Fuji Velvia users: which is your preferred flavor and why?

GarageBoy · Jul 17, 2013

For those of you who have tried both, which one is your preferred one and why?
I'm a E100VS fan, but the stuff is running out
The original RVP was what I saw my dad using when he shot flowers and cityscapes, but I'm curious what 100 has to offer and how it compares to the current RVP 50

Stephen Schoof · Jul 17, 2013

There should be a few threads about the differences between the Velvias (including the now-discontinued-but-still-available-in-places Velvia 100F) in the archives. In short, I greatly prefer Velvia 50, which has essentially the same characteristics as the original Velvia introduced in 1990 and discontinued in 2005. Velvia 100 has higher contrast and a different palette that gives you bluer greens, redder reds, and weaker yellows. It has its appeal, but I got sick of it quickly (mainly because of the contrast - it loses detail in highlights and shadows quicker than 50) and now use 100 mainly for long night exposures (much better reciprocity characteristics than 50) and situations where I really need more speed and won't mind the colors. Of course you should do your own comparisons, but as far as my preference: on a recent trip to the southwestern USA I used 39 rolls of V50 and 1 of V100 - and that one mainly because it was about to expire!

thegman · Jul 17, 2013

I used Velvia 50 and 100 on the same trip to Hawai'i, I can't tell the difference. Maybe if I shot the exact same subject at the same time, with the same exposure, I'd be able to, but to me, they look exactly the same.

Klainmeister · Jul 17, 2013

The first 100 I shot, I thought looked significantly different, but between the 50 and 100, I can't tell them apart in my slide book much. That, and since Ciba is dead and it's left to scanning, most minor color differences are moot against proper calibration of workflow.

timparkin · Jul 17, 2013

GarageBoy said:
For those of you who have tried both, which one is your preferred one and why?
I'm a E100VS fan, but the stuff is running out
The original RVP was what I saw my dad using when he shot flowers and cityscapes, but I'm curious what 100 has to offer and how it compares to the current RVP 50

The three velvia's are very different. You can take a look at these for examples..

http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2010/12/a-colour-film-comparison/
http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/02/colour-film-comparison-pt-two/
http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/06/colour-film-comparison-pt-3/

In short Velvia 100 is known as 'redvia' to many - it pumps a load of red in many situations and kills greens
Velvia 50 is the best by far in my opinion but does go a bit berserk pointed at the sun. It is particularly good at greenery or many sorts and is quite neutral (contrary to popular belief). It moves yellows towards orange and greens toward blue
Velvia 100F is probably the most 'neutral' but hates being overexposed. Skies can go a little weird with Velvia 100F.

Many US photographers like Velvia 100F for desert work I believe - I don't know much about that though..

I'd stick with Velvia 50 for most stuff but it's been discontinued apart from the Japanese market.

You'll probably get on with Velvia 100 but you could try Provia - it's a funny film, good in many situations but goes a bit 'cyany'.

Tim

Stephen Schoof · Jul 17, 2013

timparkin said:
I'd stick with Velvia 50 for most stuff but it's been discontinued apart from the Japanese market.

You're referring to sheet formats, right? AKAIK Velvia 50 is still in production and available in 135 and 120 globally.

timparkin · Jul 17, 2013

Stephen Schoof said:
You're referring to sheet formats, right? AKAIK Velvia 50 is still in production and available in 135 and 120 globally.

Sorry I thought I was on the LF forum for a sec

Tim

destroya · Jul 17, 2013

i prefer 50, but i do use 100f if i need more light. i actually prefer fortia, but i guess thats not really a velvia

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 17, 2013

E100VS is just bloody awful. One framed Ilfochrome print on that stuff iin 2004 was enough to send me packing back to Velvia, which back then (2004) was in some sort of supply shortage.

RVP 50: enhanced primaries, with a 'heavy-hitting' green channel. Neutral whites. Highlights blow gracefully but shadows will block easily. Despite populist opinion, this film is not over-saturated. Spot meter it for the best results.

RVP 100: almost electric in its palette, but the stand-out feature is the very pure whites. Essentially the same as RVP 50 with a speed boost.

