Stephen Gordon

Thanks - yes the projected film looks pretty much like the scan. I'm in the process of talking to the lab...

Thanks Joerg and Mark for those comments. I can confirm that the 85 filter switch on the camera is working correctly and that the filter was disengaged while the cartridge was being exposed. And yes it was hot (low thirties) but as you say unlikely that heat was the problem. There's been a lot of comments to my same post on the FB S8 group - the latest one suggesting airport X-ray machines. The unexposed cartridge was scanned once leaving the UK and after being exposed, another three times coming back through Agadir airport. But a lot of people say that scanners used for cabin luggage do not affect film of this ASA...

Shot a travelogue recently in Marrakech using my trusty Canon 514 XL and Ektachrome 100D. Processed and scanned (2K) by the always reliable Gauge Film but I am at a complete loss to explain the results a short example of which I've linked below. They show the footage both without and with a LUT. Only Clip 3 looks 'normal' with a LUT. That was shot in a cafe. Everything else was shot outdoors. Clip 4 was around mid-day hence the use of ND filter on the camera. So why is there an orange cast on all of these shots? It's almost as though the cyan dye layer (red sensitive according to Dominic Case's excellent 'Motion Picture Film Processing' book) became 'overloaded' with those spectral wavelengths. Is that even possible? We've all see loads of film shot in Africa (possibly not on Ektachrome) but nothing that looks like this AFAIK. I have been able to dial back the orange cast with some grading but as you know reversal has very minimal tolerance for this and the result is horribly noisy. BTW - the film when projected suffers from the same problems so I'm still scratching my head and very keen to hear from the experts on this forum..! File exported from Lightworks as H.264, 2K, 10-bit.

Update if anyone is interested - I asked Kevin at Gauge Film to push the film one stop which was very successful in that it gave me useable footage that I'm sure would have been otherwise badly underexposed. I applied a LUT to the 2K log scan and did some very light grading and am more pleased than I expected with the results. Would certainly have the confidence to do this again in the future. I've linked to a short clip and thanks again to everyone for all the advice! https://vimeo.com/1097271271/f964192154?ts=0&share=copy

Cheers Joerg - appreciate your kind wishes!

Thanks Mark - good point. I actually just offered the seller £175 for this lens: Schneider-Krauznach Xenon 25mm 0.95 c-mount lens | eBay UK and it was accepted. Looking forward to seeing how it works out. I believe it will give me 2 stops increase on the f/1.8 of my current lens.

Ah! I see exactly what you mean Takahiro! Thanks for the links - I will know what to look for now. So to be clear - even though I wouldn't be able to rely on the witness marks on the lens for reliable focusing I could just focus by eye? Very helpful - thank you!

Apologies if any of terminology is inaccurate: A couple of years ago Joerg Polzfusz helpfully suggested that I could swap out the Schneider - Kreuznach 1.8 / 6 - 66 lens (collimated by Bjorn after he removed the gelatin filter) on my Beaulieu 4008 M3 for a faster C-mount lens to improve the camera's low light performance. I have just come across this : Fujinon TV 25mm 1;0.85 F/0.85 Super Fast C-Mount Lens | eBay UK which is the fastest one I've seen so far. Could I simple attach this to the camera and be good to go in terms of ability to get sharp focus..? Or would that lens need to be collimated/calibrated with/for the camera to ensure sharp focus was possible? I kind of feel it would but I'm no lens technician so interested to hear what the experts here have to say!

Take your point Giray - thank you.

Thanks Tyler - my camera was CLA'd by Bjorn and so far the metering has been reliable. The exposure system does compensate for fps changes (on my camera at least). I note your prediction for pushing and am grateful for you taking time to answer. Thanks Giray - interesting to see the very opposing views on this question in these answers! No problem with your question Joerg: in this case daylight through the windows was the predominant source. I understand in retrospect that I made the wrong camera choice but I was unable to recce the venue in advance and the photos I was sent of the room looked easily doable - unfortunately the room was changed at the last minute! Still daylight but fewer windows and much smaller. Next time I'll have my Canon 1014 XL-S on standby for a similar unexpected change. Hard lesson learned! Thanks for your reply to my follow-up question Dennis - so it will be brighter but grainier. So far one person in favour of pushing, one doubtful that it will help, and one person advising not to push. A lot to think about! Thanks again to all of you.

Very helpful - thanks Dennis! Can I ask if the push made the image brighter than it would have been otherwise?

Thanks Mark - good suggestion but unfortunately venue is a three-hour drive and there's no way of replicating yesterday's overcast weather conditions... Any thoughts about how this stock responds to underexposure..?

Shot a wedding ceremony yesterday with my Beaulieu 4008 M3 using 250D from Pro8mm. The room was not well-lit, I had no room to augment the light, and the meter needle was at the very bottom of the exposure indication area in the viewfinder even though I was at maximum aperture and shooting 9fps (I'll adjust the speed in post). How much underexposure can this stock take ( my first time using it) and still get a usable image in post? I'm not sure how many stops under are indicated by the meter needle being in that low position. Am I right in thinking that pushing the film in processing will not make it any brighter but only affect contrast and grain? Would you say I need to accept that this will probably be a bust and resolve to shoot 500T and colour correct when faced with similar light levels..?

Thanks Scott - I will certainly let you know the results (by posting into this thread I guess..?). And I think you are right: it's a beautiful piece of kit and if the results are good I'll be very reluctant ti let it go!

Thanks very much Jon - I understand your note of caution. And the advice on fixing jammed cartridges is also noted should I have the misfortune to encounter that problem - thank you!