Digital sensors have come a long way in the past 15 years or so, but even so, pushing a shot four stops is getting close to the limit of file latitude in most situations. So, how well can film hold up when you do the same? The answer is very well.
If you don't know Kodak Tri-X, it's by far one of the most ubiquitous stocks out there, and if you're interested in trying out film, I highly recommend grabbing a few rolls, especially because it's remarkably forgiving of any exposure miscues, making it perfect for beginners looking to get their feet wet. In this video, Vincent Moschetti push-develops a roll of Tri-X four stops, increasing its effective rating from ISO 400 to ISO 6,400. Pushing Tri-X (and other stocks) a couple stops was actually a very common practice back in the day, particularly among sports photographers and photojournalists, but it's especially interesting to see how the results stack up in an age when we're used to digital sensors and the near-remarkable results we can get out of them. Personally, I think the Tri-X did quite well, and I find the grain much more pleasing than digital noise.
[via PetaPixel]
I've shot Kodak TMAX 3200 pushed two stops to ISO 12,800. I used a professional B&W lab since I don't have a home developing setup. The grain exploded, but it was what I needed to do to shoot in the low light of a rock concert.
I would love to see those shots!
Alex,
Here's the link to Trans Siberian Orchestra's Beethoven's Last Night
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ralphhightower/albums/72157629637971375/wi...
I wish he had either used a different developer to reduce contrast, or shot in different conditions. You can't compare film and digital photography like that. There's more to push developing than increasing film speed. You do it on purpose to increase contrast. If not, you need to find yourself a developer that keeps the contrast under control. These negatives are way too contrasty.
Even if you do like lots of contrast, you would go for less because you can always add it in the darkroom/post.
2018... we're still talking about this..
Yeah. Because in 2018 film sales are up.
The bottoming out of the market was years ago. Now it's recovering as a small niche market.
Back in the late 1970’s, my buddy (and fellow photographer) Scott Champion and I regularly pushed TriX & HP5 to ASA 8000 with a 1:1 of Microdol X and a product called Push 8000 that his dad sold at his camera store. We were able to produce beautiful results (8x10 prints for publication in the Miami Herald) and experienced no reticulation even though we were cooking it at 100 degrees f. Wish I could find that stuff again, would be fun to try again, especially for fashion!
Microdol for pushing and fine grain-YES
I have just shared this to our Facebook page.. https://www.facebook.com/VueScan/. It will be interesting to see what our readers comment - we have thousands (and thousands!) of film users who use VueScan
It looks just as I'd expect: very grainy. That's a great look and can have its special purpose. Comes down to is shooting on film useful to you? if you're a fine art photographer it may be, but for 99% of pros shooting digital will be the choice.