Best color film for urban night shooting?

[Sparrow]

I remember that the large flash bulbs had a distinct smell right after they were fired, like a melted plastic smell. Not unpleasant, but definitely not fragrant. I don't remember any difference in the smell between blue and clear, however. There was also a crackling noise that persisted for a fraction of a second.

The blue bulbs I remember were about the size of a ping pong ball with a push-turn bayonet connection that went into an adapter that screwed into the standard lightbulb size socket of the flash. I remember clear ones that were about the size of a refrigerator light bulb with a screw base. I don't remember any blue ones that size, however.

Oh well ...

I had a small Agfa Tully flash, probably still got it somewhere, the bulbs were about 3cm long by 1.5cm wide, no fitting just a flat glass tab that pushed into the flash. They all had a distinctive metallic smell but the blue ones also had a strong burnt plastic smell

 

[furcafe]

Agreed. I've found the 4th layer to be very helpful when shooting in funky mixed lighting situations, which apparently comprise about 90% of the places I shoot.

Although ISO 400 films would be fine for shooting in brightly lit commercial & shopping districts (Oxford St. in London & Midtown Manhattan come to mind) & you could probably get away w/ISO 100 in places like Times Sq, Ginza, Nanjing Rd., or the Vegas Strip, for extra leeway I would try Fuji NPZ (now 800Z, I believe) or Natura 1600 if you need the extra speed (e.g., if you need to shoot indoors in clubs, etc.). I've found the Natura to be better than the older Superia 1600, but it unfortunately is only sold in Japan or through 'net sellers like megaperls: http://www.unicircuits.com/shop/index.php?currency=USD&cPath=29&sort=2a & is therefore pricey.

If you're concerned about shadow noise or blowing out highlights, you can do the standard thing & shoot @ 640 & 1250.

Actually, I do find that the 4th layer on the Fuji film stocks to have a noticeable effect on dealing with artificial lighting. It doesn't cut out the color cast, certainly, but it seems more flexible.

allan

 

[dmr]

you could probably get away w/ISO 100 in places like ... Vegas Strip

I don't think I would want to try anything less than 400 in Las Vegas at night, for hand-held shots that is. I've shot quite a bit on the Strip and I like to shoot at 1/60 or 1/30, since 1/30 is the slowest I can consistently shoot hand held reliably. I like to stop down a stop or two to kill the astigmatism that's in the GIII and others. Lately I've been using plain off the shelf Fuji 800.

I recently shot some from the top of the Paris tower, and I had to open the lens almost all the way. Here's an example:

http://www.letis.com/dmr/pics/vegas/vegas12/dmr321-R2-057-27.jpg

You'll see that the bright lights at the corners are starting to assume the "football" shape. If I could have stopped down, those would be more normal looking. In fact I'm thinking of re-shooting that using 1600 film this next trip.

 

[jan normandale]

Fuji Superia 400 ISO is a good colour performer for me. Kodak BW 400 ISO C41 is also a good performer for night shooting