35mm Night Shots

Craig H. · Mar 27, 2020

I have a Pentax MZ3, and it looks like I cant manually keep the shutter open. I am wanting to take some Milky Way shots. I can push the ISO to 3200 and use Portra 800, (yea it will be a bit grainy), however I am lost with the manual shutter...am I missing something or is this the wrong camera?

Craig H. · Mar 27, 2020

DOH...just found Bulb Exposure Mode!

So another question...is ISO 3200 too much or should I drop it down?

Original katomi · Mar 27, 2020

If your Pentax is like my old k1000 there should be a threaded hole in the shutter button that you screw a release into
Can you hold the shutter open like that

wfooshee · Mar 27, 2020

Doesn't it have a 'B' shutter speed setting? That's for "Bulb," and it holds the shutter open as long as you keep the button down. Good luck doing that without shaking the camera...

(EDIT: Late to the party explaining B speed...)

If it doesn't have a socket for a remote release cable, then it's probably not going to work for you. The pictures I've found of the camera don't have the threaded hole in the shutter button for that.

More editing... There is a socket for a release cable, but it's an electric switch, not the old standard extending pin cable. Pentax calls it a Cable Switch F. Found one of those on Amazon for 50 bucks...

Craig H. · Mar 27, 2020

Yup...I got the electronic remote release.

Original katomi · Mar 27, 2020

Ok then my idea won’t work. Out of ideas at the moment

Original katomi · Mar 27, 2020

Opps cat is helping me to post night all

Craig H. · Mar 27, 2020

So another question...is ISO 3200 too much or should I drop it down?

OldManJim · Mar 28, 2020

essentially what you're doing is trading exposure time for ISO. As you decrease the ISO, you need to increase the exposure time to get a suitable exposure. As you noted, the results will be grainy, o you'll need to factor that in as well. Lower ISO will result in less grain but your exposure time will need to increase.

As you increase exposure time, you'll run into another problem; the earth continues to move, so instead of bright stars, you will see "trails", You can offset this with an equatorial mount but that costs $$$. Check out some sites on astrophotography for more information.

wfooshee · Mar 28, 2020

Yeah, exposure time... 15 seconds is enough to see star motion, although it's not as apparent with a lens wide enough for Milky Way shots. 30 seconds is going to be a hard limit, though, I think.
I've never shot the night sky with film. I've done Milky Way shots digitally, usually ISO 800 and f:4, which is the fastest my wide lens will go. My camera (D7000) is just too noisy at ISO 1600, and useless at 3200. I did need to work the image in Photoshop to get some contrast, as it SOOC was quite flat and dull. White balance is also an issue, not sure what your film type will be.

webestang64 · Mar 28, 2020

Good info here........ Astrophotography Part 4 of 6: Using Film - Articles and Tips | PentaxForums.com

Craig H. · Mar 30, 2020

I also have a Nikon D200...reasonable to use for my purpose?

TCampbell · Mar 30, 2020

The ISO setting on a film camera just changes the values that the light meter reports. On a film camera it's often referred to as "ASA" (instead of ISO) and just occasionally as "DIN". It's the same very general idea though ... but there are some real differences between digital sensors vs. analog film.

On a digital camera, you can't actually change the sensitivity of the sensor ... but what you can do is apply "gain". You can think of "gain" as being a kind of amplifier... to make everything brighter than it actually is. It's a bit of a cheat ... but since that isn't the question you asked, I wont go into it.

In film photography you cannot change the sensitivity of the film. It is whatever it is. To change the sensitivity... you change the film (not the ISO/ASA/DIN setting). With that said... you *can* cheat the developing & printing process to try to push things a bit.

You mentioned you are shooting Portra (color film). While lots of photographers had black & white darkrooms... fewer photographers try to process their own color film. This makes me wonder if you aren't just sending it out to a lab. If that's the case... you may not get the results you are after.

jcdeboever · Mar 31, 2020

I have found it may not be necessary to under expose color film for night time photography. Shoot it at box speed or even one stop slower and develop normally. I do not think Portra will suffer much from reciprocity as B & W film would. The one challenge with figuring the ISO speed to shoot at would be star trails. If you have a digital camera, you can figure this out as a learning exercise. If your after star trails then go for the longer exposure times at box speed or 1 stop lower...800 ISO box and over expose at 400 ISO. If not, find the sweet spot with the digital and go from there. This will force you to bump the iso a few times to get a simulation to what your after. You will be amazed at the look of the film vs. digital. This is a worthy exercise. Keep in mind that if you do end up pushing it to 1600 or 3200, you will have to pay extra for the lab to push process it.

dordeduca · Apr 10, 2020

I photographed several times at night. You need a timer and patience. for exposure I recommend you use a digital parallel. It is advisable to use a lens as wide and bright as possible. These are my tips from my own experience, more in the next article All about photos photography and photographer: Night photography