Hi, I'd like to do some night time (in a city, with some ambient street lighting) with an M3. I plan to shoot at around F 4 (Summarit 50mm or maybe a Summaron 35mm). My question is thus: What is the slowest film speed in B&W film I could use (for street scenes, not lanscapes)? Would 800 be fast enough? I am trying to get the least grain possible... Thanks Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), January 10, 2002

Answers

Check out this web site:

Fred Parkers Ultimate Exposure Computer

(http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm)

Take a look in particular at the Exposure Value Chart and the Exposure Value Relationship Chart.

-- Hil (hegomez@aol.com), January 11, 2002.

In my experience on the streets of major US cities, with a small aperture like f/4, you're probably going to need an ASA 1600 or 3200 film (I recommend Delta 400 pushed to 1600 or Delta 3200) if you want to handhold your M3 & reliably stop motion @ 1/60th sec. (unless you're in a brightly lit commercial area). If you're not concerned w/stopping motion & use a tripod/monopod, you can easily get away w/400 or 800 speed film. Whatever you do, don't forget your lens hood, especially w/those flare-prone old Leitz lenses!

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@cris.com), January 11, 2002.

This might seem counterintuitve, but I find in shooting the streets at night, especially with the presence of streetlights in the photos, that pulling the film (from ASA 3200 down to 400 handheld, or 400 to 100 with a tripod) and going real easy on agitation (assuming you develop your own film) helps to quiet down what I often find to be excessive contrast. This might be a matter of taste, but I like to fill the shadows a bit - give them a little substance.

-- John Layton (john.layton@valley.net), January 12, 2002.

Why f/4? One of the big pluses of Leica lenses is their excellent performance wide open, and only with some subjects is DOF a big issue. Of course, the wider the lens, the better the DOF and the slower the shutter speed you can use, so the 35 is better than the 50 in this respect. Opening up two more stops gives you a shutter speed four times as fast (f/2 at 1/15 = f/4 at 1/4: the difference between handheld and tripod mandatory.) Even if you are convinced you need the smaller aperture, try it and see. With this combination, you should get good images on 800 or even 400 film, with far less grain.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), January 12, 2002.

Well, I guess I could open up the 50mm to f 1.5; or the 35mm to f2.0. So now mu question is; do I use the 50mm at 1.5; or the 35mm at 2.0 so I can have more DOF... Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), January 12, 2002.

Probably the 35 at f/2. The Summarit may be soft at f1.5 - perhaps compare it at f/2. Of course the older lenses do have more flare than the latest ones - visible as a "glow" from some objects which is not always unattractive - but a hood would be advised as others have said. The best bet is to shoot a practice film first with various combinations.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), January 13, 2002.