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which camera should I use?
My in-laws are having a major anniversary next month and they want a family portrait. There will be about 30 people in the shot and they want to blow it up to 20 inches. I have a Nikon F1 available which is well equipped. Someone may be able to borrow a D90, which kind of confuses the matter. Both digital and film have issues scaling to 20" as far as I know.
Would you advise the D90 (if available) or the film camera (which is definitely available)? If film, I will need a stock that is fine grain and faithfully reproduces flesh tones; could you also recommend a good film to accomplish this?
Before deciding which camera to use and what film for the Nikon F there are other things to consider.
Will you be shooting indoors? If so you're going to need an external flash with a high Guide Number and bounce capability whether you use film or digital or both.
Will you be shooting outdoors? If so, hope for a slightly overcast day or an area with open shade. You'll probably need a couple of reflectors to bounce additional light on the group. A large piece of poster board makes a cheap reflector. You could leave one side white and cover the other side with gold foil or cover one side with silver foil and the other side with gold foil.
A major consideration will be your Depth of Field (DOF). If you aren't well-versed on the subject then time spent at this site - http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html - will be worthwhile. You can use the DOF Calculator to compute the DOF for whatever lenses you plan to use. Since only three factors affect DOF (lens focal length, the f-stop and subject distance) you can use the Calculator to compute DOF for any combination imaginable of the three factors. Here is one example:
35mm film camera:
35mm lens at f8 with your subject at 10'-0'' your DOF will be from 6'-4'' to 24'-5''. So anything from 3'-8'' in front of your subject at 10'-0'' to anything 14'-5'' behind it will be in focus.
D90 with the 18-55mm lens set at 35mm:
Lens @ f8 with your subject at 10'-0'' your DOF will be from 7'-2'' to 16'-5''. Anything from 2'-10'' in front of your subject at 10'-0'' to anything 12'-7'' behind it will be in focus. Stop down to f11 and your DOF will be from 6'-5'' to 22'-7'' - about the same as a 35mm lens @ f8 on your 35mm film camera.
If the only lens you have is a 50mm then you'll need to compute its maximum DOF using the Calculator.
I suggest using the 35mm film camera with a 35mm lens and Kodak Portra 160NC film. (ISO 160, Natural Color). With your camera mounted on a tripod and careful focusing you should have no problem with having a 16x20 print made. I suggest using a pro lab for processing and printing. Just do a web search for professional film processing.
****** EDIT ******
I wish the morons who left the "Thumbs Down" were brave enough to explain why. Of course they won't because they can't since they know less about photography than my cat.
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