CM + England in December = Which film?

First, let me thank all of you for your help when I was making up my mind about which

camera to buy. I didn't post anything, but I sure lurked like crazy. So, thanks.

 

Enough sucking up, however sincere -- on to the question: I have a shiny new CM and will

be in southern England for the last week and a half of December ... what color print film

should I take along? The days are short and the sun angle is low, but would I be screwed

with ASA 400 loaded all the time? I have no frame of reference since I live in San Diego

where it never rains (cough) and you can always see the sun, day ... or night (with

apologies to Prince).

 

Keep in mind that this is the first thing approaching a "real" camera I've ever had and I

have effectively no experience with anything but grab-the-box-of-whatever-off-the-shelf

type film. This trip is our honeymoon, however, and I'd like to come back with something a

little better than average. If "better" (i.e. more appropriate to the time & place) film will

make a difference, then I'd love to hear about it. The archives were only moderately

informative since most folks around here seem to be running around with lenses a stop

and a half faster (or more!) than mine.

 

Any & all suggestions and/or newbie hazing is welcome.

You should be OK with Portra 400 UC (Colour) and any 400 B&W of your choice. I use Portra 400 BW / T400CN / BW400CN (or whatever it is called this month!) in my CM.

I live in Southern England. Which part are you visiting?

<i>You should be OK with Portra 400 UC (Colour) and any 400 B&W of your choice. I use

Portra 400 BW / T400CN / BW400CN (or whatever it is called this month!) in my CM.</i>

<br><br>

 

Well, I'd certainly be happy to get the results you have with the same film & camera. I take

it we should expect a lot of available darkness?<br><br>

 

<i>I live in Southern England. Which part are you visiting?</i><br><br>

 

After spending a couple of days in London, we'll be staying at a timeshare (nice wedding

present from my soon-to-be inlaws) near Lyndhurst. We'll do a couple of the usual

touristy things like seeing those odd rocks up around Amesbury, but we'll otherwise

careen around the countryside and see what happens. Drop me a line if you're in the

vicinity -- I owe you at least a beer for all the info you've posted, and we gotta spend our

dollars before they depreciate to nothing!

I think you mean Avebury.

 

Nice place. Very spooky.

So you will be in the New Forest (Lyndhurst). That is a lovely place to be even at this time of year. (Especially at this time of year.)

Yesterday in London it was 125/f4 with 100 ISO film, which may give you

some idea.

 

....and it seemed fairly bright to me too.

 

:-)))

<i>I think you mean Avebury. </i><br><br> John may have been

referring to Stonehenge, in which case Amesbury is correct.

BW400CN or NPH400 should be versatile enough for most conditions, but if you are going to shoot with available light, I would suggest to start the day with Fuji Reala, and switch to Fuji NPZ800 with +1/3EV when the lights start to fade.

 

The CM really shines with Reala, when there is sufficient light.

Skip the rocks, go to Bath

London looked beautiful last week. THis is the park at the bottom of my street.

100 ASA slide film, luncthime.<div></div>

Thanks for the comments! Omnibus response edition follows:<br><br>

 

Trevor: <i>So you will be in the New Forest (Lyndhurst). That is a lovely place to be even

at this time of year. (Especially at this time of year.)</i><br><br>

 

Yes, New Forest. Glad to hear it's a nice place -- we didn't have much to choose from, but

we're happy it's off the beaten path (or is it?).<br><br>

 

Harvey: <i>esterday in London it was 125/f4 with 100 ISO film, which may give you some

idea. ....and it seemed fairly bright to me too.</i><br><br>

 

!! It's a gray, drizzly morning here at the beach, and my CM wants to use 180-500+ at f4

with the same speed film. It must be, what, 2-3 EV darker there?<br><br>

 

Ian: <i>John may have been referring to Stonehenge, in which case Amesbury is

correct.</i><br><br>

 

Yes, Stonehenge. My fiancé has been to Avebury, however, and says it's interesting as well.

"Spooky" sounds cool to us -- we're on the lookout for places like that. We'll probably

come back with photos of all of the sites where Jack the Ripper's victims were found, for

instance.<br><br>

 

Lloyd: <i>W400CN or NPH400 should be versatile enough for most conditions, but if you

are going to shoot with available light, I would suggest to start the day with Fuji Reala, and

switch to Fuji NPZ800 with +1/3EV when the lights start to fade.</i><br><br>

 

I think we're going to run a bunch of Fuji CZ800 through the CM during our wedding &

reception, but I'm open to suggestions on that as well. Is NPZ very different? Another

dumb question: +1/3EV means that the camera will <b>under</b>expose by one third

EV, right? (now you know why we're not attempting to take a manual camera).<br><br>

 

Paul: <i>London looked beautiful last week. THis is the park at the bottom of my street.

100 ASA slide film, luncthime.</i><br><br>

 

Nice! I'd be jealous of your view if I didn't live 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean. Hell, I

*am* jealous since what passes for architecture around here isn't worth taking pictures

of.<br><br>

 

Again, thanks for the suggestions ... now off to research film scanners. (DiMage IV?)

John,

 

my vote is with Trevor. You'll like the 400UC for those overcast days. The colors seem to

blow out in sunshine tho.

 

As for the weather in San Diego, it was 1/125 at f4 this morning and its not raining.

 

Have a good trip

Bob, thanks for the suggestion and the weather report.<div></div>

"We'll probably come back with photos of all of the sites where Jack the

Ripper's victims were found, for instance."<p>

That's Spitalfields, one of the most beautiful places in London. No photos

scanned, I'm afraid, but it's a must-visit early on Sunday mornings - a beautiful

Nicholas Hawksmoor church, perhaps London's finest (just re-opened after

restoration), early 18c houses which homed the Huegenots, who helped

develop London's silk production, then every other newly-immigrant

community, great street markets and curry houses. Columbia Road has a

good photo-gallery, with work by, among others, Jane Bown. The pub where

the Ripper's victims drank is called, I think, the 10 Bells - beautiful, Victorian

tiling... hey, you can even pick up cameras at Brick Lane market!

Paul, that kind of information is priceless -- thanks a million.<br><br>

 

<i>hey, you can even pick up cameras at Brick Lane market!</i><br><br>

 

With the exchange rate at US$1.94/GBP, we'll probably stick to window shopping... I'm

sharpening up my dishwashing skills so we can afford to eat out while we're there. :-)

John, CZ800 is more contrasty and more saturated than NPZ800. NPZ800 has a more muted, subtler colour palette. I find caucasian skintones rendered very nicely with NPZ, with less chance of any ruddiness going lobster red. To my eye, NPZ is also sharper than CZ800.

 

A +1/3 EV compensation means you are over-exposing by 1/3 of a stop. This helps to reduce grain.

John, curries at Brick Lane are famously good and famously cheap. Seriously,

email me if you want tips, best, Paul