Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A fast stock needs less light but shows more grain than a slow one. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Film stock is rated by speed and grain

A fast stock needs less light but shows more grain than a slow one Film speed, printed on the can as an exposure index, describes how sensitive the emulsion is. Cinematographers pick a fast stock such as 500T for dim interiors and a slower one for bright exteriors where they want fine grain. Push processing can add a stop later in the lab. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

More facts like this

The negative cutter assembles the original filmThey match the edit list to the camera negative and cement each shot in order Colour negatives faded within decadesEarly colour film stocks lost their dyes, leaving pink prints Super 35 crops the picture for widescreenThe negative is exposed full height and masked to a wide shape later The focus puller keeps the shot sharpThey turn a geared wheel to track an actor moving toward or away from the lens The dolly grip drives the camera platformThey push and steer a wheeled rig by hand so the move stays smooth Silent film cameras were turned by handCameramen cranked at whatever speed suited the scene, so timing varied

Tags: film-stock, cameras, exposure

Film stock is rated by speed and grain: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A fast stock needs less light but shows more grain than a slow one. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.