Nikon F SLR Camera

Indoor Pictures can I use other Shutter Speeds or only 1/60th

I have wounded about this.

Thanks for your help

Depends. - If 1/60 is marked as flash sync speed, you shouldn't use flash with shorter ones, to avoid frames where only half or less get exposed by the flash. But you can expose longer to get an impression of the ambient light captured. I've seen journalists shooting concerts on fast film with available light at 1/250. Don't forget to adjust your motordrive to the selected shutter speed. (Or was that just an F2 issue?)

If you use flash, 1/60th is the fastest usable speed, but all slower speeds are fine. If you're not using flash indoors, any speed will work.

With the exception of flash, of course you can use shutter speeds other than 1/60. The slower the shutter speed the greater the potential for camera shake and blurry shots. That's why a tripod is so handy. I used to be able to handhold down to about 1/4 sec and get reasonable sharpness, with age today it is only about 1/25. I do a lot of indoor shots (no flash) below 1/60, particularly product photography of things for sale - but always use a tripod.

Actually, with FP-type flashbulbs and the camera set correctly(green dot showing in the window in front of the shutter speed dial) you can shoot at any speed with flash. FP-type bulbs are designed to have a long burn duration(longer than the 1/60 travel time of the curtains) so will provide consistent exposure. Setting the sync to "green dot" fires the bulb a short time before opening the curtains to allow it to reach its peak intensity.

 

The GE #6 and I think the Sylvania FP26 are the most readily available FP-type bulbs that one would use with a 35mm SLR, but they're not terribly common. You also need to carry the guide number chart around with you as it is shutter speed dependent. If you want to go this route, you're very well served by investing in a GN-Nikkor 45mm f/2.8.

 

Flash bulbs aside, as other have said you can use any speed you want for ambient light photography. At work in a windowless room, Tri-X exposes well at 1/125 and somewhere between f/2 and f/2.8, and that's a common setting I use with pretty much any 35mm camera from a Leica IIIc to an F5 or F100(I'll usually bump the ISO to get smaller apertures if I'm shooting digital, or otherwise drop the shutter speed a bit if I'm using a VR lens on digital or a late film SLR).

Thanks for your Great Answers!

What kind of film do I need for BW/Color for 1/15-1/30 shutter speed 35mm Vintage Nikon Nipon 2.8 Lens

Indoor No Flash

Oh Ben How did you know I had an F-36 Motor Drive? And Yes it is A Nikon F with Standard Prism.

I said nothing about a motor drive.

 

Any particular reason why you're trying for shutter speeds in the 1/15 to 1/30 range? Depending on how particular you are about sharpness, most folks will have trouble getting reliably sharp results when hand-holding at a speed that low. Even if YOU can get it sharp, you're getting into the realm where peoples' movement starts to becomes significant.

 

In any case, Kodak Tri-X is my go-to B&W film for pretty much anything.

 

For color film, Kodak Portra 400 is a good choice, although under mixed lighting Fuji Superia 400 can perform fairly well.

I'd second Tri-X as my favorite, followed by Ilford's XP2. Both very versatile films, but with very different renderings.

One of the all time great cameras ever made. I am guessing it has been modified for the motor drive, you couldn't simply buy a motor drive and just bolt it on, it requires some mods to function. At those slow shutter speeds you will want to use it in single frame mode, not a fast multi-exposure rate. Any of the Kodak, Fuji and Ilford films will do fine, I prefer ISO 400 for my b&w and 200 for color negative, 100-200 for the E-6 films but that is only a preference. Most of them will be just fine. There are other brands as well.

 

Rick H.

Thanks for all your great Answers I think I will try BW first and then go into Color

And season greetings to all.

100-200 for the E-6 films but that is only a preference.

 

I'm not aware of any 200 speed E-6 in production. Right now we pretty much have Velvia 50, Velvia 100, and Provia 100F. Ektachrome is supposed to be back around the first of the year, but all indications are that the old E100G is the target.

It's been quite some time since I used any E-6 film but when I used it regularly I went with 200 only because sometimes 100 was a little slow. I haven't kept up with what is coming back, I simply assumed they would bring back the old standards. And you know what they say about assumptions.

 

Rick H.

Unless you want to start developing B&W film yourself from the start, I would start with Ilford XP2, as any lab can develop it. Labs doing B&W development are getting more rare. Same for E6 - sure slide film is a lot nicer, but getting it developed isn't as readily available as normal C41 colour negatives.

So for starting in B&W, I'd go with XP2, but in this case, maybe not.....

 

What kind of film do I need for BW/Color for 1/15-1/30 shutter speed 35mm Vintage Nikon Nipon 2.8 Lens

Indoor No Flash

 

Just to be sure: indoors without flash, the ISO400 films (XP2, Tri-X) might actually still be too slow. The problem is that the next jump is Delta 3200, which usually tends to deliver a noticeable grainy result. The other option is pushing the Tri-X (to ISO800 or 1600), but that also will result in more grain.

Next to that, if you're shooting hand-held, 1/15th of a second is very likely to result in blurry images, and also 1/30th is certainly in the dangerzone for hand-held photos. With a tripod, though, the shutterspeed shouldn't matter much.

 

Maybe start with getting some as-cheap-as-possible colour negative film (ISO400 or ISO800 Fuji Superia, for example) and start shooting, so that you can really test the exposure values you get indoors, and see some results to understand at which point handholding technique (if handheld) starts to cause blur. Colour negative film tends to be cheaper to buy and to have developed, so it'll be the easiest and cheapest way to get up and running.

If you are digitizing the negatives/images or getting them on a CD or whatever, it is arguably better to shoot color anyhow, and do the conversion to B&W, if wanted in the computer.

 

Also, Ilford XP2 super 400 is actually "chromogenic" c-41 processing B&W film and can be shot at a considerable range of ISOs (from EI 50 to 800) all on the same roll of film without worrying about development compensation.