You touched a subject that dismayed many of us back in film's heyday. Covered all bases in less than 9 minutes. Never cease to amaze. As for me,flash rules indoors,your shots prove this,not just for color but monochrome as well.Ambient light shooters were and may yet be a sub - culture of their own,nothing you can't indulge in when the mood arises.Again ,great job, David.
Make it till the end of comment section. My take on sunny16 rules for daylight indoor is to shoot 400 speed film, wide enough, at hand holding rate should be close to achieve the “preferred” exposure. Thanks david, what a time to be alive since this video was made 5 years ago 🎉🎉🎉
:D Thank you! Indoors, I will often go with f/2.8 or f/4 at about 1/200th for 400 ISO. In a well-lit and white-walled interior room, 1/60 and f/5.6 will be okay if there's a light directly on the subject, so a bit more light and a slightly faster shutter tends to get the images within the film's tolerance.
Im pretty happy with my M5 and f2 lens. I mention the camera because I can comfortably shoot up to a 30th of a second shooter speed handheld, wich I couldn’t do with my Nikon DSLR because of the mirror slag. The mirror itself introduces so much movement that the image get blurry when I don’t use it on a tripod at such low shutter speeds. For me 400 is perfect for indoor and outdoor photography. But I have to say that I like to underexpose my shots. If you are looking for a good higher ISO color negativ film your pretty much left with Portra 800. It has a rather fine grain for such a high ISO and can be shoot a 1600 fine without hurting the image too much, if you have enough light. And you can still push it one stop if you have to. Be aware that you get a fairly different look then. If you need a 1600 color negative film. You can still get some Fuji Natura 1600 which is great (although it only reaches 1000 in artificial light). But it’s been discounted so I suggest getting a few rolls for some special low light occasions. Kodak TMax p3200 and Ilford Delta 3200 are both not real 3200 ISO films they are both rated at around 1000 ISO. But you can push both to 3200 no problem. It just gets really grainy at least with the delta. I didn’t have the chance to shoot TMax p3200 since it’s just been reintroduced to the marked.
David Hancock It’s quite impressive film for how inexpensive it is. Here’s a Flickr album I have with shots ranging from 1600 - 6400. flickr.com/photos/131723870@N02/sets/72157669548331005
It’s amazing the amount of knowledge and understanding you have in your head, I must admit it’s very rare I shoot indoors with film. When I do I tend to use HP5+, a wide lens and a light meter, and I rarely shoot anything with a low ISO indoors even with a flash. I tend to use FLD filters when under fluorescent lighting, am I using the wrong one?
Thank you! FLD filters only have a purpose for color film. If you use it with HP5+ then you're stripping away some of the green wavelengths. HP5+ already has a pronounced sensitivity dip in the green range (495-570) so stripping out more green light with an FLD filter will make green objects darker than they may be otherwise (tonally speaking) and could have an adverse affect on overall exposure (meaning that it could underexpose by a fractional stop) under fluorescent light due to the HP5+ spectral dip and corresponding fluorescent lighting wavelengths. The dip in HP5+'s spectral sensitivity curve at the green wavelength ought to help correct for added green coloration on subjects under fluorescent lighting (I haven't tested this to be certain of it, but it logically holds up.)
David Hancock Wow! Thank you. You are on your own on TH-cam for your understanding of the science of film photography, I can’t think of anyone who comes close to you.
here's a question for a future video: How do you apply sunny 16 rules INDOORS. Over time i developed my own techniques but i have never seen an article or video that explains an approach to calculating correct exposure indoors with just your eye
Experience is the key there. Wherever you might have your camera with you, start with shutter speed = ISO, guess the aperture and take a shot. Over time you will gain a knack for judging how bright a room is and what your aperture needs to be to match shutter = ISO. Once you have that, you can adjust shutter speed and aperture to meet your particular requirements. It goes without saying that your aperture is generally around f/2.8 at the narrowest.
From my experience: for daylight indoor shots 1/60 and f2.8 or f2 usually is spot on. Artificial light at night time is much more tricky and at that point you probably will have too low light for a hand steady shot without blurriness.
I use the Indoor f/2, sometimes indoor f/1.8 rule. :D But that varies a LOT based on lighting. In a surgical theater, there's more light and white walls. In a concert hall, it might be f/2 at 1/60th with 3200 ISO film.
