Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/08/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]IN many situations when a flash is typically used slow film is a real option it just makes for not quite the reach, not the real issue but how many flashes per battery load and how fast the recycle or what f stop to you get to use is more the issue. There is always the option to use a more powerful flash and certainly shoot 100. But why? Now a days the 400 films are high res the way I see it and most certainly with medium format. Are thy making a gallery hallway of 30x40" prints of these reception shots? If so I'd STILL shoot the 400 i think that is were the R&D is centered. You get more for your R&D buck. People saying they get better this and that with their 400 over their 100 and i believe most of it. There's nothing in it for them to put much effort into supporting their 100 films. Who uses them? Landscape fanatics? Delineators of the Toaster-oven extraordinaire? Ansel used Tri x (400) in medium format and blew his prints up 20x24 and everybody thought they were pretty good. Tripod work is in a way a little more flexible that hand held on camera powerful flash. If the trees have leaves rustling in the wind more power to 'em I shoot Pan F at 50 or Fuji Across 100 to try to emulate Ansels type of work. I just cant do 400 I cant make it look anywhere near that good. With slower stuff i almost can. On a white backdrop with studio strobes I've always used the slowest films money can by which are not Tech Pan type films. Until recently when with Xtol !:3 I can use certain medium films the Neopan Across or Delta 100. In medium format I'm 220 Plus X just like Avedon and Penn. It's quite nice you're shooting at f 11 hand heald with what you think is perfect lighting. Kind of beats tripod work; if you can get it. Except for the blazing brightness of summer I'll use the Neopan 1600 for my knock around or serious street shooting camera body. I'll have the 100 in another body for tripod work or blazing brightness on the beach or at the Salt Flats where fine detal is very important. IN direct sunlight with the 1600 you can not take a picture with a Leica M unless your lens goes smaller than f16 like on the 90 Elmarit (not the Summicron Asph) or the 135 apo Telyt M. F22 and be there! So I don't forget to carry at least my 060 yellow-green filter with me which absorbs a stop of the lightwaves you don't want anyway. A regular green gives me 2 stops and a dark green gives me three; might as well be shooting Tri X! or my current 400 favorite Neopan 400! A dark green filter by the way gives marvelous results which are both real and surreal at the same time. It gets the red and anything near it out out out. When people creep into the picture they look good - if they have a blemish it will be highly emphasized and red lips will go black which really looks ok. Mark Rabiner Portland, Oregon USA http://www.rabinergroup.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html