Which film to use?

Is there any rule or way of finding out which film speed can be used

to give good handheld shots in low light conditions at f2.8 and

f4.0. eg: What shutter speed would ISO 100, 400, 800 give at F2.8

and 4.0 respectivley, no flash at 200mm on a 70-200L.

 

Any suggestions would be great.

Right now my camera's meter set at ISO 100 is giving me 1/6 at f2.8 when I point it at a hallway lit by a window. From there you can figure out what shutter speeds other ISOs would give you by doubling or halving (stops). 400 is two stops greater than 100, so my shutter speed will be 1/25 at f2.8, or four times the original speed. ISO 800, 1 stop more than 400, will give me 1/50 at f2.8, and so on. You can also work backward by dividing, i.e ISO 50 would give me 1/3 at f2.8. Generally you want to have a shutter speed closest to your focal length when handholding, so you'll need to find a way to get your speed up to 1/250, or use a shorter lens.

Sunny f16 rule. Someone can linkify it for the hard of thinking.

 

http://www.apogeephoto.com/oct2000/sunny_f16_rule.shtml

Longer focal length lenses, like 200mm, are hard to handhold unless you are shooting in sunlight. In the shade, I doubt you will be able to handhold a 200mm lens without getting blur from camera movement, even with fast film, because slower shutter speeds are needed. Even an inexpensive tripod will help, and many have a "quick release" mount that allows you to quickly put the camera on/off the tripod, and you won't have to resort to using faster films (like 800) Keep in mind that if the subject moves, this also requires fast shutter speeds, and a tripod won't help (much)

thanks for the answers guys.