Hey David, thanks for this informative video! I'm looking to shoot daylight balanced film indoors and am between the 80A(2 stop correction) and the 80C (1 stop correction). Do you think the 80C could get me close enough?
Depends on your work flow. So here are some approaches. First up, I'd do three test shots -- no filter, 80C, 80A. See which one looks the best with no post-processing corrections. If you're going to make enlarger prints on color paper, that's the way to go and you already know that you'll need a color-corrected negative to simplify life in the darkroom and not have to remember to add correcting filters for each print. If you're going to use a digital workflow, go without a filter and tweak the levels in post. Photoshop has an auto color feature that is very good at fixing color corrections. Alternatively, isolating the blue channel (I think) on the sliders and tweaking it from there will give you control over the exact results.
I shot one roll of Fujifilm Venus 800 (like better Superia, Japanese market only), it came out better than expected, no grain to see on 10x15cm prints, nice colors and exposure. Chose it for indoors and dark outsides, used it ina museum where ou can't use flash, worked nicely.
There's no one simple answer for that, unfortunately. Here are the data points you'll need to know: 1- Your flash's guide number (not printed on your flash typically, but it should be findable online). Not that guide numbers are usually rated to 100 ISO, so if you have a faster film you will need to adjust that guide number. 2- Your film speed (or digital sensitivity) 3- Camera-subject distance 4- Aperture With that dataset, you can then calculate the settings you need to use on your flash to obtain a proper exposure. One thing to note there is that when you use the guide number of your flash to calculate flash power, that's based on a direct line from flash to subject. If you use bound flash, as you should to have flattering results, then you'll want to increase the flash power due to light loss from the the bounce action.
Hi David, I shot inside a parking garage and thought I was safe using FujiFilm 400 and had it on F.4 for body shots. All of my pics came out dark and blurry ( first time this happens to me). Should I purchase an external flash? If so, what do you reco for a Canon AE1? Thank you!
Probably just not enough light. For flashes, any vintage flash by Canon, Vivitar, etc., or even new flashes, will work. If you get a new flash, none of the TTL features will work and you'll need to use it in manual operation all the time.
@@DavidHancock thank you so much for the quick response! I’ve used one that was mounted to my camera and the pics came out washed and some half dark. Am I doing it wrong ? I was thinking of buying some sort of flash I can use that doesn’t have to be mounted to the camera.
@@yocampos1769 Yup, so to fix the half-dark frames, don't use a shutter speed faster than your camera's flash sync. That's what causes the partial frame darkness; some of the frame is covered by shutter curtain. For the wash out, bounce your flash of the ceiling or a wall. Your said you were using an AE-1? Check out my video manual series on that camera, specifically video 2, which had a section dedicated to flash use and it might help a lot with some of the learning curve errors.
I have a picture of my uncle and my cousin from the 90s that has both an incandescent light fixture Andy fluorescent light fixture in the frame. Both lights were on and you can see the green cast from the fluorescent light. The incandescent light looks acceptable. I'm pretty sure that picture was taken with a point-and-shoot camera.
Hi! I’ve got a Kodak box brownie and usually use 120, but I’d really like to try taking some indoor photos, what film would you suggest for windowless rooms?
If your Brownie has a a bulb mode, one where the shutter is held open by pulling or pressing a switch, you will need to use that, manually trigger a flash in your hand, and then close the shutter.
Hi David. What type of lens aperture would you recommend for indoor shooting? And if my fastest lens is an f4, should I invest in a faster lens or could I get away with it somehow? Thanks.
An f/4 lens can work but you need a fast-ish film, like an 800 ISO, and good indoor light. If you ever have the chance to pick up a 50mm f/1.8 to f/2 lens, that can be a good aperture for most indoor light with a 400 ISO film.
So essentially, indoors it's best to use f/2.8 and shutter speed of 1/60th? It's funny because the first photo I ever took on film I unintentionally used this setting and it came out amazing.
Now you only need to do, "How do I make youtube videos indoors with one overhead bright light source." Ha ha. BTW, good video. I always look forward to your new releases.
But what about using tripod? It is simple and basic tool when shooting indoors. Not very comfortable, but opens up a lot of possibilities: no exposure time limitations, no ISO limitations. No DOF limitations. Also you can use any lens you want. Almost all of the subject You mentioned in Your video can be solved with this one tool. Tripod is absolutely basic photography tool as far as indoors shooting is concerned. Of course fast action capturing is an exception.
