kkrk,
Have you ever shot digital in bulb or exposed for more than couple of minutes? I guess not. In DSLR when you shoot for long exposure lets say for 5 mins the camera will take another shot of black for 5 mins. It does this to reduce the noise in the picture that is caused due to the heat generated by the sensor. So in a 2 hours exposure your camera is occupied for 4 hrs. A normal DSLR battery can last for at the most 2-3 hours of continues exposure. Although, you can squeeze more time by using vertical grip.
Another point to note is, usually star trails are shot outside the city limits due to light pollution in the sky. Due you see any stars in the city skies? You will be lacking electricity in remote areas. Therefore, film is the best option for long exposure. For this I have Nikon FM2 which is a mechanical camera that works without battery.
Henry

Hi kkrk,
Some times you have to trust in what others are saying. I am living in UAE from last 14 years. The first 3 years I worked for Ajman TV that belongs to the same company as United Color Films. I know people there and still print from them. They have stopped their regular processing of E6. They ask to leave the roll with them and will process once they have collected enough reels to process to reduce the wastage of chemicals. The processing may happen in next 6 months.
I know UAE Photo and I am also a member. By the way, I used to moderate a popular UAE photography club "Lightchasers". I have conducted photography workshops all over UAE. These days I am not much active due to work pressure.
Processing E6 films in a kitchen or bathroom is very close to impossible. From where will I get the chemicals? Even a conventional b&w film is difficult to process at home for lack of chemicals.
Hence I asked for address in India for E6 processing.
Henry

I am actually from Hyderabad but currently working in Coimbatore.


I beg to differ sir, today the number of studios doing E6 processing have reduced but there are certain few studios still do it either to cater to enthusiasts or for the sake of love for transparencies / film!!
In Abu Dhabi, you can try:
Our Services - United Color Films L.L.C - Total Imaging Solutions

I got the above info from:
UAE Photo
UAE Photo Forums-viewtopic-E6 Proccesing in Abu Dhabi

It always good to join online photography forums, esp like this above one which is UAE centric!!


And you can try it at home too
E-6 Process - ClubSNAP Photography Forums
Clubsnap appears to have an entire section dedicated to film photography!!
here it is: Before Digital, Beyond 35mm - ClubSNAP Photography Forums



Is it because of the battery drain issue?? Doesnt the DSLR come with an option of direct power supply through an adapter? I think my P&S camera does have this facility!! I happen to read somewhere that some folks could capture star trails for 8 hours at a stretch!!


Just like else where, even in India there are very few who cater to enthusiasts or do for the sake of their love for film processing. There isnt any one in Hyderabad but most of the guys ship the rolls / sheets to certain studios in Kolkatta or Mumbai or to Bangalore. The Kolkatta one is the most preferred by the gentlemen whom I know!!


PS: Regarding the development of b&w films, you can do it at home itself!! You can also think about cross processing color film in b&w film developer!!

At a certain fast shutter speed (Sync Speed) the second curtain starts moving in before the first curtain is completely out. This results in a slit through which the pictures is exposed. Faster the shutter speed smaller the slit. When this happens the flash cannot be fired because the flash light which is way faster than 1/10,000 to 1/60,000 second will expose a slit of the picture. So in short, the flash will only fire when both the curtains are open even though for fractions of second.
This shutter speed when both the curtains are open is called Sync speed. Sync speed can be different for different cameras. Example 1/250, 1/200, 1/160 so on. The flash can be fired at any shutter speed slower than the Sync speed. Here is where the Front, Rear curtain and Slow sync in flash comes to play.
I hope it is made clear.
Henry

[/IMG]




The shutter is made of 2 curtains and moves vertically. I am explaining the shutter movement horizontally to understand easily.

1. Lets say you are looking from the sensors point of view. The shutter is right in front of you and blocking the scene that comes from the lens.
2. When you click the shutter button the first curtain starts moving from left to right.
3. Shutter is completely open.
4. The second curtain starts closing.
5. Shutter is closed and the exposer finished.

Flash Sync?
To understand the flash sync you first have to understand the working of a shutter in an SLR camera.

