ISO settings Minolta Dynax

Hi to all.
After using a 5MP Kodak digital camera for the past 5 years I've
decided to go back to film camera. While I was taking the dust of my
old Minolta Dynax I noticed it had ISO settings similar to those on
the digital camera. The manual says it can can override the value of
the ISO value on the film.Has anyone experimented with these settings.
The range is pretty exciting from 16 to 6400.

Gerard

 

I am a bit rusty as far as this technique goes, but here are a few of the
basics, and I'll leave the detailed stuff to someone else lol.
Overriding the iso refers to "pushing/pulling" the film i.e. If you were to
load the camera with iso 100 film, but set the cameras iso setting to iso
200, you would be "pushing" the film by 1 stop, (exposing it at a higher iso
setting)
When it is time to develop the film you would have to tell the developers
that you have pushed it so they can allow for it in the developing process.
If I can remember right, doing this causes the image to be more grainy, and
also alters the colours to some extent. Oh well I'll hand over to someone
else now as that is about my limit as far as pushing film goes.
ATB
Mick

PS. here's a few links about it, but a more extensive search should find
something more in depth.
http://www.jafaphotography.com/pushing_film.htm
http://www.charlescampbell.com/photoforum/Articles/Pushing.pdf
http://photonotes.org/cgi-bin/entry.pl?id=Pushprocessing

 

Pushing color film is not a great idea because you get unpredictable color shifts. Pushing any film means you get increased grain and contrast, & reduced resolution. Also, you have to push the whole roll of film the same -- you cannot dial in a different ISO mid-roll like you can when shooting dig.

 

Hello Gerard.

The film speed can be overridden by the camera's setting but the film will
still remain at its original ASA value.
Put a 400 ASA film in the camera and it remains a 400 ASA film. Set the
camera to 800 ASA and the film will be under-exposed by one stop. Set the
camera to 200 ASA and the film will be over-exposed by one stop.

You can use this to "push" or "pull" the film but I always preferred to
start with the ASA setting I wished to use and not override a film with a
different ASA setting.

By the way - hope I've got the numbers correct! You quoted ISO and 16 to
6400 but ISO values would be 21, 24, 27 etc whereas ASA values would indeed
be in the range of 16 to 6400.

Regards, Ian.

 

One nifty use for this capability involves the use of K200 with flourescent
lights. If you set the ISO to 400 or above while using this film, and
employ push processing, the color shift that takes place between the layers
makes the image look almost correct. Once ujpon a time, Kodak mentioned
this result.

Jim

 

Thanks Ian for your reply.
The manual says the ISO values change from 16 to 6400.

Gerard

 

The 21,24,27... are DIN film speed numbers.
The 16-6400 are ASA.

Combine the two in the format ASA/DIN and you get ISO, which is
usually stated using the ASA number only.

Stephen
--

 

Most film cameras made to read DX coded film have this feature.

I pretty much limit it to rating color print (C-41) about 1/3 stop lower
(i.e. ISO 400 film rated at ISO 320) and slide film (E-6) about 1/3 stop
higher (ISO 64 film rated at ISO 100).

No need to adjust processing to get slightly denser negatives or
slightly more saturated slides.

You can also use it to Push/Pull whole stops, but you then have to
remember to tell whoever processes the film what you've done ... "I shot
this roll of ISO 400 film at ISO 1600" (2 stop push).

If you forget, you're gonna' end up with some mighty thin negatives (or
slides for that matter).

 

It's DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm - German Industry Standard) that comes
21, 24, 27 ... actually 21°, 24°, 27° ...

Film used to be rated both ASA & DIN, but the ISO standard absorbed both
with a linear ISO scale that corresponds to the old ASA scale and
logarithmic ISO scale that corresponds to the old DIN scale.

So, where you used to have film that was 100 ASA/21° DIN, you now have
film that's ISO 100/21°.

 

Yep, ISO linear scale.

 

Although, as I recall, they suggested a 1-1/3 stop push to ISO 500.

 

Color print film designed for the mass market is very happy when overexposed
1 or 2 stops. It produces less highlight detail, more shadow detail
and more saturated colors.