Tripods are a good tool. I think of them as being more of an indoor studio tool since a lot of indoor venues, like concerts or weddings, may not have the room to easily place a tripod so that it's also safe as people move around. One risk with longer shutter speeds with a tripod would be image blur. So I took the approach of ambient and flash-based lighting as those are simpler executions with limited to no risk of image blur.
Great information...I only have one thing to nitpick. Traditionally, fluorescent lights had a green cast. Unfortunately, today's fluorescents are all over the color temperature map. The only good news is that more and more of them are either daylight balanced or lean toward the tungsten end of the spectrum...that sickly green is a thing of the past.
@@GTXTi-db5xu the pushing and pulling both change how the images look and your available settings. So let's say you're on a dark space, like a city at night. You can obtain a proper exposure, let's say, at f/1.4 and 1/8. But if you push that to 1600, then that 1/8 becomes 1/30. Alternatively, if you want to shoot 400 in full sun, you'll have a proper exposure at 1/500 and f/16. If your lens only goes to f/16, you only have one shutter speed. Pull it to 100 and you have a couple more shutter speed options.
David, could you please answer my question? I want to get a flash for my Nikon FE2, and I want to use it in the streets, but i cannot figure out what to buy, considering I want to use it off camera (hand holding the flash). Is there any specific flashes that can do that or any flash can be off camera? Do I need a cable to sync? I swear I can't understand how to do it.
For your FE2, you'll need to get either a flash cable or, this is preferential, a flash RF trigger. I use a $15-20 eBay no-name RF flash trigger that has a bit that fits into the hot shoe and then a receiver that the flash attaches to. That way I can hold the flash wherever I need to. That also has the benefit of letting you use any flash you'd like since those receivers are usually 'dumb' receivers meaning they can only trigger the flash and not communicate with it. So you'll need to be a bit up on flash settings and open-air lighting. Have you used an off-camera flash outdoors before?
David, you have no idea how much I appreciate the answer. I'll look into the RF trigger then. I've never used a flash before, anywhere. I'm actually fairly new to photography in general (I've been shooting for about 4 months now), and I decided to begin with film cameras just because, and now I'm hooked. There are somethings I'd like to do with street shots that I know flash can acomplish, but I still don't know how to use them. Reading is no problem, and I keep a notebook to review the photos and learn a little bit more, so as long as I get the right equipment (I thought of buying the SB-17, even though I don't know how good it is for my purposes, and the RF trigger that you mentioned) I think I can learn by trial and error, and reading a few book or articles online. That said, if you have any particular tips or references, I'd be more than happy to look into them.
I don't know the SB-17, but I can tell you want you WANT in a flash -- manual power control. So check out the AmazonBasics flash as an example of this. It has manual discharge power control and flash-triggered slave mode. The latter is useful in a multi-flash setup, such as at home or on assignment. The manual power mode is useful for RF control. Using a flash is a whole art that takes a long time to really master. If you're outside, you won't be able to bounce it off a ceiling. If you're inside, you can. Check out my Ask David video on flash guide numbers for more info on that. Outside, you MAY be able to bounce it off a wall if you're positioned well. Once you get a flash and RF, you'll want to test it. The easiest way is to get a volunteer and a small whiteboard. Have the volunteer stand in front of you in a setting you'd be using flash in typically. Write on the white board your film (name, like Portra 400), exposure ISO (the ISO you set the camera at), flash power, subject-camera distance (within a couple feet is okay, so no need to have a tape measure), and if you articulate the flash head then record the angle and direction. Then do a series of test shots with different flash head articulations and powers before changing the subject-camera distance. You don't need to do ALL the possible flash-power-angle combinations up front and if you have a DSLR that can save a bunch of money on film processing for these tests. If you use film, try testing the power at every other or every third power level and then three angles (90, 45, and 0, for instance). That way you can see approximately what looks good and refine with a second roll, if needed (and the info on the whiteboard will let you know which settings worked and which didn't). Also, if you use color film, color films react differently to flashes than daylight or other artificial light. And some low-blue-sensitive black and white films like Rollei Retro 80S do not record light from flashes well. So once you know what settings you like for different subject-camera distances then you can refine settings based on film type. The other thing this will do is show you how different flash angles will light your subject differently. Once you know how you like to have your flash angled, you can then refine it with modifiers like a diffuser and the like to soften the light.
