High Speed Film

benjyman345 · Jul 15, 2007

hi,

I have some ISO 3200 B&W film and was wondering should I set my camera to ISO 3200 or is it best to set the iso down. If so what should i set the iso too?

thanks

ksmattfish · Jul 15, 2007

benjyman345 said:
I have some ISO 3200 B&W film and was wondering should I set my camera to ISO 3200 or is it best to set the iso down. If so what should i set the iso too?

You can go to the manufacturer's website, and see what the true speed is. Films labeled ISO 3200 are usually really ISO 800ish. You can shoot them anywhere between 800 and 3200, just let your lab know what speed you shot it at as there may be changes in the development time.

benjyman345 · Jul 15, 2007

Thanks.

I will process it myself in the darkroom.

Would be good to see what people suggest who have used this type of film. In particular Tmax 3200.

benjyman345 · Jul 15, 2007

I just noticed the expiry date on the film (1995) Very out of date!!!!

Is it worth using the film??

ann · Jul 15, 2007

a lot will depend on how the film has been kept? Frozen, etc.

the film losses speed with age, so it is going to be more difficult to figure out what EI should be used.

I would not use it for anything important.

nomade · Jul 17, 2007

benjyman345 said:
I just noticed the expiry date on the film (1995) Very out of date!!!!

Is it worth using the film??

Wooo 12 years old, I've an idea, why don't you try shooting the first 5 photos, and cut them of course be careful and develope them and see if it's worth it...

benjyman345 · Oct 10, 2007

Im going to try the film out tomorow and I will set the camera to ISO800 considering it is an old film and has probably lost sensativety.

I am looking for developing times for this film set at ISO 800 which will be developed using ilford id-11. The film box does not tell me developing times for this developer, but does give developing times for D76, which I believe is basically the same chemicals, but the box only lists dev times at iso 1600 and 3200 for D76.

thanks

P.s. Any advice, suggestions welcome...

Helen B · Oct 10, 2007

It will be safe to develop it at the times for EI 1600 if you shoot it at 800, especially that old. TMZ loses its speed faster than other films. I would be inclined to shoot it even a little lower than 800 because of the age. When fresh it is fine at EI 3200, or even higher. There are plenty of examples of it shot at EI 3200 at the second link in my signature - look for 'Pieces of Evidence' in the list of portfolios on the left hand side.

As already mentioned, it is an ISO 800 or 1000 film when fresh. Whether it is ISO 800 or ISO 1000 depends on the developer. Kodak do not hide this fact, or make any claim that it is ISO 3200 film, by the way. I am unaware of any film that is labelled as an ISO 3200 film.

Best,
Helen

benjyman345 · Oct 10, 2007

Helen B said:
It will be safe to develop it at the times for EI 1600 if you shoot it at 800, especially that old. TMZ loses its speed faster than other films. I would be inclined to shoot it even lower than 800.

As already mentioned, it is an ISO 800 or 1000 film when fresh. Whether it is ISO 800 or ISO 1000 depends on the developer. Kodak do not hide this fact, or make any claim that it is ISO 3200 film, by the way. I am unaware of any film that is labelled as an ISO 3200 film.

Best,
Helen

So if I shoot it at ISO 400, 500 or 640, I could then process it according to developing times for EI 1600???

Helen B · Oct 10, 2007

It would depend a lot on how it was stored, how much subject brightness range there is, whether you are scanning or wet printing, and your opinion about blown highlights (but this is 12 years out of date, so how high can your expectations be?). I have never tested TMZ that old, and almost all the TMZ I have ever used has been kept refrigerated. Maybe you should bracket your exposures between 500 and 1000.

In general, even with fresh TMZ, it is safe to use the recommended times for one stop above the EI you shoot at. For a starting time, I would use the times for EI 6400 when shooting at EI 3200, for example.

Good luck,
Helen

benjyman345 · Oct 10, 2007

Helen B said:
It would depend a lot on how it was stored, how much subject brightness range there is, whether you are scanning or wet printing, and your opinion about blown highlights (but this is 12 years out of date, so how high can your expectations be?). I have never tested TMZ that old, and almost all the TMZ I have ever used has been kept refrigerated. Maybe you should bracket your exposures between 500 and 1000.

In general, even with fresh TMZ, it is safe to use the recommended times for one stop above the EI you shoot at. For a starting time, I would use the times for EI 6400 when shooting at EI 3200, for example.

Good luck,
Helen

Sorry, I am a little slow!

What you are saying is... If you photograph it at iso 800 develop it at 1600 and if you photograph it at 1600 dev it at 3200?? am i correct?

Helen B · Oct 10, 2007

Yes, that's where I would start. I would then adjust times based on experience gained from the first rolls.

Best,
Helen

benjyman345 · Oct 11, 2007

Is it accurate enough to assume that D76 developing times will be the same as ID-11 developing times?

Helen B · Oct 11, 2007

Yes, that is a fair assumption.

Have you seen The Massive Dev Chart? It has times for TMZ in ID-11. I hope that you aren't expecting much from this roll.

Best,
Helen