Steve Williams

awesome guys, thanks for the help and explanation.

Tomorrow I have a shoot that I had planned to film with TriX. The interior will be mostly filled with daylight, but I plan on adding in an external light if needed (daylight balanced bulbs). My question is, do I meter as if the film is reading 200 or 160 (for the tungsten bulb). I'm guessing 200, but I'm trying to cross my t's and dot my i's before jumping in. Best regards, Steve

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

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.

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

Dave, as always... Very thankful

I'm leaving this Wednesday for Italy (from the US). I've already read a few threads on this site about traveling with S8 film. I'm starting to get a bit nervous based on what I've read and others experience. I thought bringing the film with me on my hand carry on, asking for a hand inspection, would suffice for the TSA (and a like). My question is that my film has the potential of hitting the x-ray machine at least 4 times (since I have a connecting flight where I will be going through security again overseas). So here are my questions.... One, if I am forced to xray my film... what should I do to alleviate a deadly exposure blast? I've read on one thread where a member had taken his film out of the box/wrapper and laid it down flat. Two, I was hoping to bring one of my cameras (814) on board the plane with me. We usually fly overhead of a Volcano while landing at the airport, and I would like to capture it. I've seen some footage of people shooting film on domestic flights with no concerns. Just curious your guys's experience... As one member put in a recent thread, the cameras resemble uzi's... any advice is highly appreciated. Steve

I was under the same impression, I shoot 24fps only because I use Pro8mm who says they complete their telecine at 24fps. What would be the outcome if I shot an entire roll at 18fps or even 12fps as David had suggested?

Hey Jaun, Like you I'm new to the super 8 world. I've found a lot of help through this forum.... I've only shot about 10 rolls of S8 in my life, so I sadly cant offer much advice. I do prefer to shoot on manual though with these cameras (814AZ, I own two). I usually meter my subject, set, and film... The main reason I'm chiming in is because I'll be heading to Catania, Italy next week to visit my inlaws. I'll be filming my wife's cousin's wedding on super 8. I'm supper excited (no pun intended) to get some beautiful Italian backdrop to work with. best of luck in the future of film Steve

I use my super8 cams on wedding events. I love the attention I get when I put down my DSLR and break out my Canon 814's. The older generation flock to you as they're quickly brought back to their time. The newer generation look at you like you just busted out some advanced movie camera that they have yet to see. That would be hard to replicate with a plugin :-)

one last question, what type of lighting were you using for the ceremony and reception?

Wow guys, extremely helpful.. I wont trust my internal meter much if this is the case. I didn't even think how it could be out of calibration. I bought this light meter from B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/435535-REG/Sekonic_401_399_L_398A_Studio_Deluxe_III.html it's a ambient incident and reflected light meter. Will this work, or should I pick up the spot meter? David, thanks for the post... I hope eventually my films will come out as nicely as yours. As I stated before, I only shot 64T in the past. It left a lot to be desired. I think the 500T and 100D will be my two weapons of choice. I just want to be sure on the workflow (to mirror your results). After taking my readings with the light meter. adjust my aperture to 1/2 to full stop over my given reading for 500T; 1/2 stop under my given reading for 100D...? I'll pick up an 85 filter from B&H... When I'm using the filter, I guess I would adjust my light meter to 320iso (cant remember the exact number) to reflect the install of the filter, right? The newb, Steve

I'm using the canon 814 Auto zoom... I've had it for about 2 years now and have shot plenty of 64T through it. I'm trying to get back into shooting on film, but have some questions. My camera can only read up to 250ASA... I plan on using 500T as my primary film of choice (mostly indoors). Since my camera meters this film at 250 (i'm assuming) does that mean to get a decent result I would adjust my aperture by one stop? In this case one stop higher then what would be displayed on the cameras meter? This weekend I plan on running a roll of 500T and 100D to conduct some tests. I'm also comparing what my cameras meter says to an iphone light meter (yes, i'm an amateur) when I set the meter to 500ISO and 24FPS, I usually read around 2 stops lower then what my S8 meter reads. It's also off for the 100D film as well, but not as bad.... I plan on picking up a light meter from b&h before the test shoot. Look forward to any help Steve