Question about film cameras and digital cameras?So I am experimenting with motion blur in my photography class, but I also don't want to waste the film on my film camera. So I'm testing out different shutter speeds on my digital camera. So will the results on both cameras be the same if I use the same settings for both cameras? Thanks in advance!
b0b
Yes in short, provided your digi is well made and accurate, its ISO 100 is very close to film's ISO 100 and so long it has a genuine (say) half second shutter and f2,8 lens, and so long your film camera does * then you are in business.
* what is on the lens is not the light transmission value but the geometric aperture diameter divided by the apparent focal length. So an f 1,0 50mm lens has a 50mm diameter front element, geddit? If the glass isn't perfect high quality formulations with nano technology coatings, then it won't let the same amount of light thru at that aperture that an expensive one would. You often have seven, nine or in zooms, 13 elements of glass to get thru', each bends light a bit and hence, the energy arriving at the film or sensor is a lot less than it started out.
Worst case; digi compact with long travel cheap zoom says ISO 100, 1/25th, f 4
Transfer that to a £eica MP with Summicron and you'll be overexposed, not because of speed or aperture error, but because the £5500 camera lens combination actually does transmit most of the available light which the digi could not. Even a window shuts out up to ten per cent of the light!
Saying all that, you should get a judicious start point for bracketing the film camera's exposures, better than no guess at all.
Personally, I'd sooner invest in a proper hand held light meter; gossen do a nice miniature digi-six which also reads flashguns together with ambient, fits a shirt pocket and costs under £150 (say $ 225 ?), really useful and no sweat to carry. Also reads incoming ambient light thru' a wee dome, point at the sky and never go wrong again (well, hardly ever)
deep blue2
Yes they will. Just be aware of where you're metering in the frame - spot, CW or matrix. It won't make a difference between digi & film but will affect your overall image.
You can of course bracket the film exposures for a little leeway (although this will use more film)
Also, if you're going for long exposures (more than 1-2 seconds) you will have to add in an extra exposure factor to compensate for reciprocity failure in film - this does not affect digital, so will not apply.
Rob Nock
Hi Valerierocks (love the name),
In terms of motion blur the results from changing shutter speeds should be ROUGHLY equivalent.. Most digital cameras have sensors that are smaller than 35mm cameras and the size difference tends to make motion blur somewhat less apparent. So, depending on the digital camera's sensor size, you can expect slightly to significantly LESS motion blur on the digital camera then you would perceive in a film camera.
If your digital camera is a DSLR or other model that has a "full frame" sensor the difference should be trivial, if it is a Point & Shoot model without the ability to change lenses, you will probably need to magnify (zoom in) to enlarge details on the screen to get an idea of how the movement will appear on film. If you have a DSLR model with a smaller than "Full Frame" sensor you will generally find that you will need to use a speed about twice that of the digital camera to get a similar effect on the film camera.
For example, if you get the desired blur at 1/4 second on a DSLR camera with a smaller sensor you would need to use about 1/8 second for a 35mm camera If your camera is a Point & Shoot the sensor will be even smaller so the difference will be more significant. This is because the smaller image sensors must magnify the recorded photo approximately twice as much (DSLR) or ten times as much with (Point & Shoot) for the same appearance. I would suggest doing a short roll of 35mm and keep track of the setting used by taking the same picture with your digital camera. Take 12 pictures reducing each shutter speed by 1/2 on both cameras to see how they compare.
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EDIT: I am not sure what Bob is going on about in his answer. Aperture values (f stops) and shutter speeds need to be accurate within a reasonable tolerance of one another or using any light meter would be pointless. "Motion blur" occurs because of the amount of movement that occurs in the subject, the position of the camera, or both, during the interval of time that the shutter is open. The only other major variable effecting the DEGREE of blur is the total image magnification. The greater the magnification, the more apparent the blur in an image. That is why you need to consider the difference in image recording size when comparing shutter speeds.
You do not even need to use the same ISO values to make comparison shots, 1/2 second is the same interval of time regardless of the ISO values used. I would use similar ISO values and comparable lens focal lengths just to keep comparisons as simple as possible but the results should be useful in any case.
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Hope that helps. Good luck. Feel free to email me if you need more help!
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