Flash and 400NPH at 200

[peter_black1]

Hi

I hate using flashguns but will have to use one this weekend.

Previous posts suggest rating Fuji 400NPH at 320 or lower, but I'm

not sure if I can just set the flashgun to 200 or if I have to

change the ISO speed on the camera as well. Camera is Nikon F80(N80)

and gun is Cobra 700AF, Nikon dedicated TTL with set ISO speeds of

50, 100, 200, 400 & 1000. It is a bracket mounted gun with a cord

and sensor which fits in the hotshoe, if you haven't heard of it.

Seems like a simple question, so I hope the answer is simple too!!

Peter

[eric friedemann]

I prefer NPZ @ E.I. 400. The grain is about the same and you get better ambient light.

 

But if you have to shoot NPH, I'd do a test roll first. Supposedly, Fuji turned NPH from the 200 film it was into a real 400 speed film. I'm skeptical. But remember this, color print film can stand moderate overexposure and yield decent prints. Color print film abhors underexposure.

 

Finally, I think you are misunderestimating, as my man W would say, your flash. If the flash has a TTL setting, it should get it's ISO info from the camera and the marked speeds should be irrelevant. Please read your manual.

 

And, o.k., one other thing, others on the board like to expose this film or that film at 320. If at all possible, I like to go with an even ISO- 50, 100, 200 or 400. Then, if I'm caluclating exposure in my head, I don't have to think in half or third stops.

[jordan2240]

Peter,

 

Not a direct answer to your question, but before you do anything, you should do what Eric suggests and shoot some NPH. The last roll I shot (I'm not sure if it was the new emulsion) was at 400 in ambient light, and it looked fine to me. I've attached a scan of one of the shots - just ignore the fact that it's a little softer than the actual print.

 

Good luck,

Bill

[jimstrutz]

I've also been shooting the new NPH at 400 and like it. Over exposing wouldn't really hurt, but it's probably not necessary.

 

In any case, if you still want to shoot NPH at 200, with TTL all you have to do is set the ISO on the camera body, or just add in +1 stop of exposure compensation. If you were using an auto flash, or the Cobra in auto flash mode (not TTL) you would have to set the ISO on the flash.

 

Not that it matters to you, but if you were using a Canon EOS camera, you would have to set both the flash exposure comp as well as the auto exposure comp to +1 as they are independent on Canons. Now aren't you glad you have a Nikon?

[eric friedemann]

RE: NPH packaging, Fuji started putting "NEW" on its NPH boxes some months ago, then stopped. So any film you buy at this point is probably the "new" emulsion, though it may not say so on the box.

[peter_black1]

Many thanks for all this information, I have followed it all! Run a roll through and changed speed from 400 to 320 to 250 as I took shots, plus took others with exposure compensation dialled in. Took film to 1 hour lab after work only to find it had broken down. Then took it to their other branch and found their machine shutdown for "essential maintenance", so won't get results until tomorrow. Will let you know what differences show up.

 

Thanks again, Peter.

[jordan2240]

Peter,

 

I could be wrong about this, but I remember reading in one of my photo books or perhaps somewhere else that, if you change the ISO setting on a roll, you should shoot the entire roll that way. I'm not sure how this differs from simply setting an exposure compensation value, but it did. Point being, I'm not sure your experiment will give reliable results. I'll see if I can find the passage I'm referring to when I get a chance.

 

Bill

[jordan2240]

Ok, it looks like the passage I remembered was specifically referring to a specialty film made specifically for push processing, so it shouldn't apply in your case. However, be warned that it is often difficult to distinguish small step increments in print film because the machine apparently tries to compensate for them. You'd probably get a better idea of how the film looked at different speeds if you shot an entire roll at one setting. Personally, I've only rarely seen NPH recommended at 200 (320 is much more common), so I'd just exclude that one at the outset. I'd like to know how your experiment turns out.

 

Bill

[peter_black1]

Hi All

 

Results at 400 are pretty good, although maybe the 320 were slightly better as the subject was wearing a really dark grey suit and I felt the 320 shots gave more detail. The 250 did not seem any improvement on the 320. There is no doubt that the machine in the lab has equalised the different exposures for the final prints, but that lets me see the latitude I have and still get a good print. The scary bit was the amount of shadow on the wall even when she was several feet in front of it and the gun was fitted with the Sto-fen Omnibounce, so that is a big wake-up call for when I do it for real at the weekend. As the subject was good enough to stand through all of this at extremely short notice and while not at her best, it would be more than my life is worth to post one of the photos!

 

Many thanks to all of you, Peter.