Many people like the results, and set the color level on their TV and
computer monitors to match. If the newscaster on the evening news on
YOUR TV looks like Homer Simpson, then you will be happier that way.

There is some black and white film that is processed as color negative
film (called chromogenic), for example Ilford XP2, that can be exposed
at ISO's from 100 to 1600 and produce a useable negative. The film itself
is actually a high speed and a low speed film sandwiched together.

Agfa's product was similar. I have never used the Kodak chromogenic
films in that way, so I can't speak about them.

Geoff.

 

Thanks to all for your enlightening replies.

I still got a question.Does that mean when I go through the developing
of the film I don't necessarily have to tell the developers that I
pushed or pulled the film or does that apply only to cases for high
ISO changes above a third as Pudentame says?

Gerard

 

yes yes yes you do have to tell them.

Read my other posts.

OK so C41 film has a very wide latitude and will cope with a stop or two but
the pictures will still end up crap if you don't overdevelop to compensate.

 

High? That's a THIRD of a STOP. Almost no change.

Always inform the lab if you are making a change of a stop or two. And believe
me, if you want to make a difference then you'll need to make it a whole stop
or two.

Of course you can use it for 1/3 stop compensation, but that's what the
exposure compensation setting is for.

 

That depends upon the lab. Don't expect a "one hour photo" type place
to be able to do anything. You may also pay significantly more for
developing.

Geoff.

 

Small variations +/- 1/3 stop won't matter.

For Color Print film, even one or two stops OVER Exposure won't be
insurmountable; i.e. if you over-ride the DX coding for 400 speed film
and shoot it at 200 or 100.

If you shoot 400 speed film at 800 or 1600, you need to tell the lab to
push process the film.

Most mini-labs, the one hour kind you find at Wallgreens, Eckerds,
Walmart ... won't be able to push process the film.

Slide film is less tolerant than print film. That one or two stop
OVER-exposure will ruin your slide film.

Slide film can also be pushed, but it must be push *processed* as well.

 

One or two stops OVER-exposed, I can still pull a good print from the
negative. But if it's under-exposed, there ain't a thing I can do.

I *run* a mini-lab, and only process a few dozen rolls of C-41 every day.

Trust me on this. If it's 400 speed film and you shoot it at 200, I can
still give you good images.

If it's 400 speed film and you shoot it at 800, I'm gonna send you to
the PRO LAB downtown where I know they can handle push processing C41.
You ain't gonna' get it in one hour, but you WILL get your film back in
usable condition.

Same deal if it's anything other than C-41 film.

Where the break-down occurs is if you arrive at the lab when I'm not
there. I don't have good help, and the corporation won't fire the idiots
and let me hire good help.

It don't matter what it is; what you tell them; if you leave the film,
they'll send it through the film processor.

If it was pushed, it's going to come out WAY under-exposed. If it's E-6,
you're going to get some strange looking negatives. If it's Tri-X, T-Max
or Plus-X, it's going to get ruined and I'm going to have to listen to
my clowns whining about how "This lady said we ruined her film."

That's an actual quote - the customer dropped off a roll of Tri-X, and
my idiots sent it through the C41 processor.

 

The reason I recommend using the DX over-ride to rate C41 film about 1/3
under (so it'll OVER-expose by about 1/3 stop) is I deal with thin
negatives all day long. I get roll after roll of film in that's got more
than half the images so underexposed I can't even see where the frame
edge is located so I can sleeve the negatives, much less get a print
from it.

An underexposed negative cannot give a good print. For some reason
people are more likely to underexpose than to over-expose.

I recommend setting the metering to compensate for this, which is what
over-riding the DX coding is doing.

 

Expect a "one hour photo" lab to say "Ok, ok" and run it through the
film processor "AS IS".

99 out of 100 won't know what you're talking about. Bring 'em a roll of
E-6 and they'll run that through there anyway.

Bring 'em a brand new roll with the leader hanging out, and 99 out of
100 won't even ask "Are you sure this film has been exposed?"

Had a customer bring me a bunch of one use cameras the other day, and
one of them was UN-USED; still showing 27 exposures left.

After the customer left, I had one of my clowns ask "Why'd you give that
camera back? I'd of just run it through."