DX Film Codes?

Question

Hey, I've been shooting with film cameras lately, and I've wanted to kick up the ISO a bit. My camera can get ISO of 6 to 6400, but I'm not sure of how to get to those levels. I shoot with regular 400 ISO film, but I wondering if there is a way to "trick" the camera into thinking it is a different ISO? I heard somewhere that it is possible to scratch off the DX code and add black tape, but I'm not to sure. Due to the high cost of film, I dont really feel like ruining a roll of 36 exposures. Thanks for any help.

I cannot find a user manual since I bought the camera used. It's nearly 20 years old. It's a Nikon N8008s.

Answer 1

They actually make DX stickers to do this. Some cameras DX settings cannot be bypassed unless you use the stickers. Many default to ISO 100 if there is no DX code. Just remember to tell your printer to push or pull your film appropriately. See link supplied for sourcing. His site is pretty interesting too.

Answer 2

I agree, you will have to manually set the camera to another ISO setting. Check your manual.

Also, don't forget that just shooting at a higher ISO doesn't give the film more exposure.... for every ISO 'step' higher, you are giving the film 1 'stop' less exposure. Ex: If you are shooting 400 ISO film and set the camera to 800, then you are underexposing by 1 full stop. When you process the film, you will have to ask for the film to be 'pushed' one stop. This means that they will increase the development time by a percentage to increase the density of the highlights. Hope this makes sense.

You can purchase a downloadable manual here:
http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1128418

Answer 3

I've had good luck in the past with re-coding film.

I first sand the DX patch down to bare metal, but leave enough paint on that I can just barely see the outline of the previous conductive and non-conductive patches. I then place a piece of scotch tape over the patch, and, using a sharp #11 Xacto knife blade, cut out the patches that need to be conductive. The outlines of the previous patches provide some guidance as to the placement of the new patches.

Granted, I really have no need to do this, since my only camera which does DX coding(A Canon T90) makes overiding it so easy that it's not worth the trouble. I tried the above, though, for the heck of it and found it to work extremely well.

Answer 4

If your camera is nearly twenty years old, it should have a manual setting for your film speed.
You can bump your film speed up to the next higher setting or lower it one step down but I wouldn't recommend going any higher or lower than one step (Ex: If your shooting with 400 speed film, you can go up to 800 or down to 200).
I don't own a Nikon but I know my Minolta is close to the same age as your Nikon and it's manual with semi-automatic settings. But I have to tell the camera what film speed I'm using.
My newer Canon is both...I can set it on fully automatic to where it chooses the best settings for the photo and reads what film speed I'm using or manual where I have to set everything up. Using the manual setting I can manipulate the film speed.
EDIT:
I forgot to tell you...if you are getting your film developed at a photo processing place, make sure it is noted that the film was pushed or special effects were used. If you do not tell them, the computers that they develop the film with will correct your photos and you will lose your effects.

Answer 5

For a Manual try nikonusa.com or rekdive.com

Are you positive that the camera sets the ISO automatically? If so, there must be a way to turn it off.

Answer 6

Put your camera into manual mode, and set the exposure for the ISO setting you wish to expose at. If you want, say, to go from ISO100 to ISO200 increase the speed from (say) 1/125 to 1/250 or close one stop below that recommended.