David, I'm sorry I took sometime to answer. I really appreciate the time you took to answer my questions. If you could guide me through one more, that'd be awesome. Everything you said is really helpfull, I even copy pasted it to a file so I can check it as necessary. I also watched your video about Guide Numbers, and considering what I want to do with a flash, I got to this conclusion: I usually shoot from about 5ft from my subjects, sometimes closer, 7ft max distance. I shoot on the streets, and I think that I'd rarely bounce the flash, I like the effect of direct strong light - that Bruce Gilden or Martin Parr sort of thing. And I tend to use BW/Color film with minimum 400 ISO. So, from what I gather, almost any flash has sufficient power to provide what I need (I've seen some from GN80~100), considering subject-camera distance and ISO, am I right about that? Also, do I need to find a flash with the correct lens coverage? I use 28mm, and I've found only a few Nikon vintage flashes with that coverage. If so, that's fine. The most important doubt: do you know if all of these old flashes work if any RF trigger? I'm about to buy them, so I'd like not to make a bad call. And If I use the RF, I need to manually adjust camera-flash settings everytime, right? If so, that's also fine, just making sure I got it right. Thank you a lot, David. Really.
I think any flash will cover 28mm okay, especially if you hold it up and behind a bit. Flash coverage is mostly a concern when it's directly on top of the camera with a wide-angle lens (because the flash head and lens are roughly on plane.) Insofar as I know, any old flash will work with any RF trigger. I have not had a compatibility issue and I've used more than a dozen different, old and new, flashes with my RF triggers. As for manually setting the flash each time, that depends on the specific flash. If you get an old Vivitar that has a slide or a dial that physically sets the flash power, then you won't need to reset it each time. With some newer flashes that have digital interfaces, they may not remember flash settings between battery changes or power cycles.
Hi David, thanks for this video. What if I use T-max p3200? Can I also shoot this film outside? I really would love to have one film for both, inside and outside/day and night. And I don't want to use a flash. Thanks for your help!
Thank you and yes. P3200 is an 800 ISO film that can be pushed to 3200 ISO if also push-processed in development. You can use it at 800, 1600, or 3200 indoors and out, but outside you will need a camera with a fast shutter speed, such as a nineties-and-later pro-level camera that can hit 1/4000th to 1/8,000th (or the Minolta Alpha 9's 1/12,000th).
What about not using a light meter indoors? Sunny 16 works outside, but in my dark apartment, no bueno. I guess it’s good I have a Nikon f2as as the meter in it is amazingly accurate.
Of course if you are taking photos of still subjects then all bets regarding fast lenses are off, and the dominant factors then become the possession of a tripod and the requirement & ability to adjust for reciprocity.
You forgot stand developing, which can also be coupled with pushing in semi stand. And you forgot preflashing which will bring up shadow detail bordering on reciprocity failure.
It doesn't really work apples to apples because human vision is a function of brain processing where the world around us is constructed of a constantly recorded "video" for lack of a better word.
![[DRIP] ‘Love, Maybe’ PREVIEW](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U7hwHp95m1k/mqdefault.jpg)
You touched a subject that dismayed many of us back in film's heyday. Covered all bases in less than 9 minutes. Never cease to amaze. As for me,flash rules indoors,your shots prove this,not just for color but monochrome as well.Ambient light shooters were and may yet be a sub - culture of their own,nothing you can't indulge in when the mood arises.Again ,great job, David.
Thank you, Steve!
Make it till the end of comment section. My take on sunny16 rules for daylight indoor is to shoot 400 speed film, wide enough, at hand holding rate should be close to achieve the “preferred” exposure. Thanks david, what a time to be alive since this video was made 5 years ago 🎉🎉🎉
:D Thank you! Indoors, I will often go with f/2.8 or f/4 at about 1/200th for 400 ISO. In a well-lit and white-walled interior room, 1/60 and f/5.6 will be okay if there's a light directly on the subject, so a bit more light and a slightly faster shutter tends to get the images within the film's tolerance.
