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12-18-2013, 02:48 PM   #1
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Pushing film to ISO 3200?

I was looking at various rolls of 35mm film that this one site (I don't remember if it was B And H or a similar site) and I saw this one roll of film that said it had an ISO rating of 3200. I subsequently read the description and in the description, it said that this particular roll of film was actually rated at either 400 or 800 ISO (I don't remember which) but it could be pushed to 3200 ISO. What exactly does that mean? Is this roll of film not actually 3200 ISO? Does this mean that rolls of film are not actually rated what they say on the package or is this just a rare thing. Mainly, I'm just curious about this but the reason why I am asking is because I am trying to learn how to shoot with film.

12-18-2013, 02:57 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by photographyguy74 Quote
I was looking at various rolls of 35mm film that this one site (I don't remember if it was B And H or a similar site) and I saw this one roll of film that said it had an ISO rating of 3200. I subsequently read the description and in the description, it said that this particular roll of film was actually rated at either 400 or 800 ISO (I don't remember which) but it could be pushed to 3200 ISO. What exactly does that mean? Is this roll of film not actually 3200 ISO? Does this mean that rolls of film are not actually rated what they say on the package or is this just a rare thing. Mainly, I'm just curious about this but the reason why I am asking is because I am trying to learn how to shoot with film.
A product link would help, but I think they were just saying that the film is tolerant to underexposure.

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12-18-2013, 03:07 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
A product link would help, but I think they were just saying that the film is tolerant to underexposure.
I'll try to find what I was looking at and link to it. I'm just trying to understand what I can about film photography. I sure wish I would have gotten into photography back during the heyday of film (especially darkroom work).
12-18-2013, 03:22 PM   #4
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You can do that with most any film: Here's some info regarding it, even though this is for Black and white color negative film can be done also.

"Push & Pull" Processing Procedure for Black and White Film

If you plan on sending your film out to have them processed you need to let the lab know and by how much. If you plan on getting into Film, either learn to develop yourself or send them to a professional lab. The film processing at Costco, Rite Aid, Walgreens etc. will provide you with negatives containing hair and dust marks all over them.

Then plan on getting a decent Scanner at least an Epson 500, preferably a 700 or better or some other comparable brand if you plan on post processing them with your computer.


Last edited by Oldbayrunner; 12-18-2013 at 03:36 PM.
12-18-2013, 03:53 PM   #5
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Would I be correct that it was Ilford Delta 3200?

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My understanding is that yes, this film is an oddity in it's labelling.
Most films are rated per the box, I think Ilford are just saying that this one CAN be pushed to 3200 if needed.

I think HP5 can be pushed to 1600 if I recall? despite it's box speed being 400asa
12-18-2013, 04:03 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Oldbayrunner Quote
You can do that with most any film: Here's some info regarding it, even though this is for Black and white color negative film can be done also.

"Push & Pull" Processing Procedure for Black and White Film

If you plan on sending your film out to have them processed you need to let the lab know and by how much. If you plan on getting into Film, either learn to develop yourself or send them to a professional lab. The film processing at Costco, Rite Aid, Walgreens etc. will provide you with negatives containing hair and dust marks all over them.

Then plan on getting a decent Scanner at least an Epson 500, preferably a 700 or better or some other comparable brand if you plan on post processing them with your computer.
There is a camera store here where I live (it's only a few blocks away) so I will probably take my film there to be developed. As far as telling the lab to push or pull process and by how much, I wouldn't even be able to tell them that because I do not know what it means, I do not know what the purpose of push or pull processing is, and I wouldn't know how much would be needed. I guess that is part of what I will need to learn about film photography. This is why I wish I would have gotten into photography back during the heyday (the eighties) of film photography. When it comes to film photography, I'm dumber than a box of rocks. I guess it's never too late to learn.
12-18-2013, 04:03 PM   #7
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In the dark ages, I actually pushed Tri-X when it was rated ASA 160 to 3200. Grain like golf balls, but I actually got some hockey pictures.

12-18-2013, 04:16 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by photographyguy74 Quote
There is a camera store here where I live (it's only a few blocks away) so I will probably take my film there to be developed. As far as telling the lab to push or pull process and by how much, I wouldn't even be able to tell them that because I do not know what it means,.

I'd recommend just shooting at the box speed to start with.

The basic process of pushing development is that you shoot the film as though it is faster than it actually is, so take a 400asa film and expose like it's 1600asa
Then during the development process it will be left in the developer for a longer time, so the developer reacts more (or whatever it does, i'm not a chemist) to basically bring it up to a normal exposure.


In digital terms it would be similar to if you underexposed each shot by a few stops, then in lightroom (or other software) upped the brightness/contrast until it was correctly exposed.


