ND and film?

Hi all, sorry about all the questions.

I have been using a hoya X400 (around 9 steps) on my K10. A bit cliche, but yes, slowing waterfalls and milky sea's.

Do the same principles apply to a 35mm film camera? Or using for portraits in bright sunlight?

Deryn

The principle is the same (although with film you may be better using a slower film speed to start with) something like ISO 25 if it's still available.

Film suffers from a phenomenon known as Reciprocity Failure when exposures get beyond a second or so:link. Different films react in different ways, but you need to add exposure to compensate for it (to an already long exposure). You can get data sheets for some films that should provide details, or you can experiment.

John.

Thanks John, another question please.

As I am hoping to take some portraits outdoors, would I benefit by using a yellow filter? For contrast?

Deryn

I presume you mean on B&W film, Deryn. You can preview the effects of B&W colour filters in photoshop - for example the attached shot (originally taken in colour) is shown with yellow, red, blue and green filters (clockwise from top left). Note the effect on skin tones and the green background, and strikingly, the blue fabrics!







I would say an orange filter would strike a good balance as I find the red a bit intense, and the yellow a bit subtle.

You can of course shoot colour film and do this in photoshop, just as with digital!

Many thanks, that is very interesting.

I have been into serious 'digital' since 2008 after buying a Ricoh compact and then a Pentax K10. Before that lots of digital compacts. From the thousands of pics I must have taken I have only had 5 printed, and they never saw photo frames because I didn't like them as much as I thought I did! When I go through my pics in Elements my wife is always saying, 'print that one, print that one ...' And for some reason I never find the initiative to do it.

I don't particularly enjoy the process of digitally modifying pics and enjoy the process of discovering things to take pics of, and discovering how to make best of the situation to try and replicate what I see. I enjoy this more. I enjoyed photography more when I took my rolls of 24/36 exposures to the chemist and in return got a handful of memories. Some of which found themselves in frames.

With a return to film, I am hoping to be able to concentrate more on the picture taking again, and get that buzz of seeing the results a couple of weeks later. Of course there is now the option of putting the results on to disc and altering again on the computer, aaarrrgghhh !!!!!!

Hence my emphasis on portraiture at first. Walls that were once covered in family pictures now seem to be covered in all kinds of mish mash pictures. Sideboards are covered in ornaments were once an old grainy photo, slightly soft focused of gran and grandad took pride of place. Notice my return to the word 'photograph', and not picture. I guess my venture is sentimental. And I'm getting old.

Right, time to get outside and take photo's of that beautiful wife of mine.

Deryn

This may help a little - whatever colour filter you pick will lighten that colour and those either side of it, and darken the ones on the opposite side of the colour wheel.

My return to film was for similar reasons but I also prefer using film equipment and older lenses. I feel like I'm more part of the process as a result. Fortunately being a Pentax user makes it easy to switch between the two.

I'd urge anyone who hasn't tried film but has K/M/A/F/FA or M42 lenses to buy a cheap body and have a go. Anybody lucky enough to have FA Ltds should feel guilty if they're not using them on their originally intended format

John.