Im pretty happy with my M5 and f2 lens. I mention the camera because I can comfortably shoot up to a 30th of a second shooter speed handheld, wich I couldn’t do with my Nikon DSLR because of the mirror slag. The mirror itself introduces so much movement that the image get blurry when I don’t use it on a tripod at such low shutter speeds. For me 400 is perfect for indoor and outdoor photography. But I have to say that I like to underexpose my shots. If you are looking for a good higher ISO color negativ film your pretty much left with Portra 800. It has a rather fine grain for such a high ISO and can be shoot a 1600 fine without hurting the image too much, if you have enough light. And you can still push it one stop if you have to. Be aware that you get a fairly different look then. If you need a 1600 color negative film. You can still get some Fuji Natura 1600 which is great (although it only reaches 1000 in artificial light). But it’s been discounted so I suggest getting a few rolls for some special low light occasions. Kodak TMax p3200 and Ilford Delta 3200 are both not real 3200 ISO films they are both rated at around 1000 ISO. But you can push both to 3200 no problem. It just gets really grainy at least with the delta. I didn’t have the chance to shoot TMax p3200 since it’s just been reintroduced to the marked.
Kentmere 400. Surprisingly the best film I’ve ever used for pushing. Good results at ISO 6400 in Xtol stock for 21 mins.
I'm just getting to know Kentmere. I was under the impression that it had poor push processing capacity.
David Hancock It’s quite impressive film for how inexpensive it is. Here’s a Flickr album I have with shots ranging from 1600 - 6400.
flickr.com/photos/131723870@N02/sets/72157669548331005
Nice work! Is that whole role shot around L.A.?
It’s amazing the amount of knowledge and understanding you have in your head, I must admit it’s very rare I shoot indoors with film. When I do I tend to use HP5+, a wide lens and a light meter, and I rarely shoot anything with a low ISO indoors even with a flash. I tend to use FLD filters when under fluorescent lighting, am I using the wrong one?
Thank you!
FLD filters only have a purpose for color film. If you use it with HP5+ then you're stripping away some of the green wavelengths. HP5+ already has a pronounced sensitivity dip in the green range (495-570) so stripping out more green light with an FLD filter will make green objects darker than they may be otherwise (tonally speaking) and could have an adverse affect on overall exposure (meaning that it could underexpose by a fractional stop) under fluorescent light due to the HP5+ spectral dip and corresponding fluorescent lighting wavelengths. The dip in HP5+'s spectral sensitivity curve at the green wavelength ought to help correct for added green coloration on subjects under fluorescent lighting (I haven't tested this to be certain of it, but it logically holds up.)
David Hancock Wow! Thank you. You are on your own on TH-cam for your understanding of the science of film photography, I can’t think of anyone who comes close to you.
:D
here's a question for a future video: How do you apply sunny 16 rules INDOORS. Over time i developed my own techniques but i have never seen an article or video that explains an approach to calculating correct exposure indoors with just your eye
Experience is the key there. Wherever you might have your camera with you, start with shutter speed = ISO, guess the aperture and take a shot. Over time you will gain a knack for judging how bright a room is and what your aperture needs to be to match shutter = ISO. Once you have that, you can adjust shutter speed and aperture to meet your particular requirements.
It goes without saying that your aperture is generally around f/2.8 at the narrowest.
From my experience: for daylight indoor shots 1/60 and f2.8 or f2 usually is spot on. Artificial light at night time is much more tricky and at that point you probably will have too low light for a hand steady shot without blurriness.
I use the Indoor f/2, sometimes indoor f/1.8 rule. :D But that varies a LOT based on lighting. In a surgical theater, there's more light and white walls. In a concert hall, it might be f/2 at 1/60th with 3200 ISO film.
David writes a script. Got to like that! Too, too many don't. Applause!
I don't script these. :D I have a few prompts or an outline, at most. I only script the camera reviews.
David Hancock Notes, outline is as good as a script as far as the results show.
Hey David, thanks for this informative video! I'm looking to shoot daylight balanced film indoors and am between the 80A(2 stop correction) and the 80C (1 stop correction). Do you think the 80C could get me close enough?
Depends on your work flow. So here are some approaches. First up, I'd do three test shots -- no filter, 80C, 80A. See which one looks the best with no post-processing corrections. If you're going to make enlarger prints on color paper, that's the way to go and you already know that you'll need a color-corrected negative to simplify life in the darkroom and not have to remember to add correcting filters for each print.