In both cases you get a correctly exposed image, but at the expense of the "pushing" emphasising things such as grain/noise and contrast.

But, each film acts differently. Some may still look ok at 3200asa, others may just turn into a grainy mess.
12-18-2013, 04:20 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
A product link would help, but I think they were just saying that the film is tolerant to underexposure.
Okay, Adam, I found the link to what I was talking about. It was on B And H's website. Here it is: Ilford Delta-3200 Professional 135-36 B&W Print Film 1887710
12-18-2013, 04:22 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by hks_kansei Quote
Would I be correct that it was Ilford Delta 3200?

Welcome to ILFORD PHOTO

That was my thought too. It is fairly well-known that the box labeling is a bit misleading.


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12-18-2013, 04:25 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by photographyguy74 Quote
Okay, Adam, I found the link to what I was talking about. It was on B And H's website. Here it is: Ilford Delta-3200 Professional 135-36 B&W Print Film 1887710
Oh! So it was Delta 3200. If you shoot it at 3200, just be sure and tell your lab that you want push processing to that speed. They will likely charge extra, but you will probably get usable results.


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12-18-2013, 04:28 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by hks_kansei Quote
Would I be correct that it was Ilford Delta 3200?

Welcome to ILFORD PHOTO


My understanding is that yes, this film is an oddity in it's labelling.
Most films are rated per the box, I think Ilford are just saying that this one CAN be pushed to 3200 if needed.

I think HP5 can be pushed to 1600 if I recall? despite it's box speed being 400asa
Sorry, I missed your question. I'm having difficulty keeping up with things. I've posted the link to what I was talking about. I believe it is Ilford Delta 3200 but I could be wrong (I was married once...haha). I just posted the link a little bit ago and now I can't remember exactly what the name of the film was. How sad.
12-18-2013, 04:41 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
Oh! So it was Delta 3200. If you shoot it at 3200, just be sure and tell your lab that you want push processing to that speed. They will likely charge extra, but you will probably get usable results.


Steve
Not to sound stupid, Steve, but if the package says that it is 3200 speed, why would I need the lab to push the film to this speed? Is the film actually rated 3200 speed or is that (for the lack of a better description) false advertising so-to-speak? I guess that's the gist of my question. I'm just trying to wrap my head (oh boy does thinking hurt) around why a company would put a speed of 3200 on the package of this particular film if it wasn't actually rated at 3200 speed. I guess my basic question would this: "is this film actually rated at 3200 or is that just what the package says and it actually rated at a lower speed?" If this particular film says 3200 speed on the package, why would I not just set my camera to 3200 ISO? I want to thank everyone for chiming in on this. I apologize if I am not making myself clear about my question and I apologize if I am having difficultly understanding or if this is going over my head and I apologize if I sound like an idiot or whatever. I do not know anything about film photography and I am trying to learn. I think that it's definitely a hindrance learning digital photography first then trying to learn film photography. Now that I am trying to learn film photography, learning digital first seems kind of backwards.
12-18-2013, 06:17 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by photographyguy74 Quote
Not to sound stupid, Steve, but if the package says that it is 3200 speed, why would I need the lab to push the film to this speed? Is the film actually rated 3200 speed or is that (for the lack of a better description) false advertising so-to-speak? I guess that's the gist of my question. I'm just trying to wrap my head (oh boy does thinking hurt) around why a company would put a speed of 3200 on the package of this particular film if it wasn't actually rated at 3200 speed. I guess my basic question would this: "is this film actually rated at 3200 or is that just what the package says and it actually rated at a lower speed?" If this particular film says 3200 speed on the package, why would I not just set my camera to 3200 ISO? I want to thank everyone for chiming in on this. I apologize if I am not making myself clear about my question and I apologize if I am having difficultly understanding or if this is going over my head and I apologize if I sound like an idiot or whatever. I do not know anything about film photography and I am trying to learn. I think that it's definitely a hindrance learning digital photography first then trying to learn film photography. Now that I am trying to learn film photography, learning digital first seems kind of backwards.

I think the temperature also plays a part.

HP5+ is rated at 400/27deg
Delta 3200 is 3200/36deg

I don't know enough to actually explain why though.
12-18-2013, 06:19 PM   #15
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Then there is Ilford SP 1 and 2, which were black and white chromogenic films that could be exposed anywhere from 100 to 1600 without problems and 50 to 3200 with a small quality loss on the extended areas. I shot a few rolls. It's just like using TAv on your Pentax. Drop it off for normal print colour film processing. It was very sharp and contrasty at 100, too contrasty a bit at 50, and lost definition slowly as the film was underexposed. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Shoot at 51,200 and the quality isn't as good as at 100.
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