Film for Meteors

[alxxx]

Hi all, I took my old SLR out last night and shot a roll of film (just to see if it works) anyway when i took it in to be developed (jessops) i was given a roll of 200 ASA film, will this be of any use for photographing the Perseids,

or will it be to slow?

AL

[AndyMac]

ASA 200 is a bit on the slow side. If it is a slide film, it can always be push processed, however. A 400ASA film is probably a good compromise for meteors.

[alxxx]

OK thanks for the info Andy, I have a roll of 1600 ASA guess that will be to fast, oh well back to Jessops .

AL

[AndyMac]

The 1600 may be a bit grainy - but would record fainter meteors. Of course, the sky background would become fogged more quickly.

Unfortunately every film is a trade off.

It may be worth e-mailing the likes of The Darkroom at info@the-darkroom.co.uk to see if they can pull process the film to, say 400ASA or 800ASA? 1600ASA may give to a poor scan.

[alxxx]

Your getting a bit technical there for me,I will check those links out though, Thanks. I think i will just get some 400 ASA and maybe an 800 and see how that goes, I'm not sure really if anything good can be shot from my site, damn neighbours and there security lights, also i noticed last night that what seemed like every time i opened the shutter a plane wanted to cross my field of view and as soon as i closed the shutter a meteor would shot across my FOV, :roll:

AL

[OXO]

also i noticed last night that what seemed like every time i opened the shutter a plane wanted to cross my field of view and as soon as i closed the shutter a meteor would shot across my FOV,

How many times has that happended to me with my coolpix i know how ya feel matey.

James

[AndyMac]

Known as 'sods law' Al! :roll:

If you live in a light polluted area, you'll need to keep exposure times short i.e. only a couple of minutes or so.

BTW missing your avatar. Don't forget to reupload it to this new site.

[alxxx]

Thanks for pointing out about my avatar Andy, I didn't notice :oops: .

When i tried shooting last night i was trying different exposures, 30 sec - 3 mins with 400ASA film 50mm lens at f2.8 just to see what to expect, also tried at f4 and f5.6. I get the film back wednesday also getting them on CD (nice touch Jessops) , I wouldn't have known about that if i hadn't had read it on this forum, Thanks guys, There also cheap or have i just been under charged £6.98 36 6x4 prints, CD, and a free film, diamond lab or something like that :shock: .

James how do you deal with it, anything like me, just a long stream of profanities

AL

[OXO]

James how do you deal with it, anything like me, just a long stream of profanities

sounds about right good for learning new words..

James

[spudicus]

Just wanted to say that on my first night out yesterday I had 2 meteors shoot across my scope. I actually lost sight of what I was watching because I got so excited.

I have so much to learn!

Spud

[OXO]

Spud i still do that myself after years of being at the scope, i allways get a buzz at seeing a meteor just like a child :shock:

[daz]

Al

On the advice of learned people on this forum, I just invested in some 400 and 200 Elite Chrome slide film to test and play with before August.

Perhaps we could compare notes and see what we can learn?? I am new to both astronomy and photography, but learning fast!

I have a Canon EOS 500, 28-90mm Ultrasonic lens and a 200mm Optomax lens

Darren

[AndyMac]

I'll be interested to learn how the Elitechrome 400 performs, Darren. Haven't seen any reviews of that particular emulsion.

[alxxx]

Darren

The film that i used was jessops own brand 400ASA film , i used this just to test out weather the camera works OK and how my site is with regards to light pollution, but i will let you know how it performs and i would certenly like to know how the slide film does, I also have a 70-210 mm zoom lens, I did 3 shots with this , 2 at 70mm and 1 at 210 (i tried to guide it manually). I have only one problem, i wrote down about each shot that i took, you know exposure time, f ratio, lens,, but i can't find the piece of paper that i wrote it on (note to self, must get proper notebook).

I will post the results (if any) when i get them back.

AL

[AndyMac]

Hope you find it, Al. Having notes on which exposure(s) worked best for you is very useful once you get your results back.

[alxxx]

It sure is Andy, i,m still searching , got this horrible feeling i might have left it outside

AL

[daz]

I will certainly report back on the two films and post images for you all to critique

FYI - I bought 2 of each type at good ol' Jessops and they were about 25 quid, I found these people on the web as well

http://www.mx2.co.uk/prodpage.asp?type=prod&sub=CMFKODAKP

This is assuming, of course, that I ever get a clear sky again!!!!

Darren

[AndyMac]

That looks like a very useful site for cheap film. Thanks for the heads up, Darren