If you're going to use a digital workflow, go without a filter and tweak the levels in post. Photoshop has an auto color feature that is very good at fixing color corrections. Alternatively, isolating the blue channel (I think) on the sliders and tweaking it from there will give you control over the exact results.
I shot one roll of Fujifilm Venus 800 (like better Superia, Japanese market only), it came out better than expected, no grain to see on 10x15cm prints, nice colors and exposure. Chose it for indoors and dark outsides, used it ina museum where ou can't use flash, worked nicely.
Nice! Fuji Venus 800 is nice stuff, perfect for that use.
What would you say is the ideal set up with flash? I have the Nikon SB24. Can I shoot F11 with flash?
There's no one simple answer for that, unfortunately. Here are the data points you'll need to know:
1- Your flash's guide number (not printed on your flash typically, but it should be findable online). Not that guide numbers are usually rated to 100 ISO, so if you have a faster film you will need to adjust that guide number.
2- Your film speed (or digital sensitivity)
3- Camera-subject distance
4- Aperture
With that dataset, you can then calculate the settings you need to use on your flash to obtain a proper exposure. One thing to note there is that when you use the guide number of your flash to calculate flash power, that's based on a direct line from flash to subject. If you use bound flash, as you should to have flattering results, then you'll want to increase the flash power due to light loss from the the bounce action.
Really informative video; thanks David! :)
Thank you, Hannah!
Hi David, I shot inside a parking garage and thought I was safe using FujiFilm 400 and had it on F.4 for body shots. All of my pics came out dark and blurry ( first time this happens to me). Should I purchase an external flash? If so, what do you reco for a Canon AE1? Thank you!
Probably just not enough light. For flashes, any vintage flash by Canon, Vivitar, etc., or even new flashes, will work. If you get a new flash, none of the TTL features will work and you'll need to use it in manual operation all the time.
@@DavidHancock thank you so much for the quick response! I’ve used one that was mounted to my camera and the pics came out washed and some half dark. Am I doing it wrong ? I was thinking of buying some sort of flash I can use that doesn’t have to be mounted to the camera.
@@yocampos1769 Yup, so to fix the half-dark frames, don't use a shutter speed faster than your camera's flash sync. That's what causes the partial frame darkness; some of the frame is covered by shutter curtain. For the wash out, bounce your flash of the ceiling or a wall. Your said you were using an AE-1? Check out my video manual series on that camera, specifically video 2, which had a section dedicated to flash use and it might help a lot with some of the learning curve errors.
@@DavidHancock David, you’re amazing! Thank you! I’m going to shop for one and watch the tutorials.
I have a picture of my uncle and my cousin from the 90s that has both an incandescent light fixture Andy fluorescent light fixture in the frame. Both lights were on and you can see the green cast from the fluorescent light. The incandescent light looks acceptable. I'm pretty sure that picture was taken with a point-and-shoot camera.
Nice!
Hi! I’ve got a Kodak box brownie and usually use 120, but I’d really like to try taking some indoor photos, what film would you suggest for windowless rooms?
If your Brownie has a a bulb mode, one where the shutter is held open by pulling or pressing a switch, you will need to use that, manually trigger a flash in your hand, and then close the shutter.
Hi David. What type of lens aperture would you recommend for indoor shooting? And if my fastest lens is an f4, should I invest in a faster lens or could I get away with it somehow? Thanks.
An f/4 lens can work but you need a fast-ish film, like an 800 ISO, and good indoor light. If you ever have the chance to pick up a 50mm f/1.8 to f/2 lens, that can be a good aperture for most indoor light with a 400 ISO film.
So essentially, indoors it's best to use f/2.8 and shutter speed of 1/60th? It's funny because the first photo I ever took on film I unintentionally used this setting and it came out amazing.
Round about there with 400 ISO film, yes.
Now you only need to do, "How do I make youtube videos indoors with one overhead bright light source." Ha ha. BTW, good video. I always look forward to your new releases.
:D
Wait till the next batch that starts in November where I only had one super-bright light sources behind me.
Informative video
Thank you!
But what about using tripod? It is simple and basic tool when shooting indoors. Not very comfortable, but opens up a lot of possibilities: no exposure time limitations, no ISO limitations. No DOF limitations. Also you can use any lens you want. Almost all of the subject You mentioned in Your video can be solved with this one tool. Tripod is absolutely basic photography tool as far as indoors shooting is concerned. Of course fast action capturing is an exception.
