I continue the learning curve on my new Bronica ETRS medium format film camera.  The wonderful AJ helped me with a series of test shots using a variety of apertures and shutter speeds. 

First up – shutter speed!  The conclusion here is I cannot consistently shoot handheld below 1/125 second.  While I hit some shots at 1/60sec it was only through luck I think.  THis contrasts with my 35mm minimum handheld speed of 1/30 to 1/60 of a second.  Below is a comparison shot at 1/125sec and 1/60sec

Next up is exposure variation via aperture control.  I metered for f/2.8 ISO 200 (one stop over on Portra 400 speed film) and then stopped down to f/4 and f/5.6.  Interestingly all three shots have a pretty decent exposure.  The f/5.6 is a little darker and has a bit more noise apparent on AJ’s skin  but still very usable.  Also, the depth of field on the 75mm was good for portrait even wide open at f/2.8.  Finally, I think I like the f/4 shot the best from an exposure and color standpoint.  A bit of a surprise because at f/4 I was exposing at ISO 400!  Maybe I need to shoot more at 1 stop over versus box speed…  also you can see the sharpness increase at each stop down (the f/5.6 sharper > f/4  > f/2.8).  However, any of the shots would be acceptable to deliver to a client.  

The next shot is a great example of a perfect exposure ruined by abysmal focusing skills!  If my goal was to have AJ’s boots in perfect focus I was perfect!  Remember FISA – Focus + ISO  + Shutter Speed  +  Aperture!!!!

The next shots were done to look at different ratios of ambient light to fill flash.  First conclusion is that most of the exposures were very good regardless of the ratio – film is very forgiving and has a wide exposure latitude.  In the photo below I set the fill flash for exact exposure using my light meter than changed the shutter speed to get a stop under ambient and right on ambient.  The top has a stop lower ambient.    While AJ has a bit of a shadow on the top picture I think it is overall a better shot.  More definition and the noise level is the lowest of the two. 

The final shots were done with a 2 stop push.  The coffee shop was very dark and I did not use any flash, rather I shot at 1600 ISO (400 X 2 X 2) and had the developers “push” by the same 2 stops.  A couple of things stand out – the colors are very muted and the noise level is pretty high.  The pushed film also shows some scratches that I don’t see in the properly exposed shots.  I have performed a good clean and lubrication of my film holders to prevent scratching in the future.  On the plus side all the photos were sharp which is a benefit of the higher shutter speed.  The next test will be a one stop push to compare the results.  Below is an example of a 2 stop push.

So, what did we learn from these tests?  1) Try and keep shutter speed minimum at 1/125sec; 2) focus on focus; 3) f/4 is a pretty good aperture for portraits; and 4) a 2 stop push may be “pushing” it too much – more testing is warranted. 

Thanks to the beautiful AJ for patience in our photo shoot!

Here is a gallery of the best shots from the tests:   Bronica Test Shoot with AJ