Given the cost of shooting in MF and the time delay in getting my films processed, I would appreciate any suggestions as a starting point for MF stereo.

Reading past posts I see that f22 is popular, and so is Provia. That means surprisingly long exposure times in anything less than full sun. Obviously you're not doing action shots - but what is a recommended "worst case" shutter speed when tripod mounted ? When does the blurring from motion become worse than the blur of opening to f16 or f11 ? At 1/2 sec, or 1/15 sec ?

Also, when I calculate DOF for 80mm fl, I get real limits about how close the near subject can be and still have some depth in the photo. Any suggestions or guidelines ?

Thanks in advance.

Bill

It will probably depend on what you're trying to capture. I always use a
tripod with the TL-120.

I shoot a lot of night images, and often I want to capture blurred motion like
water or star trails or light trails. For that, slow film + small apertures
are your friend. Not so much on a windy day when you're trying to capture
crisp shots of foliage.

Provia 100F is my everyday film of choice but for certain applications I'd
want Provia 400X. Like for action shots or portraits or theatre/concerts.

I would not worry about shooting at f16. Unless you're shooting resolution
charts you will probably not notice the difference in sharpness. The TL-120
lenses are amazingly sharp. I would think the DOF is more of an issue as you
move to larger apertures.

I use a spot meter or a digital camera with manual settings and a histogram to
check my exposures. You do want to maximize your success with film.

I shoot f22 almost exclusively. I'll pace off about 13 feet from the closest
foreground object I want. I'd have to have my camera in hand to give you notes
on other apertures. I find that pushing film 1 stop is usually not much of a
problem. And I have some terrific shots I've gotten with Provia pused 2 stops,
but that's not recommended. I got lucky.

It's hard to say what's the slowest shutter speed you can get away with
without knowing what you're shooting. Waterfall? Slot canyon? Leaves on a
windy day? Motocross?

HTH,
Bob Venezia
Seattle, Washington



Quoting bill_in_3d <mz2dh0@yahoo.com>:

>
> Given the cost of shooting in MF and the time delay in getting my films
> processed, I would appreciate any suggestions as a starting point for MF
> stereo.
>
> Reading past posts I see that f22 is popular, and so is Provia. That
> means surprisingly long exposure times in anything less than full sun.
> Obviously you're not doing action shots - but what is a recommended
> "worst case" shutter speed when tripod mounted ? When does the blurring
> from motion become worse than the blur of opening to f16 or f11 ? At
> 1/2 sec, or 1/15 sec ?
>
> Also, when I calculate DOF for 80mm fl, I get real limits about how
> close the near subject can be and still have some depth in the photo.
> Any suggestions or guidelines ?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
>

bill_in_3d wrote:

>
> Given the cost of shooting in MF and the time delay in getting my
> films processed, I would appreciate any suggestions as a starting
> point for MF stereo.

I shoot Kodak E100G pushed one stop to E.I. 200 with a custom Sputnik.
After dropping my original Sputnik on a concrete hangar floor Ted
Baskin rebuilt it for me using a spare Sputnik body with lenses and
shutters from a couple of Lubitels. I now think of it as a
Franken-Sputnik. It has an unusual (even for a Sputnik) shutter speed
sequence.

I think E-100G pushed one stop has all the speed of Kodak E200, and
less grain. It's a good thing I like this because Kodak has
discontinued E200. I also use a lab that doesn't charge for push or
pull processing.

> Reading past posts I see that f22 is popular, and so is Provia.
> That means surprisingly long exposure times in anything less than
> full sun. Obviously you're not doing action shots - but what is a
> recommended "worst case" shutter speed when tripod mounted ? When
> does the blurring from motion become worse than the blur of opening
> to f16 or f11 ? At 1/2 sec, or 1/15 sec ?

