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Opinion for shooting low light, in a hospital...


Rolando Morales

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Hello everyone! I will be shooting a small home movie for my family. My sis in law has a newborn coming soon and I i wanted to shoot in black and white. I will be shooting inside the hospital and her room. I was thinking for the extra light that I might need, shooting in Kodak 200t and converting to black and white in FCP. I'm new to this, but i'm thinking the extra speed over 7266 will get me slightly better exposure. I will be using my Canon 310xl.

 

My question is, doing a 200t to B&W conversion, will anything be lost? shadow/high-light detail? I am also getting processed/scanned by the pro labs (not sure if that matters). OR should I just get the Tri-X 7266 and shoot with confidence. I mean, the 310xl has a pretty wide aperture so I can see how it can be used with no issues.

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited by Rolando Morales
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If you are planing on scanning and finishing digitally, I would shoot 500T and remove the color in post. The extra grain in 500T actually looks good in B&W. As far as anything being lost, if it is scanned well then all of that is adjusted in post (DaVinci Resolve is a great platform to adjust this.)

 

In her room you may be able to add more light so keep that in mind. The more light the better...you can always remove light in post but trying to "add light" in post never looks as good as the real thing.

 

The main difference you're talking about is negative vs. reversal when you talk 200T vs. Tri-X. Tri-X will have a higher contrast than the negative film at first but you can get the negative closer to that high contrast look if you want in post. Negative will also help you hold the highlights without blowing them out as much.

 

The 310xl may have a wide aperture but it doesn't have the best lens so keep that in mind.

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I'd say you'd probably be fine. Buuuuut if you're totally ok with converting color negative to B&W (and foregoing any option to project it) then just toss some 500T in there and shoot that. You'll be able to see in the dark with that film and the f1.0 lens of the 310XL. You'll actually have much MORE latitude if you use color negative converted to B&W than Tri-X 7266 since that's a reversal stock therefore less latitude. Then you can add contrast back in post like WIll said.

One of the first times I shot Super 8 was at my friend's wedding and the reception was SUPER low light and I shot it on 500T with my 514XL and then converted to B&W in post because of the terrible scan I got. You can see here. But if you get a nice scan you should be better off than this video.

 

But... as Will says, that lens is not the sharpest and you can ALSO see in my video that my focus is not always spot on. Granted I've gotten a lot better at focusing but the 310XL doesn't have the split-image focusing of the 514XL... just distance so judge carefully.

 

500T as B&W starts around 3:15 in the video.

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If you are planing on scanning and finishing digitally, I would shoot 500T and remove the color in post. The extra grain in 500T actually looks good in B&W. As far as anything being lost, if it is scanned well then all of that is adjusted in post (DaVinci Resolve is a great platform to adjust this.)

 

In her room you may be able to add more light so keep that in mind. The more light the better...you can always remove light in post but trying to "add light" in post never looks as good as the real thing.

 

The main difference you're talking about is negative vs. reversal when you talk 200T vs. Tri-X. Tri-X will have a higher contrast than the negative film at first but you can get the negative closer to that high contrast look if you want in post. Negative will also help you hold the highlights without blowing them out as much.

 

The 310xl may have a wide aperture but it doesn't have the best lens so keep that in mind.

Thanks! I have my Nizo 801, but figured I would bring the 310XL for its aperture. I will also be shooting stills in B&W. The film will get processed/scanned by Cinelab and Gamma Ray Digital. Thanks for the reminder on Negative vs. reversal, I didn't take that into account. 500t it is!

 

 

I'd say you'd probably be fine. Buuuuut if you're totally ok with converting color negative to B&W (and foregoing any option to project it) then just toss some 500T in there and shoot that. You'll be able to see in the dark with that film and the f1.0 lens of the 310XL. You'll actually have much MORE latitude if you use color negative converted to B&W than Tri-X 7266 since that's a reversal stock therefore less latitude. Then you can add contrast back in post like WIll said.

 

One of the first times I shot Super 8 was at my friend's wedding and the reception was SUPER low light and I shot it on 500T with my 514XL and then converted to B&W in post because of the terrible scan I got. You can see here. But if you get a nice scan you should be better off than this video.

 

But... as Will says, that lens is not the sharpest and you can ALSO see in my video that my focus is not always spot on. Granted I've gotten a lot better at focusing but the 310XL doesn't have the split-image focusing of the 514XL... just distance so judge carefully.

 

500T as B&W starts around 3:15 in the video.

 

Thanks again! I am totally fine with converting the color to B&W. And sadly, I wont be projecting the film either, at least not anytime soon.

 

I've seen that video (more than once haha), that's why I was hoping you'd also add your suggestions

 

Thank you both!

Edited by Rolando Morales
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