Shooting Kodak P3200
The Belgian Triumph stands out, parked amongst more modern offerings. 1/50s 50mm F2.0.
Long time readers will know that I previously blogged about my experience using Ilford Delta 3200 with my Bronica SQ-A (you can read that blog by clicking here). I was impressed with the results and the surprising amount of detail that was rendered by such a high ISO film. After that I wanted to see how much I could pull from such a high ISO in 35mm, but this time I’d be picking up Kodak’s offering along with the rest of their black & white range which I will blog about in the coming weeks. My original plan for this roll was as an extra bit of fun for a wedding I was shooting but, in the end, I realized it was better to just focus on the job in hand with my digital camera. Instead, (bar a few photos at the MG & Triumph Weekend) I took it along to my trip to Italy which you would have seen in my blogs in the run up to Christmas.
The first motel stop had all the cars park underground out of the torrential rain. 1/100s 50mm F2.8.
Being an underground carpark in France it was obligatory to have some rusting piece of junk down there. The subject works well with the grainy film, imposing a greater feeling of age. 1/100s 50mm F2.8.
I was happy with the levels of detail these images were returning, but looking back I should have gotten the tripod out so I could use a greater depth of field with a longer shutter speed. 1/60s 50mm F2.5.
Aaron plans the route over the Alps from France to Italy. When I showed him the image he said it gave off a strong mood which I think is what this film is all about. 1/125s 50mm F2.8.
Back in the day this type of film would have been used for nighttime and indoor events mainly, music concerts being the big one. Like Ektachrome it was originally discontinued when film was at its lowest ebb in 2012 but with strong demand it was brought back in 2019. Being such a grainy film, it’s not something you’d want to shoot everyday but there’s some situations where low light doesn’t give you a choice. I knew there was going to be a lot of grain, much more than I’d seen on the Delta 3200 simply because I was shooting on a smaller format. However even so I was a bit disappointed about the majority of the images I took. The difficulty here is that this is ultimately a specialty film that I didn’t fully understand. Shooting at box speed like I did, it works best when there is strong contrast and a well exposed subject whilst leaving the rest to fall into dramatic shadows or silhouettes.
The beer bottles show up well in the candle light but anything outside of that radius quickly falls into shadow. 1/2.5s 50mm F8.
Somewhere in this underexposed mess is a Triumph Spitfire. Though amusingly it does emphasise the headlights and front bumper as a goofy smiley face. 1/1.3s 50mm F8.
Exposing for the white paintwork of the Trident Ventura meant everything in the background fell away to a grainy mess. 1/1.6s 50mm F5.6.
It didn’t help that a lot of my images, especially at nighttime, look underexposed (a couple as you can see where a complete disaster). Judging by what I’ve elsewhere online, a lot of people are shooting this at ISO 800 or 1600 and their results are much more impressive. A lot less noticeable grain and greater levels of detail (you can see some examples here). Despite that when I did get the exposure right during the day, I was impressed by what was there, if you look at the interior car photo below you can still just about make out the numbers on the tachometer which make up a very small proportion of the image. To clarify I was metering based on the built-in meter of my Nikon F100.
The door to our Italian hotel room, again underexposure has left the ivy on the building to become a single detail-less black mass. 1/1.6s 50mm F5.6.
A small tower at the hotel which had been decorated for a wedding the previous day. I was happier with how this turned out. 1/5s 50mm F5.6.
A back street of Costigliole Saluzzo, again issues with underexposure leading to huge grainy black masses. 1/5s 50mm F5.6.
Finally I get a well exposed shot of this closed café! When you get it right the details are well rendered for such a high ISO film. 1/3s 50mm F5.6.
Initially after getting my results back from the lab, I took one look at the images and thought I’d never shoot it again but having seen what results you can get from shooting it a stop or two over I do want to try again. It highlights how versatile B&W film can be and why something like this would have been so popular back in the film days when you had changing lighting conditions but a fixed ISO. I think I’d shoot it at 800 ISO next time, and it is worth pointing out that (as far as I am aware) there aren’t any 800 or 1600 ISO B&W films left on the market, so this fills that niche quite nicely alongside its Ilford equivalent. Watch this space, there may well be a follow up blog next year with this newfound knowledge.
Some impressive Italian architecture. If you look at the railing in the top of the image you can see how the detail gradually disappears as it gets further and further from the source of light. 1/8s 50mm F5.6.
A window door and window shutters that caught my eye. The top of the door is devoured by shadows. 1/15s 50mm F5.6.
This image of memorial notices came out well due to the even lighting it was under and the strong contrast of bold black text on a white background. Another example of how well details can be rendered in the right conditions. 1/8s 50mm F5.6.
Sadly, unlike Delta 3200, this is not yet available in 120 yet, despite the cryptic messages that Kodak Alaris periodically release. Hopefully that changes in the future giving medium format shooters another arrow in their quiver. Do you have any advice for me on how to shoot this film? Let me know in the comments down below.
Getting the exposure right for the Michelotti Pura was much easier during the day time. The high levels of grain give it a very classical feel. 1/320s 50mm F11.
The details of the interior are well rendered and if you click to enlarge you can clearly read the 60 and 70 on the tachometer. 1/100s 50mm F11.
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