p.4 #1 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
…. Plus it just looks so cool, and subjects respond so positively to it. A fun and useful conversation starter when street shooting. A valuable thing. I met a pair of very fun and beautiful women because of this camera. One is an influencer visiting from Moldova. Her friend is also Moldavian but living here in Parma. She is a new photographer so I have a wonderful new friend to go shooting with.
This is a real thing, old film cameras are such ice breakers. People react completely differently than with other gear.
If you want an extreme example, use a Rolleiflex. I have had people ask me to take photographs of them!
p.4 #2 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
So, today I loaded a roll of 36 exposures Kodak Tri-X 400TX in the Leica IIIf. I want to compare that to the Ilford HP5 400 I shot already. Since I will be using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure I should be setting the shutter speed to 1/400. However this is not an option on the IIf. I must choose between 1/200 and 1/500. Setting to 1/200 is exactly one stop off and my lens does go to f/200 so adjusting the rule is straight forward. But 1/500 is very close to 1/400 (1/3 stop) and is also fast enough to freeze normal street movement. So what do you recommend I do?
p.4 #4 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
So, today I loaded a roll of 36 exposures Kodak Tri-X 400TX in the Leica IIIf. I want to compare that to the Ilford HP5 400 I shot already. Since I will be using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure I should be setting the shutter speed to 1/400. However this is not an option on the IIf. I must choose between 1/200 and 1/500. Setting to 1/200 is exactly one stop off and my lens does go to f/200 so adjusting the rule is straight forward. But 1/500 is very close to 1/400 (1/3 stop) and is also fast enough to freeze normal street movement. So what do you recommend I do?...Show more →
I generally use 1/shutter speed that's closest to film speed, and account for exposure via aperture. The small differences between 100 speed and 1/125, 200 speed and 1/250, 400 and 1/500, etc. generally get eaten by the tendency to lean towards over exposure.
But certainly Tri-X can handle being rated as a slower film. Plenty of people ignore the "400" and rate it as a 250-320. Maybe shoot half the roll as a 200-speed and half the roll as a 400-speed (or bracket some scenes) and see which result works best for you and your lab.
p.4 #5 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
So, today I loaded a roll of 36 exposures Kodak Tri-X 400TX in the Leica IIIf. I want to compare that to the Ilford HP5 400 I shot already. Since I will be using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure I should be setting the shutter speed to 1/400. However this is not an option on the IIf. I must choose between 1/200 and 1/500. Setting to 1/200 is exactly one stop off and my lens does go to f/200 so adjusting the rule is straight forward. But 1/500 is very close to 1/400 (1/3 stop) and is also fast enough to freeze normal street movement. So what do you recommend I do?...Show more →
Go to the closest speed numerically. So ISO 400 = 1/500 sec, ISO 200 = 1/250 etc.
These cameras' shutters tend to run slower than indicated anyway, so no need to overthink it as the film's latitude will take care of the rest.
p.4 #6 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
Since you got such a great deal on the camera, I would suggest you invest in a good, real, used, hand-held light meter. Look at it as though you are renting it. Once you put enough rolls of film through the camera, you will gain enough experience to know the exposure by looking at the scene and you can re-sell the light meter on to someone else.
Also, I suggest at some point you try low ASA black & white film. I prefer high sharpness, so therefore prefer low-ASA, like ASA 25 or 50, for the fine grain.
Finally, regarding processing your own film, in my experience one pays far less for scanning if done together with the processing. As someone who has stocks and stocks of b&w negatives from the film days, I find I pay about as much for scanning alone (high quality scanning with DNG or TIFF output) as I would for processing and scanning. So if you want to develop the film yourself, you probably should come up with a scanning solution also. To date, I have not found a scanning solution that combines sufficient effectiveness with sufficient efficiency to attract my attention.
p.4 #8 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
pingflood wrote:
All these exposure worries; I just eyeball it and soup it in Diafine and all's well.
I never have exposure worries. Or even focus worries come to think of it.
I just say that’s how I wanted it to look for the mood I was going for.
