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Weston WX-7 camera + Ilford Delta 3200 B&W film: will anything come out?!

PilafDM

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Hi, folks!
Taking my first photography class this summer. Your patience, please!

I recently came into this camera:
http://www.cameramanuals.org/pdf_files/weston_wx-7.pdf

... and this film:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AE6AL/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I'd like to use them together.

However, the WX-7 doesn't seem to have very sophisticated controls over things:
  • Aperture: 6.3, 8, 11, 16.
  • Shutter speed ring: 60 on one side and 125 on the other, with really imprecise control in-between...
So, I don't know how to best set it for high-speed film like the Delta 3200. Will I be wasting the roll of film no matter how I set it?
Or, is there I chance I can:
  1. Set the limited settings on the WX-7 in such a way as to get _something_ out of it, even if something "weird," or
  2. Limit my time of day/surroundings/subject material for best results?
Thank you, all!

Cheers,
Phil
 
You can shoot it at iso 800, see if you can borrow a light meter and away you go, it will not be a waste of film
Ultimate Exposure Computer
 
Last edited:
Good to know!
Thank you!

Anyone have any idiot-proof dial-a-setting suggestions? (i.e. "Dude, just leave aperture ring at '8' and shutter speed ring at '125' and you should be safe?"
 
Good to know!
Thank you!

Anyone have any idiot-proof dial-a-setting suggestions? (i.e. "Dude, just leave aperture ring at '8' and shutter speed ring at '125' and you should be safe?"

play with sunny-16 rule and derivates. However, the camera is not really up to the film :) .
 
play with sunny-16 rule and derivates. However, the camera is not really up to the film :) .

Oh, yeah, the mismatch is funny to me. I've no hopes of doing anything pro or garnering client work, so frankly I'm hoping for results that're just a little odd.
I used the Ultimate Exposure Computer and came up with the results posted below. Since I can only use between 1/60 and 1/125 exposure, it sounds like I'll onloy be working at night with this, huh?
Anyone confirm?

FILM SPEED (ISO/ASA NUMBER)ENVIRONMENT DESCRIPTION
ISO 3200f/5.6f/8f/11f/16
6Brightly lit home interiors at night. Fairs, amusement parks.1/60 sec1/30 sec1/15 sec1/8 sec
7Bottom of rainforest canopy. Brightly lighted nighttime streets. Indoor sports. Stage shows, circuses.1/125 sec1/60 sec1/30 sec1/15 sec
8Las Vegas or Times Square at night. Store windows. Campfires, bonfires, burning buildings. Ice shows, football, baseball etc. at night. Interiors with bright florescent lights.1/250 sec1/125 sec1/60 sec1/30 sec
9Landscapes, city skylines 10 minutes after sunset. Neon lights, spotlighted subjects.1/500 sec1/250 sec1/125 sec1/60 sec
10Landscapes and skylines immediately after sunset. Crescent moon (long lens).1/1000 sec1/500 sec1/250 sec1/125 sec

[TD="colspan: 4"]APERTURE: F-STOP[/TD]
 
Shoot it at iso800 2 stops lower but make sure you tell the lab, write on the film roll with a marker pen
 
OK, that's another idea. The camera only has 6.3, 8, 11, 16 as available stops, though.

Using the Ultimate Exposure Calculator it looks like, if I shot at iso800, given the limited f-stop and shutter speeds of the camera... the advantage is just that I could shoot in slightly brighter conditions? (i.e., deep shade, dark overcast outdoors...?)

Is there anything wrong with just shooting it and developing it at the written speed?
 
This is Delta 3200 pushed to iso6400 not great though

300542152_tdatV-L.jpg
 

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OK, that's another idea. The camera only has 6.3, 8, 11, 16 as available stops, though.

Using the Ultimate Exposure Calculator it looks like, if I shot at iso800, given the limited f-stop and shutter speeds of the camera... the advantage is just that I could shoot in slightly brighter conditions? (i.e., deep shade, dark overcast outdoors...?)

Is there anything wrong with just shooting it and developing it at the written speed?

No
 
Great shots! I like the creepy look of it.
Maybe I should save it for a bar crawl?
 
You can shoot the film at 3200 and use a Nuetral Density (ND) filter. That can cut your exposure without changing ISO of the film.
 
OK, that's another idea. The camera only has 6.3, 8, 11, 16 as available stops, though.

Using the Ultimate Exposure Calculator it looks like, if I shot at iso800, given the limited f-stop and shutter speeds of the camera... the advantage is just that I could shoot in slightly brighter conditions? (i.e., deep shade, dark overcast outdoors...?)

Is there anything wrong with just shooting it and developing it at the written speed?

I don't think so.
 
You can shoot the film at 3200 and use a Nuetral Density (ND) filter. That can cut your exposure without changing ISO of the film.

Cool. Since my Weston WX-7 is kind of an oddball cheapie camera, what's the best way for me to know which filters--if any--will fit on the lens? Just take it to a camera sho pand try some on? (Or can you even do that?)

Thanks for your patience with a beginner who never likes to do things the "normal way."
 

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