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Garry Black Photography

Question:

I ran across your beautiful web site and have a quick question. I am leaving for Greece in 13 days and have procrastinated in buying film. I am bringing point-and-shoot, but was wondering what ASA I should bring. I know that Greece is a very bright country, which would suggest 100, but since my camera is slow (and I don't have room for a tripod) I am leaning towards 400 as the base film.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer:

What is the zoom range of your camera? This will determine which ISO you should use.

Follow up Reply:

It's 28mm to 90mm (f 3.6-9.8). 400 works fine with the light I get here in Maryland, but people keep telling me Greece is remarkably bright and I am afraid of overexposure (fastest shutter speed is 1/400). My quandary is, of course, that 100 will be a problem in the evening or indoors, and I don't see myself swapping film types a whole lot.

Answer:

If you were only shooting pictures outside I would recommend 100 speed film. The light in Greece is very contrasty - very bright in the sunlight and very dark in the shadows. The higher the film speed the more pronounced the contrast will be in your pictures. So you should determine how many photos you will be taking in the evening and night. I know it's hard to know before hand, but think about your past trips and to what you have photographed on them. If you are going to be taking lots of shoots at night then 400 speed is your best choice.

But probably if you are like most people you'll do a combination of both. So split the difference and go with 200 speed film, that's the film my wife uses in her point and shoot camera.

Where are you going in Greece?

Follow up Reply:

Thanks for your help. I think I am going to go with a combination of 100 and a low-contrast 400 (Kodak Portra NC), which I hope will also work during the day. I am going all over Greece -- Athens, Delphi, Pelopennese, Paros, Naxos, Santorini, Crete and Rhodes. It's about a 40 day itinerary.