Exposing Ektar 100, Provia 400 and Efke 25/50

[WideAngleWandering]

Howdy folks,

I shoot landscapes and some travel/street scenes using Canon FD 35mm (manual focus) cameras with manual exposure. Film is scanned on a Nikon CoolScan V. I've been changing how I meter from using the built-in meters to a Sekonic 558, generally spot metering, at least for the landscapes.

This is my simplified approach for most daylight scenes (using grads as necessary on the slides):

• With Velvia, I typically meter the highlight where I desire detail and then expose at +1 to +1.5. Shadow detail is pretty good down to about -2.5.
• With Provia 100, I do the same but expose at +1.5-2. Shadow detail is pretty good down to about -3.
• With Acros or 400H, I meter the shadows and expose -2-3 and let the highlights go where they will.

I haven't had time to experiment with the Ektar 100, Provia 400 or Efke 25/50 and I'm going to be shooting some while I travel in Latin America (I'm on the road now).

Questions:

1. From reading about the Ektar, I think I would get good results treating it like the slides but exposing at +3 to 4 over the metered highlight. This sounds extreme but folks seem to describe good luck with Ektar's range.
2. Can I treat Provia 400x like Provia 100 (aside from changing ISO on the meter)? I've seen some vague references to Provia 400x having extended range to highlights.
3. I have the impression that I should treat Efke 25/50 more delicately than Acros after reading some references to it's range being somewhat contracted. Recommendations?

Datasheets (I'm still trying to figure out how to read & interpret datasheets for my style of exposure):

• Ektar 100: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e4046/e4046.pdf
• Provia 400x: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/professional_films/pdf/provia_400x_datasheet.pdf
• Efke: I can't find a datasheet but Freestyle just says "Don't overexpose!"

 

[WideAngleWandering]

Here's an article that better explains how I expose contrasty film like Velvia on landscapes. Jon Brock uses slightly different values than I do but this may explain my question better.

http://www.jonbrockphotography.com/section96358_25391.html

Assume normal development - being 36 exposure rolls of film I don't usually have the luxury of custom development like the sheet guys do. I rely on my scanner to do the best I can.