I shot Portra 160 with my camera set to ISO 400. Should I ask the lab to push process it?
Asked 4/26/2020
5 views
2 answers
0
I accidentally shot a roll of Portra 160 while my camera was set to ISO 400. That means the meter exposed the film as if it were faster than it really is. Is there anything I should ask the lab to do during development to compensate?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
17
Your camera "thought" it had film with an ISO of 400, while in reality it was only 160. So it adjusted it's exposure meter for ISO 400 film, underexposing your film by a bit more than 1 stop.
To compensate for this underexposure you need to ask the lab to "overdevelop" your film by 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 stops. This is called push processing.
I have no experience with this process, I just gathered the information from existing answers.
Originally by user9161. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user9161
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. Setting the camera to ISO 400 while using ISO 160 film means the roll was underexposed by a little over 1 stop. To compensate at development, ask the lab about push processing (overdevelopment) by roughly 1 1/3 stops, or as close as their process allows. Labs often work in whole-stop pushes, so ask what they can do.
Push processing can help recover density from the underexposure, but it is not a perfect fix and may affect contrast and grain. The key point is to tell the lab the film was shot at ISO 400 so they can advise the best push option for that roll.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI6y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
I shot Portra 400 at a 160 ISO meter setting by mistake—should I push or pull process it?
Why did my Portra 400 scans come back foggy and grainy—bad scans or underexposed film?
What happens if you overexpose film and then push development by one stop?
How do ISO, exposure, and push processing work with film like Portra 800?
Can part of a roll of TMax 400 be push-processed to ISO 1600 while the rest is developed normally?