Best film speed for old lenses

[wdavidprice]

<p>What do y'all think would be the best film speed for older Zeiss lenses. I've got some that go to 3.5 and one or two that goes to 2.8. Most of the shutters top out at 400 or 500 but a few top out at 250. I've always use 100 but I've read lately that going up to 400 would not cause any problems. </p>

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>400 ISO film should not be a problem. It is only 2 stops faster then 100 ISO film. So either increase your shutter speed by 2 steps or close down the aperture by 2 steps (or 1 step each ;) ) when compared to the settings you use for certain light situations.<br>

You might get in trouble on very bright days where you might not be able to set the shutter fast enough or close down the aperture far enough.<br>

I've used 400 ISO films without trouble in 1920s box cameras, with only 1 shutter speed and 3 f/stops.</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>I generally prefer an ISO 400 b&w film for my older cameras including the Agfa Isolette folder. If I encounter conditions where the available light is too bright for the limited shutter speed range I just downrate the film to 200 or so and give it appropriately less development. And if needed I'll push to 1200-1600 in Diafine. With only 12 exposures it's easy to avoid running into limitations.</p>

<p>Pretty much the same with any of my leaf shutter cameras with f/2.8 or f/3.5 maximum apertures and shutter speeds that top out at 1/500th. An ISO 400 b&w film works pretty well all around.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Like Rick and Lex, I usually use ISO 400 Tri-X or color-negative film these days.</p>

<p>However, on a couple of occasions shooting with older cameras that only went to f/16 or had low top shutter speeds, this turned out to be too "hot". I've got a backlog of films to shoot right now, but I have got some Ektar 100 in the refrigerator of which I am expecting much, judging by posts I've seen here.</p>

<p>I will be shooting some more Nova film (née ORWO, yes!) ISO 125, and I do like Plus-X a lot. I've also got "Lucky" and some Ilford Plus..... One of the hard parts is choosing what to shoot them in.</p>

<p>Miss old Panatomic-X, though (still actually made, but not for consumers, as KODAK PANATOMIC-X AERECON II Film 3412)</p>

[Brad Cloven]

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/10159311-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="989" /><br>

I have a little trouble with Velvia 50 in low light. Once, I had to keep the shutter pressed by hand and count out the seconds. Happily, I have a really stable tripod. Here's Velvia 50 through an Agfa Billy Record II f3.5 lens at f/22 for 8 seconds (one-one-thousand, etc.), shutter depressed by hand.<br>

In summary, dang ASA 50 can be tough to work with.</p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>I mostly use ISO 400 B/W with a yellow filter (X2) (giving me an effective ISO of 200). That keeps my shutter speed around 100 - 250 and the f-stop around 8 - 11, on overcast days shutter 50 - 100, f4,5ish to 8 and a steady hand.</p>

<p>For my Zeiss lenses (Novar and Tessar) f8 - 11 seems to be the sweet spot. All my Zeiss MF folders and Ikoflex have a red dot at f10. My Contina 524/24 (35mm) has the red dot at f8. That appears to be the sweet spot according to Zeiss.</p>

<p>On really bright days, dessert or snow, I've found that I often have to put on an orange filter (X5) to keep the f stop around f8 - 11 (effective ISO of around 80) and not go beyond shutter 250 (most of my old Zeiss don't have a faster speed than that anyways). Or swtich to ISO 100 film.</p>

<p> </p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I've always liked the compromise of ISO 200 for old cameras when shooting color prints, but it's getting harder to find. That used to be my favorite ultra-cheap stuff for testing unknown cameras, when things like Ferrania 200 were sold at dollar stores, or Polaroid at Wal Mart.</p>

[maciek_stankiewicz]

<p>I would go with Fuji Reala & monopod. For B&W any ISO 100 or 400 film will do the job.<br>

Wow, Brad... That's stunning! :)</p>

[frank.schifano]

<p>The only time you can get into trouble with a 400 speed film is on bright days in high summer. The rest of the time, it's no problem and well within the operating range of the camera even with a max shutter speed of 1/500 sec.</p>

[gene m]

<p>Try a tripod.</p>

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>... and a neutral density filter.</p>

[henrik_lauridsen]

<p>As Frank said, 400 ISO will only give you problems on bright sunny days, especially if your fastest shutter time is 1/250. I use 100 ISO most of the time, but that is partly because Rollei Retro 100 was on sale (30 EUR for 20 rolls).</p>

[wdavidprice]

<p>Thanks guys...some good ideas...I appreciate your time and expertise.</p>