400 vs 800 speed film for 300mm length outdoors

[adara]

I'm looking for some film to shoot outdoors in the spring (graduation

ceremonies), and in the most extreme conditions, let's say

 

1) it's a cloudy day

 

2) I'm using a 300mm lens at preferably F11 for a decent depth of field

 

3) Even though I'll have a tripod (using it as a monopod), I still want a

fairly fast shutter speed to reduce the chance of blurred photos since I won't

have literal tripod steadiness.

 

With those conditions, will 400ASA be fast enough, or do you think I should

use 800?

 

I want medium to higher color saturation and fine grain (as much as possible

for faster film), so I am thinking of Kodak Ultra 400UC (I've used 100UC and

love it), but if you think that may not be fast enough, I'd move up to a Porta

VC800 or Fuji ProZ800.

 

Also, I doubt any photo would be enlarged any bigger than a 5 X 7, although

the absolute largest would be 8 X 10.

 

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[michaelging]

I would never shoot a 300mm lens at F11. You want a narrow DOF with a telephoto to make the subject stand out, I would shoot one or 2 stops down from wide open,say F5.6.You will not need a tripod if you shoot eather of these film outdoors, even if its a cloudy day,as you can shoot the photo at at least 1/500 of a sec. Fuji Pro 800 is fine grain enough for even a 11x14.

[craig_shearman1]

Definitely go with the 800. I would use Portra but Fuji is fine too.

[russ_butner]

I get very good results, burning Fuji Pro-Z @ 640.

 

Russ

[bill_tuthill]

If you (spot)meter for the shadows, you can rate Portra 800 at

EI 1000 or 1250. Try it! It is the fastest film currently available

aside from Fuji Natura 1600 in Japan. I believe Natura 1600 can be

mail-ordered. Note recommendation to shoot Fuji 800Z at EI 640...

[frank.schifano]

I see that you are planning to use your tripod as an ersatz monopod. But conditions may not allow it, or you may find it cumbersome or inconvenient to use that setup.

 

Over the years, I've learned that the old rule about never shooting with a shutter speed slower than the reciprocal of the film speed starts to break down with long telephoto lenses. I've had a much better percentage of keepers when I use a modified rule of 1/ 2 x film speed with lenses over 200mm in the 35mm format.

 

Ask yourself if you'd rather trade a little more grain and perhaps a bit less color saturation for less chance of motion blur. The answer, for me at least, is a no-brainer. Use the faster film. With the quality of today's 800 speed C-41 films, you won't be paying too much in terms of increased grain and lower color saturation. What you get back is some freedom to shoot without the tripod, and a better percentage of keepers. Of course you can still use the tripod if it's convenient and have the freedom to use even smaller apertures and slower shutter speeds if that suits your needs as well.