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advice needed


Steve Williams

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Hello,

 

It's been about 2 years since I've last posted on this board. Since then my S8 days have been limited to non-existent. I've decided to commit to the format over my DSLRs. I just received back my first test roll and I was surprised to see that the blacks were very red and had to be adjusted in post. I'm trying to get to the bottom of my reddish look so I can fix it in time for future projects. Perhaps it was underexposed and adjusted for at the lab, or maybe since this particular roll was a few years old and at one time lost in the mail system.

 

Here's some info:

 

AZ 814

250D

 

I don't use the internal meter. Instead I measure the ambient light with the sekonic L398A and use the cine markings as opposed to the shutter speed. I then do my best to duplicate the same settings within my DSLR to get an idea of what it would look like on film (i know this is not full proof).

 

I've read so much about these cameras meter film that at one time I thought I knew the operation and then ended up being lost again. When the camera reads a film speed of ASA 250, are the adjustments for the internal light meter only? Is this somehow changing the shutter speed or is this hard set? As I understand it from other posts on this board, the AZ814 has a shutter speed of 1/58th (is this constant regardless of my ASA)?

 

below is a link that contains my test roll for a visual. The first 40 seconds contains clips that have been altered in post. After that it's all raw with a title overlay displaying the f stop and time of day.

 

I have a shoot coming up that I plan on using TriX film on... So any advice on how to shoot with that particular stock would be greatly appreciated.

 

Steve

 

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The raw footage didn't appear to have red in the blacks. It just looked underexposed. And most of the f-stops you used were at the higher end of the scale. Are you setting the light meter for 18fps? I would also forget the DSLR. You'd be better off checking the internal light meter to see if it's close to your incident readings.

 

Most importantly, are you using auto or manual mode for your camera?

Edited by Bill DiPietra
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Hey Bill,

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm using the camera in manual mode... I set the light meter to 24 which is the frame rate I'm using, and on top of that, it seems to be very close to 1/58 shutter speed. I don't use my cameras meter... The batteries are dead and I don't know how reliable it was to begin with. Especially since I'm running different speed films through it 250/500.

I did get the feeling that everything was underexposed. Maybe as a rule of thumb, I should take a reading and set the camera to expose one stop over.

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Hey Bill,

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm using the camera in manual mode... I set the light meter to 24 which is the frame rate I'm using, and on top of that, it seems to be very close to 1/58 shutter speed. I don't use my cameras meter... The batteries are dead and I don't know how reliable it was to begin with. Especially since I'm running different speed films through it 250/500.

I did get the feeling that everything was underexposed. Maybe as a rule of thumb, I should take a reading and set the camera to expose one stop over.

 

That's the general rule of thumb for negative film, but considering your results, it may be a good thing to try for your next roll.

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Hey Bill,

 

My next roll will be Tri-x, that I plan on shooting on a gig on Tuesday.... In the past I've trusted in the camera's meter to read this particular stock. I'm looking locally for some batteries to get it operational again, but I plan on using my external light meter regardless. Should I plan on taking a reading with my external meter and exposing a full stop over for TriX as well? Just curious what the forums boards tricks are to handling this particular stock.

 

Steve

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I've always gone with the box speed when metering externally. And actually I underexpose a bump, or just err on the side of underexposure if the film is going to be processed as reversal. But usually I just use the internal meter.

Edited by Josh Gladstone
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Hey Bill,

 

My next roll will be Tri-x, that I plan on shooting on a gig on Tuesday.... In the past I've trusted in the camera's meter to read this particular stock. I'm looking locally for some batteries to get it operational again, but I plan on using my external light meter regardless. Should I plan on taking a reading with my external meter and exposing a full stop over for TriX as well? Just curious what the forums boards tricks are to handling this particular stock.

 

Steve

 

You can't go wrong with the incident meter. But whenever I've shot reversal in the past, I never really over or underexposed at all. I just set the f-stop to exactly what the meter read and I always got the results I needed.

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