Night Photography with a Diana+ Camera

More night photos taken with a Diana+ in San Francisco. Camera was mounted on an Ultrapod mini tripod. I was using my own improved shutterrelease lock. Exposures were 1-2 minutes on Tri-X.

Comments

[rick]

LOVE the top photo!

Are you finding 1-2 minutes to work best for night shots so far?

[kai]

Thanks. Yes, I find that an exposure of 1-2 minutes works great with an average night scene.

[dtrasatti]

Kai,

Just got my camera and I'm working hard on getting the hang of it! I got the 35mm back and I decided to shoot 800 speed film for kicks. (i had some laying around the house) I do not have flash for my diana - is this EXTREMELY necessary for exposures at night?

What about darker indoor settings? (bars etc etc) Does 2 mins still apply?

[kai]

Hey dtrasatti, you don't need a flash for night exposures. I never use a flash, just long exposures. Darker indoor scenes? Depends on how much light you are dealing with. The only thing to do is experiment. Do an exposure at 1 min, 2 min, 5 min. When you get your film back, see which one worked best. If 5 min is still underexposed (too dark), go back and then try 5min, 8min, 15min. or something like that. Good luck!

[chris_ireland]

hey, just to say thanks.. your info here is really helping me out..

i have just purchased a diana f+, and im just starting to the hang of night shots.. but i wanted to ask you..

what speed of film are you using.. i have 100iso..

im just curious cos im basing my first roll on your advise of 2-3 minutes exposures... and for pinhole at night im leaving it for 50 mins.. etc..

but im wondering what film your using exactly so i can clarify that..

im not an expert but is there a huge difference in results with 100 and 400?

i presume that 400 will aborb light quicker?

[chris_ireland]

also... what scanner would u reccomend.. on a budget.. cos its so expensive here to get them scanned in and printed..

[kai]

I use Tri-X 320 pro film, that is ISO 320. The larger the ISO number, the more sensitive it is to light. 100 ISO is fine, but will require a longer exposure. Experiment a bit and you will figure out the best exposure for your film and lighting conditions.

Scanner? I have an Epson 4490. It's an older model scanner, but you can often find them at the Epson website as refurbs for $120US or less. The newer model V500 is the same scanner hardware, but a LED light source. It has a quicker startup time. Both scanners can handle the 120 film and produce decent results.