Stupid ISO-related question from a newbie!

jadinew

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Hi,

I'm supposed to be taking some gig photos soon. I will be using a Minolta Dyax 404si with a 28-80mm lens and no flash.
Someone recommended I use a high speed film so I bought some Superia 1600.
I loaded it into my camera and then tried to change the ISO setting, presuming it would have to be set to 1600. However, the dial only seems to go up to 800.
Does this mean that my camera is not capable of a higher ISO, and what would happen if I were to carry on taking photos with the 1600 film?

Sorry, it's probably a really stupid question, but I'd REALLY appreciate some help!

Thanks!
 
Try setting the camera to DX instead of a specific film speed. The DX coding will automatically detect that you have ISO 1600 speed film. The DX setting is most likely the first setting, before ISO 50.

K
 
If your ISO dial only goes up to 800 then that is the highest setting you can put on the meter.
If you shoot 1600ISO as 800ISO there is no real problem so long as you tell your processing house - otherwise they will process as 1600ISO and the film will come out 1 stop overexposed. But even this isn't too much of a problem.
The two other solutions to your problem:
Set the meter to 800ISO and underexpose your shots by 1 stop. That is, whatever the meter tells you for 800, set the shutter or aperture 1 stop less (the meter should tell you that you're 1 stop under). The result will be the same as if you had your meter set at 1600ISO.
The other solution is to use a hand-held meter and use this to set the camera on manual.
 
Don't know specifically about the Dynax 404si, but most SLR cameras will have an 'exposure compensation' setting, which will allow you to set the camera to automatically over or under-expose a scene by a chosen amount - use the technique Hertz described above, but dial the 1 stop underexposure into the camera... saves you having to remember to change exposures with each shot :)
 
Right, I managed to get my friend (who knows SO much more about photography than me!) to take a look at my camera and he's managed to sort it out. It was a stupid problem, I just had it on the wrong setting! But thanks for your replies anyway! And please don't laugh at me behind my back!:)
 
Right, I managed to get my friend (who knows SO much more about photography than me!) to take a look at my camera and he's managed to sort it out. It was a stupid problem, I just had it on the wrong setting! But thanks for your replies anyway! And please don't laugh at me behind my back!:)

Nobody will be laughing at you, we were all beginners once. Don't think a question is too basic to ask, remember what they say about stupid questions. Only the un-asked ones qualify.
 

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