Tripods are a good tool. I think of them as being more of an indoor studio tool since a lot of indoor venues, like concerts or weddings, may not have the room to easily place a tripod so that it's also safe as people move around.
One risk with longer shutter speeds with a tripod would be image blur. So I took the approach of ambient and flash-based lighting as those are simpler executions with limited to no risk of image blur.
i am thinking about taking photos for christmas, i dont want to bring a tripod in the room...
what iso would you pick for a gym at night(no daylight) but the downlighting in the gym is pretty strong an bright
I'd try and use a mix of 800 and 1600. You might get away with 400 if you have a fast lens and stationary objects.
@@DavidHancock thank you! I want some b&w pic, so i'm trying the ilford hp5
Great information...I only have one thing to nitpick. Traditionally, fluorescent lights had a green cast. Unfortunately, today's fluorescents are all over the color temperature map. The only good news is that more and more of them are either daylight balanced or lean toward the tungsten end of the spectrum...that sickly green is a thing of the past.
Oh, good point. Thank you!
Is it still possible to get 1600 and 3200 ISO film? I can't find it anywhere.
Nope. There are a few black and white films that can be pushed to 3200, like Delta 3200 and TMax 3200.
@@DavidHancock I just got back my first roll of film I ever shot! I feel like some of them are underexposed though :/
@@GTXTi-db5xu Your first roll will definitely be your worst -- always is. It's a first step in learning how to use film will. 😀
@@DavidHancock What's the point of pushing and pulling film? Why not just change the aperture or shutter speed?
@@GTXTi-db5xu the pushing and pulling both change how the images look and your available settings. So let's say you're on a dark space, like a city at night. You can obtain a proper exposure, let's say, at f/1.4 and 1/8. But if you push that to 1600, then that 1/8 becomes 1/30. Alternatively, if you want to shoot 400 in full sun, you'll have a proper exposure at 1/500 and f/16. If your lens only goes to f/16, you only have one shutter speed. Pull it to 100 and you have a couple more shutter speed options.
David, could you please answer my question?
I want to get a flash for my Nikon FE2, and I want to use it in the streets, but i cannot figure out what to buy, considering I want to use it off camera (hand holding the flash).
Is there any specific flashes that can do that or any flash can be off camera? Do I need a cable to sync? I swear I can't understand how to do it.
For your FE2, you'll need to get either a flash cable or, this is preferential, a flash RF trigger. I use a $15-20 eBay no-name RF flash trigger that has a bit that fits into the hot shoe and then a receiver that the flash attaches to. That way I can hold the flash wherever I need to. That also has the benefit of letting you use any flash you'd like since those receivers are usually 'dumb' receivers meaning they can only trigger the flash and not communicate with it. So you'll need to be a bit up on flash settings and open-air lighting. Have you used an off-camera flash outdoors before?
David, you have no idea how much I appreciate the answer. I'll look into the RF trigger then.
I've never used a flash before, anywhere. I'm actually fairly new to photography in general (I've been shooting for about 4 months now), and I decided to begin with film cameras just because, and now I'm hooked. There are somethings I'd like to do with street shots that I know flash can acomplish, but I still don't know how to use them. Reading is no problem, and I keep a notebook to review the photos and learn a little bit more, so as long as I get the right equipment (I thought of buying the SB-17, even though I don't know how good it is for my purposes, and the RF trigger that you mentioned) I think I can learn by trial and error, and reading a few book or articles online. That said, if you have any particular tips or references, I'd be more than happy to look into them.
I don't know the SB-17, but I can tell you want you WANT in a flash -- manual power control. So check out the AmazonBasics flash as an example of this. It has manual discharge power control and flash-triggered slave mode. The latter is useful in a multi-flash setup, such as at home or on assignment. The manual power mode is useful for RF control.
Using a flash is a whole art that takes a long time to really master. If you're outside, you won't be able to bounce it off a ceiling. If you're inside, you can. Check out my Ask David video on flash guide numbers for more info on that. Outside, you MAY be able to bounce it off a wall if you're positioned well.
