film speed question

sharko · 03-18-2009, 09:42 PM

Say I'd like to try some kodak tmax 3200 b&w film but my ME Super only goes up to 1600 ISO. What will happen to the pictures? Will they be over exposed?

thanks in advance

Digitalis · 03-18-2009, 10:14 PM

yes they will be...but if you dial in one stop underexposure that should solve the problem...it's one of the idiosyncrasies of older generation Pentax cameras.

-=JoN=- · 03-18-2009, 10:16 PM

never tried going backwards..I sometimes inputted a higher ISO than the film I had loaded...
but never the other way around...

did a quick search..and found this...

iso 3200 in iso 1600 camera? - PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photo Community

titrisol · 03-19-2009, 01:08 AM

Set the iso to 1600 and the exposure compensation to 1/2X -> 3200

Stevopedia · 03-19-2009, 04:35 AM

That would be all well and good if the ME Super actually allowed you to input 1/2 X compensation on 1600. Mine doesn't, at the very least.

Mike Cash · 03-19-2009, 04:59 AM

Does the camera allow for manual settings at all? If so, then just adjust accordingly on either the shutter speed or aperture.

titrisol · 03-19-2009, 04:59 AM

Stevo, you are right..I blurted it out before trying it.
Anyways, TMAX 3200 as 1600 will be just fine... images will have abit more "punch"

lithos · 03-19-2009, 05:00 AM

Nope, nor does mine. I'm guessing it'd be something to do with the sensitivity limits of the meter in the camera.

Or you can pull process the film. Times are available from the Professional section of the Kodak website.

sharko · 03-19-2009, 09:10 AM

I think I may just give it a go at 1600 and see how they turn out. You guys are right it won't let me set it to 1/2x underexposure @ 1600. I could always try manual as well but whole point of the ME Super was to get AV mode...thought that may be a good exercise in learning how to operate the camera in manual

I'm still at my noob stage with film so I don't know how to pull process...right now the only processing I know is whatever the drugstore does to give me the pictures on a CD. Thanks everyone

lithos · 03-19-2009, 09:53 AM

It's as annoying as hell to go manual on an ME Super. Those buttons weren't Pentax's best design decision. Plus, you'll always forget to underexpose for some of the shots...

Tiburon-o, I suggest you don't go to the drugstore - I don't think drugstores have processed real BW film in a long time.

What you need to do is go to Kodak's Pro Lab Resource Centre and type in your location into the pro lab locator in the yellow box, and take the film to the nearest one.

stevebrot · 03-19-2009, 10:49 AM

I guess the above discussion explains one of the reasons why I bought the Ricoh XR7 over the ME Super back in the day...ASA/ISO 3200 and +/- 2 Ev...cheaper too

Steve

(And why I would generally recommend a well-preserved copy today...)

*Wheatfield* · 03-19-2009, 11:02 AM

T-Max 3200 is nominally an 800ISO film.
On your ME Super, if you set the ISO to 1600, you have gone as far as you can. The exposure comp will not let you got to more under exposure.
Set the ISO to 1600, and shoot manual, underexposing one stop if you want to shoot the stuff at 3200 ISO

*cousinsane* · 03-19-2009, 11:57 AM

I set the ISO a half stop slower than the actual value when I shoot color print. For B&W film , I think one stop difference won't be a problem.

Pumalite · 03-19-2009, 03:44 PM

The exposure compensation dial is continuous. The marks 1x, etc are just a guide.

lithos · 03-19-2009, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by cousinsane

For B&W film , I think one stop difference won't be a problem.

Think again.

Trust me on this. BW film - true BW film, not BW400CN or XP2 - is very different to colour print films. Really.

And "one stop difference" will most definitely make a difference. 'Specially on a T-grain film like TMAX.