As I thoughtfully stroke where I imagine my beard would be if I could grow one.
p.4 #9 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
Well, I just picked up my first roll of film (Ilford HP5 400) shot on my newly acquired Leica IIIf. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that mechanically and cosmetically both the camera and lens are in great shape and perform well. Also, I was able to reliably get focus, frame, and expose with the camera. So, great potential. The bad news is that there are a number of small holes in the shutter fabric. So, anytime I walked around with the film advanced ready for the next shot, and the lens cap off there were large white spots on the images ruining them. The camera and lens go to a shop tomorrow for a new shutter and a CLA on both. So, not the financial bargain I had hoped for, but I knew the risk when I bought it. The important thing is that I will end up with a really good camera at a fair price in the end. I enjoyed shooting film enough to add it to my hobby and am happy to invest in it.
The other investment I am going to make in film is to put together my own scanning setup. Getting back 6mpx jpeg files is not going to work for me. I have a kit in mind and it will only cost about $250 more dollars to get it up and going using my SL3 as the base. I will end up with with high resolution DNG files to work with. The files I got back were a bit too grainy for my taste, so I will try some lower ASA rated films, and do my own scans. I will likely pay to have the developing done as I want to do both B&W and Color. The setup to do that developing will take almost 100 rolls of film to recoup in savings. So I will wait to see what volume I end up with. The scanning is a quality issue so I don't mind spending on that. I do like the character rich rendering of the lens and film. A new dimension in my shooting style.
p.4 #10 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
Well, I just picked up my first roll of film (Ilford HP5 400) shot on my newly acquired Leica IIIf. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that mechanically and cosmetically both the camera and lens are in great shape and perform well. Also, I was able to reliably get focus, frame, and expose with the camera. So, great potential. The bad news is that there are a number of small holes in the shutter fabric. So, anytime I walked around with the film advanced ready for the next shot, and the lens cap off there were large white spots on the images ruining them. The camera and lens go to a shop tomorrow for a new shutter and a CLA on both. So, not the financial bargain I had hoped for, but I knew the risk when I bought it. The important thing is that I will end up with a really good camera at a fair price in the end. I enjoyed shooting film enough to add it to my hobby and am happy to invest in it.
The other investment I am going to make in film is to put together my own scanning setup. Getting back 6mpx jpeg files is not going to work for me. I have a kit in mind and it will only cost about $250 more dollars to get it up and going using my SL3 as the base. I will end up with with high resolution DNG files to work with. The files I got back were a bit too grainy for my taste, so I will try some lower ASA rated films, and do my own scans. I will likely pay to have the developing done as I want to do both B&W and Color. The setup to do that developing will take almost 100 rolls of film to recoup in savings. So I will wait to see what volume I end up with. The scanning is a quality issue so I don't mind spending on that. I do like the character rich rendering of the lens and film. A new dimension in my shooting style....Show more →
These are great. Good for you! Sorry to hear about the shutter, but it’s no big deal for such a wonderful camera (I had something similar with my ‘new’ M3 last year). It’s so pleasing that a camera and lens of this age can create such images.
For what it’s worth, I think you’re quite right to switch to slower film (at least, that’s my preference). I can’t remember when I last used anything faster than 125. I don’t know if it would be of any interest to you, but you might wish to take a look at Adox CMS 20 II Pro.
p.4 #11 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
Nice results from your first time out! It’s not surprising about the holes in the shutter curtain, the camera is over seventy years old. Hope you had fun and we’ll see you in the “Film is Not Dead” forum.
p.4 #12 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
There are a number of factors that contribute to grain. The type of film, the developer, temperature
and agitation. Since you’re in Europe, one of my favorite developers is Adox XT-3. It’s their version of Xtol but available in packages to make one liter, it’s versatile and with careful agitation, gives a good tonal range plus fine grain.
p.4 #13 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
You are doing great with the camera from those images, the camera is vintage, a new shutter and CLA is entirely expected and will then give you years of enjoyment. I just got a M4 back from its CLA, plus added some non glare glass to the finder for old eyes, I have not even put a roll through it yet and I already like the way it feels- invest in the CLA, it will make you happy.
p.4 #14 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
I be interested in the scanning setup on which you ultimately decide.
