Can I use different ISO films and push/pull on a Yashica J with no ISO dial or meter?
Asked 5/27/2020
7 views
2 answers
0
I have a Yashica J rangefinder that seems to have no ISO dial or built-in light meter. Does that limit me to certain film speeds, or can I still use different ISO films and push or pull film? How do I set exposure on a camera like this?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
3
With a manual camera (assumed, as the Yashica Model J isn't familiar to me), pushing and pulling are just a matter of setting your external meter (hand held meter, smart phone app, or Sunny 16 rule) to a different Exposure Index (EI) than the ISO speed of the film that's loaded in the camera.
So, you've loaded Tri-X, ISO 400, but you're shooting in a bar late at night, and it's pretty dark, so you decide you need to push to EI 3200 in order to get hand held shutter speeds. All you do is set your aperture and shutter as if you had 3200 speed film, and then mark the cassette after shooting to remind yourself to process with a three stop push.
Bottom line, the camera itself has nothing to do with "pushing" or "pulling" film, it's the metering. In some cases, the camera has a meter, which you can set (or which sets itself, by reading the DX code on the film cassette), and changing this setting will, for automatic cameras, cause them to treat the film as faster or slower than its box speed. But for cameras without internal meters, it's up to the photographer to set whatever metering device is used.
Originally by user89902. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user89902
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—you can use any film ISO the camera supports mechanically, and the lack of an ISO dial does not stop you from pushing or pulling film.
On a camera like the Yashica J, ISO is determined by the film you load, not by the camera body. The camera also doesn’t need an ISO dial unless it has a built-in meter that uses that setting.
Since there’s no built-in meter, you set exposure manually using:
- an external handheld light meter
- a phone light meter app
- the Sunny 16 rule
To push or pull film, you meter and expose at a different Exposure Index (EI) than the film’s box speed. For example, ISO 400 film can be exposed as if it were 800 or 1600 for a push, or slower for a pull, then processed accordingly. The camera itself doesn’t do the push/pull—the exposure decision and lab processing do.
So the workflow is: choose film, meter the scene externally, set shutter speed and aperture on the camera, and if pushing/pulling, remember to note that for development.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI6y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Can an external light meter replace push or pull processing for film?
Why is push processing so popular if film gives the best results at box speed?
Why can a monobath give good results on films with very different normal development times?
I shot Portra 400 at a 160 ISO meter setting by mistake—should I push or pull process it?
What does the ISO/ASA dial do on a mechanical 35mm film camera?