Hi kkrk,
Where are you based? I still love to shoot films but stopped because here in Abu Dhabi there is no one to process slide film. I still have about 30 rolls of slide and 20 rolls of negative in my freezer. I usually shoot star trails with film where you need to keep the shutter open from 1 to 6 hours. Here the digital is useless. I know you can merge multiple shots into one. That I don't like.
Is there any body that process slides in India?
Henry
Henry

[QUOTE=dual disc 200;576383]Hi Arun,
I can explain what flash sync is. Give some time.
Henry

kkrk,
Let me know if you need some links to learn Picture Composition.
Henry

Arun,
The fast shutter speed is actually not the opening and closing of the mechanical shutter, rather its electronic shutter. In electronic shutter the sensor's current is shut on & off. This way you achieve shutter speed of 1/50,000.
kkrk,
The Nikon D40 and the previous D70 actually had 1/250 mechanical shutter. The 1/500 was electronic shutter. Electronic shutter is not much desirable because you get blooming in the picture and also some other drawback.
Henry

My comments in Blue!!

[QUOTE=kkrk2;576381]You can also do it .... but you need a certain Canon DSLR. I guess yours is a Nikon. Correct me if I am wrong!!!
Yes, mine is a Nikon D5000

Shutter speed in Tv mode:
I think it's BULB mode that ur referring to;
30" is the highest!
1/4000 @f8 to f11

Flash sync:
I'm not sure here too!

Iso:
Low 1 Iso equivalent to 100 or less to 3400 if i'm right

Raw file at 2616 x 1960 while the factory setting is JPG 2592 x 1944 - just a marginal change!!

Doesn't matter

Remote triggering:
Yes, also with Nikon ML-L3 Infra-red one.

You can also do it .... but you need a certain Canon DSLR. I guess yours is a Nikon. Correct me if I am wrong!!!
BTW, I didnt give the actual figures. Here are the actual figures:

Shutter speed in Tv mode:
64" for slowest shutter speed as against 15".
1/30,000 @f8 to f11 for the fastest as against 1/2500 @ f2.8!!

Flash sync:
1/6000. I think the factory setting is 1/250(i am not sure!!)

Iso:
30 to 600 against 50 to 400

Raw file at 2616 x 1960 while the factory setting is JPG 2592 x 1944 - just a marginal change!!

Remote triggering:
can be achieved via USB while the factory setting..... what is that??

Although i don't much care about shooting pictures in RAW, the highlighted shutter speed just blew me away...! Man, i can't find it in my DSLR more than 4000th of a sec!

I was also in a similar thought process some time ago(June 2009 to be precise!!). I had a prosumer camera - Fuji S5100 and a smaller Canon P&S - A610. Both these cameras give total control almost that as the DSLR. Infact with the Fuji S5100, I could shoot RAW pics as well and with the Canon A610, with a small hack, I could shoot RAW pics and shutter speeds in the range of 1/20,000 sec!!!

All through my photography(??) experience, I have learned a quite a bit of technical jargon like exposure, focal length, crop factor, blah blah blah..... but didn't spend any time on Composition!!!. Just started with composition and big thanks to you for your wonderful post:
So finally putting some time into Composition using a recently acquired Pentax Optio S50 (a used one bought on ebay for $15 including shipping ). I was so fed-up with my earlier spray & pray mode, now I use only the in-built 11MB memory which is good for around 70 pics at 640x480 resolution at good quality (the cam has normal, good and fine options). Thats around 2 rolls of 135 film!!


I am aware of that sir!!


Well, I was about suggest the same and hence asked the OP about his reason for a DSLR!!


A GF2 apart from a DSLR!!!


BTW, I also shoot film. But these days I am not in my home town, where all my film cameras are!! These are the film cameras I have:

1. Canon Canonet QL19 with a working meter. Bought in June 2009 for $25. Shot quite a bit of film with this one, loved almost every frame!! Even with a cheap b&w 35/- roll gives good pics!! Its with this camera and pics shot on Ilford 400 film and the review by a senior gentleman, I realised the importance of Composition.

2. Yashica Lynx 14. (Recent acquisition, didnt get a chance to try this one yet!! )

3. Olympus Pen EE3. (bought it as a back-up camera when on outdoor trips - no battery required!!)

4. Olympus Trip 35. (bought it as it was bundled along with the EE-3, both together for 1,000/-)


PS: I am a big sucker of RF cameras!! The focusing is fantastic with the knob. I enjoy even with out the film inside!!