Once you get a flash and RF, you'll want to test it. The easiest way is to get a volunteer and a small whiteboard. Have the volunteer stand in front of you in a setting you'd be using flash in typically. Write on the white board your film (name, like Portra 400), exposure ISO (the ISO you set the camera at), flash power, subject-camera distance (within a couple feet is okay, so no need to have a tape measure), and if you articulate the flash head then record the angle and direction. Then do a series of test shots with different flash head articulations and powers before changing the subject-camera distance. You don't need to do ALL the possible flash-power-angle combinations up front and if you have a DSLR that can save a bunch of money on film processing for these tests.
If you use film, try testing the power at every other or every third power level and then three angles (90, 45, and 0, for instance). That way you can see approximately what looks good and refine with a second roll, if needed (and the info on the whiteboard will let you know which settings worked and which didn't). Also, if you use color film, color films react differently to flashes than daylight or other artificial light. And some low-blue-sensitive black and white films like Rollei Retro 80S do not record light from flashes well. So once you know what settings you like for different subject-camera distances then you can refine settings based on film type.
The other thing this will do is show you how different flash angles will light your subject differently. Once you know how you like to have your flash angled, you can then refine it with modifiers like a diffuser and the like to soften the light.
David, I'm sorry I took sometime to answer. I really appreciate the time you took to answer my questions. If you could guide me through one more, that'd be awesome.
Everything you said is really helpfull, I even copy pasted it to a file so I can check it as necessary.
I also watched your video about Guide Numbers, and considering what I want to do with a flash, I got to this conclusion: I usually shoot from about 5ft from my subjects, sometimes closer, 7ft max distance. I shoot on the streets, and I think that I'd rarely bounce the flash, I like the effect of direct strong light - that Bruce Gilden or Martin Parr sort of thing. And I tend to use BW/Color film with minimum 400 ISO. So, from what I gather, almost any flash has sufficient power to provide what I need (I've seen some from GN80~100), considering subject-camera distance and ISO, am I right about that?
Also, do I need to find a flash with the correct lens coverage? I use 28mm, and I've found only a few Nikon vintage flashes with that coverage. If so, that's fine.
The most important doubt: do you know if all of these old flashes work if any RF trigger? I'm about to buy them, so I'd like not to make a bad call.
And If I use the RF, I need to manually adjust camera-flash settings everytime, right? If so, that's also fine, just making sure I got it right.
Thank you a lot, David. Really.
I think any flash will cover 28mm okay, especially if you hold it up and behind a bit. Flash coverage is mostly a concern when it's directly on top of the camera with a wide-angle lens (because the flash head and lens are roughly on plane.)
Insofar as I know, any old flash will work with any RF trigger. I have not had a compatibility issue and I've used more than a dozen different, old and new, flashes with my RF triggers.
As for manually setting the flash each time, that depends on the specific flash. If you get an old Vivitar that has a slide or a dial that physically sets the flash power, then you won't need to reset it each time. With some newer flashes that have digital interfaces, they may not remember flash settings between battery changes or power cycles.
Hi David, thanks for this video. What if I use T-max p3200? Can I also shoot this film outside? I really would love to have one film for both, inside and outside/day and night. And I don't want to use a flash. Thanks for your help!
Thank you and yes. P3200 is an 800 ISO film that can be pushed to 3200 ISO if also push-processed in development. You can use it at 800, 1600, or 3200 indoors and out, but outside you will need a camera with a fast shutter speed, such as a nineties-and-later pro-level camera that can hit 1/4000th to 1/8,000th (or the Minolta Alpha 9's 1/12,000th).
What about not using a light meter indoors? Sunny 16 works outside, but in my dark apartment, no bueno. I guess it’s good I have a Nikon f2as as the meter in it is amazingly accurate.
A handheld meter might work inside. I typically use a DSLR to meter indoors if in unsure of settings. In a well lit room, f/2 or 2.8 tend to work .
David Hancock luckily my Nikon opens to 1.4
Of course if you are taking photos of still subjects then all bets regarding fast lenses are off, and the dominant factors then become the possession of a tripod and the requirement & ability to adjust for reciprocity.
Yes, definitely. There's a lot more to indoor technique than this. Mostly the person who asked the question just needed to know how the fundamentals.
You forgot stand developing, which can also be coupled with pushing in semi stand. And you forgot preflashing which will bring up shadow detail bordering on reciprocity failure.
That's a good point. I forgot to mention that. Thank you.
This makes me wonder what the human eye’s iso is
It doesn't really work apples to apples because human vision is a function of brain processing where the world around us is constructed of a constantly recorded "video" for lack of a better word.