[Leica] Extreme Low Light Color --> Mr Puts

[Andre Jean Quintal <megamax@abacom.com>]

Good Morning,

	I would really appreciate it if Mr Puts
	would voice his opinions on extreme low light color
	photography
		--> as relates to current Leica capabilities ...
		--> as relates to high sensitivity films ...
	so as to try and get the most of the films available
	in 11" x 14" enlargements (full frame -- no cropping).
	I prefer Kodak PMZ 1000 and get very good results
	and would rather put up with extra grain rather than
	loose color information. But, is there organized and systematic
	if empirical knowledge that would increase the beauty
	of such shots ?

	It's mostly this "next step" I'm looking for: were I to try and get
	half decent results at even lower EV values, would
	I be better off exposing PMZ at, say, E.I. 1600 or 2000
	or should I switch to another film type to retain some
	semblance of quality, acutance and shadow detail being
	what I prefer to try to get in such situations ?
	OR, are there labs that "tweak" the photo chemistry
	to "enhance" or optimize the results ?

	Let's assume f/2 "basic" capability, then, not my case,
	Noctilux f/1 capability which surely is a universe of itself.
	Do you have special advice for Noctilux users and "residual"
	light COLOR photography ... ? Does it become like our eyes
	where some colors "give out" before the others and leave
	mostly indigo blue at the lowest extreme ??? Or, does the
	image composition / acquisition process then become
	a bit like using peripheral vision to more or less "delineate"
	objects in the dark ... and "hope" the superior optics
	gather enough information to make a useable COLOR image
	from the subject borders and what could be left of reflections
	and "highlights" with "impossible" contrast ratios?

	Any special tricks to get a darker blacks rather than
	an annoying greenish or brownish cast ? Is this a consequence
	of the chemistry and unavoidable for "low saturation" images ?
	I'd like to do better than have a bluish and gray tinge
	to most everything with a greenish background "noise"
	before any digital manipulation would enter the picture.

	I could do tests myself but enlargements are so expensive
	and you (Mr Puts) probably have a folder (ten folders ?) full
	of "interesting" color prints from testing Leica equipment's
	"fringe light levels capabilities". I tend to remain at or above
	f/4 at 1/60th with PMZ 1000... on the safe side.
	Now, I feel the "call of the wild" !

	Do various Leica brand optics respond noticeably different
	at the low end of the EV scale ? Any "winner", beyond the
	Noctilux, where COLOR PHOTO is a "must" ?
	I'll bet the rich photographers who own Leica-R 180 mm lenses
	will get us drooling, but I'd rather wish people would
	focus on, say, 20 mm to 90 mm focal lengths, as in "hand held"...
	at f/2 @ 1/30th...
	NOCTILUX ? Gee: f/1 @ 1/15 th ... 2.5 EV down !!!  (3?)

	I sure wish the Leica website would show off such "limit" images
	rather than (excellent) straigth "calendar" or "postcard" images,
	at least a "gallery" or two of step-by-step "teaching" images
	that beg for Leica optics to come through (true?) .

	What do you think of using grain / bokeh as 3D texture information
	to augment marginal color information ? One aspect I would like
	to bring up for discussion pertains to manipulating situations
	and choosing garments' or cosmetics' colors, or 3/4 light scheme or
	"available backlights" ... to "cook" up useable images
	right from the photo op situation. OR: What to look for
	and maximize it creatively, just before that point we could
	call "black on black", no tripod, no flash ?

	I do not want to get into a "real street photography" discussion,
	rather focus on making all chances work in "our" favor
	when COLOR is valued as a pre-requisite,
	in a more technical direction, to sort of "pre-sensitize"
	one's "photo eye" to maximize such extreme photo situations,
	even in Nature during Winter or just going about town at midnight.
	I'm 100% sure we all stand to gain from your point of view
	and engineer's expertise , if you have the time.

	Thank you for your consideration,

	Andre Jean Quintal