Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/22

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Subject: Re: [Leica] B&W film speed
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 09:37:02 -0600

At 07:03 AM 2/22/99 -0500, you wrote:
> I recently and stupidly mistook Delta 400 for Delta
>100 and exposed it at ISO 50.  The negatives were dramatically overexposed but
>I believe would have been very nice if processed correctly.

I did that with P3200 once. Shot it at 400. And after studying the charts 
(no listing for shooting it at 400) and extrapolating, I figured it would 
be about the same time as TMax 400. So I threw it in with a 400 run. Turned 
out amazingly good. It created a major reduction in contrast. I was able to 
photograph a class (remember this was accidental) with shadow detail and 
yet outside the building across the street was a white house in broad 
daylight with snow on the ground that wasn't blown out at expected. (It did 
take some printing skill for sure, but it was much better than I would have 
expected!).

But that's not saying I'd just have to reduce development to do it at 100 
right. There is a point where overexposure to the grains that exist in the 
film (bigger for faster film) will cause major problems, such as blocking 
up of highlights and likely an increase in grain that would be unacceptable.

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

"People are inexterminable - like flies & bed-bugs. There will always be 
some that survive in cracks and crevices - that's us." -
     Robert Frost