Shooting 8mm film at the beach ?

[Shanec8mm]

I am taking a vacation to Chinoteague Islands, VA in a week or so. I bought 2 rolls of Regular 8mm cinechrome 40. I am using a Bolex S-1 camera to shoot with, along with a tripod. I plan to shoot some footage at the beach, I have never shot film at the beach. Here are my 2 questions. I am going to use a manual setting of Fstop 16 while there since the sand at this Island is bright white, would this setting also work on a day that may be either cloudy or say hazy sun ? will this give me properly exposed footage at this setting ? I will also be using a daylight #85 filter so the film will be set at 25 ASA. Also my other question is this. I plan to shoot my footage first then do some swimming, should I take some safety measures with the film that will be inside the camera while it sits at the beach ? My idea was to place the camera with film inside in a cooler with a ice pack. Placing the camera in some sort of plastic bag, and also laying a towel over the ice pack so the camera and bag doesn't touch the ice pack, would this work ?

[audadvnc]

I am taking a vacation to Chinoteague Islands, VA in a week or so. I bought 2 rolls of Regular 8mm cinechrome 40. I am using a Bolex S-1 camera to shoot with, along with a tripod. I plan to shoot some footage at the beach, I have never shot film at the beach.

Great. 8mm movie film was made for shooting sun and fun.

Here are my 2 questions. I am going to use a manual setting of Fstop 16 while there since the sand at this Island is bright white, would this setting also work on a day that may be either cloudy or say hazy sun ? will this give me properly exposed footage at this setting ? I will also be using a daylight #85 filter so the film will be set at 25 ASA.

Let's break this into 2 questions: shooting in bright sun, and shooting in cloudy, hazy conditions. #1: bright sun - remember the "sunny 16" rule. In bright sun, a film of ASA 40 will properly expose when the lens is set to f/16 and the film speed is 1/40 second. Your Cinechrome 40 seems to fit that description, except that as you mention the 85 filter lowers the ASA to 25, so you may want to shoot either at a slower speed (12 fps) or open the lens about 2/3 to 1 stop to compensate. #2: hazy / cloudy conditions - you will lose anywhere from 1/2 stop to 4 stops of exposure depending on how cloudy it is. Consider that a shady area on a sunny day is 4 stops less than direct sun. So compensate accordingly.

Also my other question is this. I plan to shoot my footage first then do some swimming, should I take some safety measures with the film that will be inside the camera while it sits at the beach ? My idea was to place the camera with film inside in a cooler with a ice pack. Placing the camera in some sort of plastic bag, and also laying a towel over the ice pack so the camera and bag doesn't touch the ice pack, would this work ?

Bad idea. Your camera will get too cold and condensation will form in the camera and the optics. Keep the camera in the shade, cover it under some towels. Don't let the camera get too warm or too cold, shoot the whole roll of film that day, and send it off for processing as soon as possible.

[David M. Leugers]

I know there are many who successfully shoot film without the use of an exposure meter. I have on occassion myself. But I'd strongly urge anyone to invest in an exposure meter to help take the guess work out of it and to insure you do not waste your film, or miss that great shot due to improper exposure. Film is just too expensive for guesswork. If you don't have access to an exposure meter, then audadvnc's advice is excellent. Good shooting.


David M. Leugers

[Shanec8mm]

Thanks guys for the advice. Here is a chart that I am going to follow for myself when it comes to shooting using a manual setting. I wasn't able to figure out how to paste the chart here so I will give a summary of it.

Normal shutter speed of 18 Frames Per Second:

Bright Sun- beach or snow scenes- F11
Bright Sun- subject in direct sunlight- F8
Hazy Sun, soft shadows being cast- F5.6
Cloudy bright, no shadows being cast- F4
In open shade with clear blue sky- F2.8
deep shade- F1.8
----------------------------
again I think these fstops will be close, maybe not perfect but I think they will serve my Bolex S-1 well since it has a fast shutter at 1/43. And again I am not looking for perfect shots just close as I can I guess.

[AMAT0R]

Strange discussion... Why don't You want to use an exposure meter? You risk that so expensive film wil under- or overexposed. BTW: You don't need to have an external exposure meter if You have any still camera with e.m. - just set 25 ASA, 1/30s and go... Internet is a powerful machine, but, my God, the people on the forum are not able to tell You about the light conditions on Y o u r holidays and which apperture You should set on Your camera. Have a good footage.

[Mitch Perkins]

Bright Sun- subject in direct sunlight- F8

Bright Sun- subject *backlit* in direct sunlight- F8

Mitch

[audadvnc]

Simultaneous downtown nighttime earthquake and snowstorm - f/1.8.
Polar bear eating ice cream cone on beach during nuclear explosion - f/2006.

[Shanec8mm]

The chart I was referring to is a real chart. I found it in a camera manual and it seems to be close. I copied what was on the chart. Like I said I don't trust my Camera in auto mode because the batteries are 1.5 instead of 1.3's. So I figure with a chart of some kind I will get close. I plan to shoot on sunny days, so with the advice of someone here about setting my camera at fstop 11 while at the beach, based on my camera. The 85 filter ASA 25, etc Looking at the chart it seems to make sense to me.

[Shanec8mm]

Bright Sun- subject in direct sunlight- F8

Bright Sun- subject *backlit* in direct sunlight- F8

Mitch

Backlit ? I think what the chart is referring to is the sun shining on the subject who is being filmed. Not the sun behind the subject.

[audadvnc]

Mitch is correct. You need to have a wider iris on a backlit subject otherwise she will show up in silhouette against a properly lit background. Sometimes it's better to let the background blow out a bit in order to get the subject properly exposed.

[Mitch Perkins]

Mitch is correct.

And you are ~f**king hilarious!!~

"Simultaneous downtown nighttime earthquake and snowstorm - f/1.8.
Polar bear eating ice cream cone on beach during nuclear explosion - f/2006."

Robert Hughes for President.

Mitch

[JohnB]

I have successfully shot K40 on a Canon 1014E at the beach (Whitsundays, Australia). I found that the biggest problem is that there is such a huge difference in brightness between the sand, water etc and the subject. You either get beautifully exposed scenery and the subject is too dark, or the subject is beautifully exposed but the background is washed out.

If you try to shoot your subject with the camera pointing away from the water it's easier to get a more even exposure. Then film the water in a separate shot. If you edit carefully afterwards, you can achieve an acceptable sequence of shots.

Actually, a shot with the subject properly exposed and the background washed out can look really spectacular. I found that if I first zoom right into the subject, then lock the exposure, then zoom out again to frame the shot, then start filming, it comes out dreamy and almost surreal.

Cheers,
John B.

[JCook]

Shane

In addition to the roll your shooting out on the Assateague beach save some of the other roll for in town at Chincoteague. There's the drawbridge and numerous water front/shrimpers etc to shoot just as soon as you get on board the Chincoteague Island.

Don't forget the Coast Guard light house and the wild horses out on Assateague...enjoy...I did what you're about to do two summers ago.
I left my Canon on auto-exposure and everything turned out well.

Regards, John

[Evan Kubota]

Shooting at the beach is no problem - just keep the camera out of the water unless it's a Nautica. I used my Kinor and R10 on a beach shoot near Jacksonville and even K40 was fine on the sand and a dark subject using the R10's built in meter, perhaps opened half a stop.

[flatwood]

You might want to make sure the salty crud isn't building up on the front element of your lense as the day goes by if you're shooting close to the water.