd hand market.

For neon signs shooting I have bought a basic AF Nikon lens 50mm and does the job really well!

meowdameow · Dec 3, 2022

I thought you were looking for a budget wide angle nikon lens; I mixed up yr another post

Sirius Glass · Dec 3, 2022

Use box speed and

I have been using the Jiffy Night Calculator since it came out in 1963 and it is still accurate. The price is right too.

Which speed to use by night with Cinestill 800?

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