K40 at night?

[Ed]

I'm going to be shooting my first film this summer. I was debating for a while whether to shoot on super 8 or 16mm. i figured if i shot on k40 it would be cheaper. buy it from kodak, process it though walmart. and i can also check out the film before spending money to get it transfered. by the way i also just bought a canon 514xls. seemed like a good buy after seeing numerous people from here and other places recommending the camera. anyway, i was just wondering how k40 is at night, or in low lighting conditions. I had heard some people get good results. so i was wondering, should i shoot low lighting/night scenes on k40, or another stock?

[bouncybabybucket]

I'm still convinced it can be done. Though I haven't seen good results- yet!
I think Kodachrome only has an exposure latitude of about 3 or 4, so whatever is most important in your frame - light it very well then prepare for the rest of your shoot to sink into darkness.
I like the feel of kodachrome at night though, it's kinda cool.
I'd shoot at 18fps though instead of 24 for the longer exposure - the canon only does 9 and 18 anyways aint that right?

[Freya]

It can be done! I did it on an xl camera with a fast lens. The subject matter was heavily floodlit too but it looks great!

K40 does look great at night!

...but it is hard to get good results.

love

Freya

[Ed]

thanks for your replies. the 514xls does 18 and 24 i think.

[T-Scan]

If your shooting at night, i would use the VNF while you still can. not as cheap as K-40, but not a complete gamble like K-40.

[thebrowniecameraguy]

This is a kinda night filming question.

Can you push K40 2 stops to film in normal light conditions with medocre 200 watt floods for a scene and then expect it to turn out?

Or do I have the push pull idea back ass wards?

Cheers,
Jordan

[B Movie Mogul]

City lights at night look great on K40 with an XL lens.

[B Movie Mogul]

City lights at night look great on K40 with an XL lens.

[Old Uncle Barry]

Hundreds of years ago (sixties actually!) we used to film city centre christmas displays on KodachromeA with a silly speed of 15asa.All we did was open the aperture to full,and film! The results were excellent,so,K40 plus an XL camera if you have one will yield good results I'm sure!!

[mattias]

without bringing in extra lights? no, it can't be done. what other people in this thread are talking about is whether you'll see the lights in the frame themselves, which you will, but the light they cast will never ever give you any detail in anything else.

/matt

[matt5791]

without bringing in extra lights? no, it can't be done. what other people in this thread are talking about is whether you'll see the lights in the frame themselves, which you will, but the light they cast will never ever give you any detail in anything else.

/matt

This is my feeling also. You need to really get some heavy lighting involved. I wouldn't bother with VNF either, I find it to be only marginally faster, and with a colour saturation that does not cut well with K40. If you use VNF for one scene you need to use it for the whole movie (unless you want to create some sort of effect)

If you need a night scene, I would strongly suggest shooting day for night. I had sucess with K40 in full sun and closing the aperture down - I cant remember haow many stops, mabey 3. While this is crude, I think you will have more sucess than trying to do it actually at night.

Matt

[Angus]

Even with an f1.2 lens and 220 degree shutter you're pushing K40's well known abilities in an underexposure situation to the absolute limits if you expect anything at night without extra lighting.

If you want to film under streetlamps you'll need VNF Ektachrome or even tri-x.

However, I have had excellent results on K40 at floodlit events, such as a medieval jousting tournament where the only light was from floodlights.

As an example to get proper exposure on my still camera at f3.5 I needed 1600 ASA film, or 800 and a flash.....but using f1.4 and 220 degree shutter on super 8 I managed to get wonderful results on K40.

[Freya]

However, I have had excellent results on K40 at floodlit events, such as a medieval jousting tournament where the only light was from floodlights.

Yes, you don't neccesarily need *extra* lights but if you don't then the lights that are already there had better be damned good!

What I was filming was covered in 500 watt worklamps and it came out amazingly beautiful!

K40 at night is lovely when it works but you are limited to certain kinds of subject matter without bringing extra lighting!

love

Freya

[mattias]

yeah, i've shot concerts, hockey, and such on k40, and that worked great.

/matt

[downix]

I shot a concert on K40 and got a whole bunch of lights, with no concert itself showing up for the most part.