Olympus 35 RC Low Light Tips Required Please!

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I've recently purchased a fully refurbished olympus 35 RC which is a great little camera. The only problems i'm having are with regards to low light. I don't want to buy an external flash as i prefer taking street photos at night where discretion is preferred! Anyone got any tips on what film is best to use etc. etc. I also prefer shooting in shutter priority mode but any tips on using fully manual would be great.

I should also mention that this is my first ever film camera and i'm a total novice... so go easy on me! Thanks!
 
You could try some fast B&W film (eg Tri X or HP5) and then push process it.

Dave
 
Fast film is your answer. I think the 35RC has a max ISO of 800 which limits you a little. Shoot Tri-X or similar as @Tringa says, set at 800ISO on your camera and ask the lab to push one stop, or shoot a native 800ISO film. Colour options would be mostly Kodak Portra 800, or you could try shooting a 400ISO film at 800 when the light drops and processing normally. Most films can take one stop of under exposure.

Otherwise, if still not good enough for street photography at night, you might want to look for another camera that can shoot at 1600ISO or higher.
Edit - See here for what's possible with a 3200ISO film
https://www.casualphotophile.com/20...fastest-black-and-white-film-available-today/

Alternatively, use flash (look at Bruce Gilden or Martin Parr's work, both use flash for street photography)
 
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Unless it's a very well lit city area I'm not sure that 800 speed film will be fast enough. You can buy Ilford Delta 3200 or buy HP5 and push it to 1600 or 3200. You would have to use the camera in manual and use an external meter or light meter app on your phone.
 
You would have to use the camera in manual and use an external meter or light meter app on your phone.

Doh, don't know why I didn't think of that. I have a Trip 35 (that's limited to 400ISO) that I sometimes shoot in low light, over riding the low light lock by forcing it to 'manual'/flash mode - selectable aperture at 1/40s only. I could put 800ISO film in there and over expose by one stop during good light with the auto mode, then meter manually in lower light
 
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As above, external meter and manual.

I'd use Delta 3200 at 1600 if possible, but at 3200 if necessary.

Personally I've never been happy with HP5 or Tri-x pushed beyond 800, especially in 35mm. Others have had good results though.
 
You would have to use the camera in manual and use an external meter

You've just reminded me of how much I have forgotten about a manual camera and a hand held light meter :)

Dave
 
You've just reminded me of how much I have forgotten about a manual camera and a hand held light meter :)

Dave
Just recently I have been mostly using an external meter with old manual cameras. Personally I love it. I have the Sekonic L-308s and take incident readings. It's pretty much foolproof and I've been getting better exposures as a result.
 
If it has any visible output for the auto exposure settings then you could set it on auto, take a reading at 800asa, then adjust the shutter speed to give 2 stops less exposure for the 3200 film.
 
If it has any visible output for the auto exposure settings then you could set it on auto, take a reading at 800asa, then adjust the shutter speed to give 2 stops less exposure for the 3200 film.
It has a readout in the viewfinder which displays the selected aperture in shutter priority mode. Unfortunately the cameras shutter speeds only run from 1/30 sec to 1/500 sec and the max aperture is f2.8 so it would most likely just show the needle in the red warning zone for underexposure.
 
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