What are the limits of pulling film?

explody pup · May 13, 2004

Okay... so somebody, we're not naming names here *cough*, was so excited lastnight about the greenish/yellow hue as a result of a strange sunset that he put in a roll of ISO 800 Fuji film and left his camera at 200. Is it even worth trying to get this developed, or am I... I mean, will he end up with some over-exposed-to-hell prints even if he asks the lab to pull the film two stops the best they can (if they can, that is). Or should he chalk this up to a lesson learned?

havoc · May 13, 2004

Well i have never tried to pull film, but if its anything like pushing then you have to ask your "friend" if he exposed for 800 speed film or for a slower film. If you, i am sorry i mean your "friend" exposed for 800 speed then i believe he is f'ed.

ksmattfish · May 13, 2004

Get it developed; don't even mention the overexposure. That's only a 2 stop overexposure. More than likely film speed testing would recommend you shoot it one stop slower anyway, so now you're at a one stop overexposure. No problem with print film. The contrast and color saturation will probably go up, which might be just perfect for a strange sunset.

Besides, what were you metering? A strange sunset sounds like a tricky metering situation to me. Who knows, you might have nailed it.

explody pup · May 13, 2004

ksmattfish said:
Get it developed; don't even mention the overexposure. That's only a 2 stop overexposure. More than likely film speed testing would recommend you shoot it one stop slower anyway, so now you're at a one stop overexposure. No problem with print film. The contrast and color saturation will probably go up, which might be just perfect for a strange sunset.

Well, this is encouraging. I might be able to get a few usable prints out of this afterall.

ksmattfish said:
Besides, what were you metering? A strange sunset sounds like a tricky metering situation to me. Who knows, you might have nailed it.

This was more of a eerie soft light diffusing through the clouds, all pretty even, and some strange cloud patterns. No actual direct sunlight. If I did nail it, it'll be attributed purely to luck. If I get any of 'em turn out well, I'll post the results in the gallery.

Thanks.

drlynn · May 13, 2004

I agree with Matt. Most color print film can be over- or under-exposed by at least 2-3 stops without having to change development times. The color will probably be a bit darker or richer than you remember, but that's all.