On a tripod you can use Bulb and shoot for as long as you have
patience. Because the Sputnik (and especially my Sputnik) doesn't
have the usual slow speeds I don't often shoot slower than 1/20
second. There is definitely a hole in the Sputnik shutter sequence
where even if you are on a tripod you can't shoot slow enough with the
available aperture range.

When I'm not using a tripod I always have a bean bag (I use a red The
Pod <http://www.thepod.ca/>) and a string monopod with me. The string
monopod is a length of rope with a 1/4x20 eye-bolt on the end. I step
on one end of the rope and pull up on the camera to provide tension.
Make sure you use a rope that doesn't stretch. When used with my
Yashica Mats (which also have a neck strap) I can shoot as slow as
1/30 second.

With the Sputnik I try not to shoot slower than 1/50 second when off
the tripod. If necessary I'll open up to f/16, but I really don't
like to go any wider.

> Also, when I calculate DOF for 80mm fl, I get real limits about how
> close the near subject can be and still have some depth in the
> photo. Any suggestions or guidelines ?

I have used DOF Master <http://dofmaster.com/> for quite a while.
It's available as an on-line calculator, for MS Windows (for making a
printable DoF calculator), and for various mobile devices (Palm OS,
iOS, Android). For some reason it assumes the same Circle of
Confusion (CoC) value for 6x6 and 6x4.5 formats. (Possibly assuming
that you will always crop 6x6 to a rectangle.) The on-line and iOS
versions don't let you enter the CoC directly, you can only choose
from a list of digital cameras, film formats and some numeric values.
The Palm OS version lets you enter any numeric value directly. I have
no experience with the Android version.

How much depth of field you can use, while still getting a viewable
stereo pair, will depend on what you are shooting. If you are
outdoors with infinity (the horizon) prominently in the scene, then
you'll be limited to keeping the near subjects about 2.5 meters from
the camera if you want to use f/22 and focus on the hyperfocal
distance to maximize your DoF. (e.g., 80mm lens, f/22, CoC=0.060mm,
hyperfocal distance=4.9m)

This means that if you shoot low to the ground some of the foreground
will be too close for a viewable stereo pair, even if it has
acceptable sharpness. If you keep the camera about 2-3/4 feet above
the ground (while leveled) you should get a stereo pair that doesn't
need any cropping. With my tripod this works out to having one set of
leg segments extended, and I can comfortably use the waist level
finder.

If you have a large object (e.g., a house, or a cliff) blocking the
horizon, then you can focus closer, and allow the near subject to be
closer to the camera. To figure out how much closer you have to open
the can of worms labeled "stereo base/MAOFD".

--
Brian Reynolds | "It's just like flying a spaceship.
reynolds@panix.com | You push some buttons and see
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds/ | what happens." -- Zapp Brannigan
NAR# 54438 |

>
> I think E-100G pushed one stop has all the speed of Kodak E200, and
> less grain.
>
>

This is good info, thx for sharing.... I will experiment the same with
Fuji's film, its possible I can gain a stop with them, which in MF is very helpful....
I used to push 2 stops with MF, but did not like results, never thought about 1 stop, but
every stop counts...

I like taking closeups with flash indoors, I use my nikon sb 28 flash set at auto f16 and get perfect exposures and nice depth of field, shutter speed less than 1/30 to get some ambient light as well. I have a 2 year old son who moves pretty fast but i've still gotten some nice images. Nothing like Fuji astia for portraits, incredible realistic skin tones. I've also shot handheld at f/8 and 1/250 for nice landscape shots focused on infinity, you don't always need a tripod and f/22 for this camera. It is alot of fun to experiment with different settings.
Nik

--- In MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com, Bill G wrote:
>
>
> >
> > I think E-100G pushed one stop has all the speed of Kodak E200, and
> > less grain.
> >
> >
>
> This is good info, thx for sharing.... I will experiment the same with
> Fuji's film, its possible I can gain a stop with them, which in MF is very helpful....
> I used to push 2 stops with MF, but did not like results, never thought about 1 stop, but
> every stop counts...
>