I have not found one to date that I believe would give me the resolution I need plus the efficiency I want in digitizing rolls of film. But I am always looking. So if you would share the setup you choose, I would appreciate learning about it!
p.4 #15 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
Well, I just picked up my first roll of film (Ilford HP5 400) shot on my newly acquired Leica IIIf. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that mechanically and cosmetically both the camera and lens are in great shape and perform well. Also, I was able to reliably get focus, frame, and expose with the camera. So, great potential. The bad news is that there are a number of small holes in the shutter fabric. So, anytime I walked around with the film advanced ready for the next shot, and the lens cap off there were large white spots on the images ruining them. The camera and lens go to a shop tomorrow for a new shutter and a CLA on both. So, not the financial bargain I had hoped for, but I knew the risk when I bought it. The important thing is that I will end up with a really good camera at a fair price in the end. I enjoyed shooting film enough to add it to my hobby and am happy to invest in it.
The other investment I am going to make in film is to put together my own scanning setup. Getting back 6mpx jpeg files is not going to work for me. I have a kit in mind and it will only cost about $250 more dollars to get it up and going using my SL3 as the base. I will end up with with high resolution DNG files to work with. The files I got back were a bit too grainy for my taste, so I will try some lower ASA rated films, and do my own scans. I will likely pay to have the developing done as I want to do both B&W and Color. The setup to do that developing will take almost 100 rolls of film to recoup in savings. So I will wait to see what volume I end up with. The scanning is a quality issue so I don't mind spending on that. I do like the character rich rendering of the lens and film. A new dimension in my shooting style....Show more →
yes slower film less grain, that's a good aesthetic decision. But IMO grain in faster film is part of its charm, especially b/w like Tri-X. Anyway, nice set of images.
p.4 #16 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
Here is another from my first film roll ever, and camera test. Even when the Leica IIIf and 50cm f/3.5 Elmar are under exposed wide open in a very dimly lit bar, I really enjoy the mood created by what are technically the shortcomings of the lens and the film. Especially, when I consider that I only had a 6mpx jpeg to work with. II am curious to see what this image can be when I have a high resolution RAW or TIFF file.
Yep, everything is wrong with this image, yet for some reason I like it...
p.4 #17 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
CaliTexican wrote:
I be interested in the scanning setup on which you ultimately decide.
I have not found one to date that I believe would give me the resolution I need plus the efficiency I want in digitizing rolls of film. But I am always looking. So if you would share the setup you choose, I would appreciate learning about it!
I am leaning toward this setup. I know a number of people who are using the older version and this new version is said to fix everything not perfect about the first one. We'll see.
Since I already have the camera and lenses, I will use it with my SL-3. I should be able to produce pretty much any resolution in a RAW, JPEG. or TIFF file that I want up to 60mpx. Very affordable.
It is fast for a one frame ata time solution, but not sure if it will scall the way you might want.
p.4 #18 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
Capture One has just released their stand alone conversation software that is worth a look. If you are currently using Lightroom, the Negative Lab Pro plug in works very well.
p.4 #19 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
Yep, everything is wrong with this image, yet for some reason I like it...
charming, I love it.
If you want to see way more "wrong" with a film image (M6 classic, 35 steel rim reissue), feast your eyes on this. And yet I love it. And there's your proof to disregard any opinions I have regarding film images
p.4 #20 · Uh Oh I bought a film Leica by accident...
1bwana1 wrote:
Here is another from my first film roll ever, and camera test. Even when the Leica IIIf and 50cm f/3.5 Elmar are under exposed wide open in a very dimly lit bar, I really enjoy the mood created by what are technically the shortcomings of the lens and the film. Especially, when I consider that I only had a 6mpx jpeg to work with. II am curious to see what this image can be when I have a high resolution RAW or TIFF file.
Yep, everything is wrong with this image, yet for some reason I like it...
Great image! So much more interesting than boring digital perfection.