RVP 100F: a silly pot-pourri of yellow mustards, bland greens, muggy browns and insipid reds that clash and clang and jar, particularly on Ilfochrome. No great mystery why it's on the way out. Provia 100F is Velvia with a subdued palette and better shadow/highlight tolerance. Much better skin tones than both RVPs. All of my RVP imaging is spot metered, with full polarisation. It remains the gold standard among analogue professionals involved in printing for gallery exhibition. In MF and LF, it is an easier film to work with by dint of separate, disciminate metering. In 35mm, a lot of contrast and tone is packed into a small size which is not always well managed by on-board meters. It's best to experiment with this film so you can make an informed and careful judgement about the film's response to many situations from flat, foggy illumination to marginal emergent point light, because it will require fine tweaking of metering to balance everything, very especially so if the result is destined for printing. EI40 for 35mm is common, ISO 50 is a judgement call. In MF/LF/ULF, ISO 50 to EI64 are fine.

StoneNYC · Jul 18, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
E100VS is just bloody awful. One framed Ilfochrome print on that stuff iin 2004 was enough to send me packing back to Velvia, which back then (2004) was in some sort of supply shortage.

RVP 50: enhanced primaries, with a 'heavy-hitting' green channel. Neutral whites. Highlights blow gracefully but shadows will block easily. Despite populist opinion, this film is not over-saturated. Spot meter it for the best results.

RVP 100: almost electric in its palette, but the stand-out feature is the very pure whites. Essentially the same as RVP 50 with a speed boost.

RVP 100F: a silly pot-pourri of yellow mustards, bland greens, muggy browns and insipid reds that clash and clang and jar, particularly on Ilfochrome. No great mystery why it's on the way out. Provia 100F is Velvia with a subdued palette and better shadow/highlight tolerance. Much better skin tones than both RVPs. All of my RVP imaging is spot metered, with full polarisation. It remains the gold standard among analogue professionals involved in printing for gallery exhibition. In MF and LF, it is an easier film to work with by dint of separate, disciminate metering. In 35mm, a lot of contrast and tone is packed into a small size which is not always well managed by on-board meters. It's best to experiment with this film so you can make an informed and careful judgement about the film's response to many situations from flat, foggy illumination to marginal emergent point light, because it will require fine tweaking of metering to balance everything, very especially so if the result is destined for printing. EI40 for 35mm is common, ISO 50 is a judgement call. In MF/LF/ULF, ISO 50 to EI64 are fine.

You rate provia100f at EI64? Did I get that right?

~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 18, 2013

I said RVP 50 can be useful at EI64, not 100F. I have rated RDPIII at EI80 on occasion.

EI40 for 35mm is common, ISO 50 is a judgement call. In MF/LF/ULF, ISO 50 to EI64 are fine.

Mark Feldstein · Jul 18, 2013

While exploring the Fuji "vias" try a roll of Provia 100f and play around with the ISOs a little. I like it at 80 not much less and maybe an 81A if shooting outdoors or 81B late in the day or early A.M.for some additional warming. I find it has a rather puckish color pallet, a bold sense of humor and elegant nose, dry yet flavorful and very ambivalent in its adolescence along with a close kinship to Ektachrome EPR Pro 100.

As Fuji would prefer to say, here's a link to their spec sheet. http://www.fujifilm.com/products/professional_films/pdf/provia_100f_datasheet.pdf.

Problem is once you find a really nice transparency stock and learn how to get what you need and want from it, they discontinue it.
Mark

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 18, 2013

Mark Feldstein said:
[...]
Problem is once you find a really nice transparency stock and learn how to get what you need and want from it, they discontinue it.
Mark

Ssssshh!

StoneNYC · Jul 18, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
I said RVP 50 can be useful at EI64, not 100F. I have rated RDPIII at EI80 on occasion.

Well it was a little confusing because you said this... "RVP 100F: a silly pot-pourri of yellow mustards, bland greens, muggy browns and insipid reds that clash and clang and jar, particularly on Ilfochrome. No great mystery why it's on the way out. Provia 100F is Velvia with a subdued palette and better shadow/highlight tolerance. Much better skin tones than both RVPs. All of my RVP imaging is spot metered, with full polarisation. It remains the gold standard among analogue professionals involved in printing for gallery exhibition. In MF and LF, it is an easier film to work with by dint of separate, disciminate metering. In 35mm, a lot of contrast and tone is packed into a small size which is not always well managed by on-board meters. It's best to experiment with this film so you can make an informed and careful judgement about the film's response to many situations from flat, foggy illumination to marginal emergent point light, because it will require fine tweaking of metering to balance everything, very especially so if the result is destined for printing. EI40 for 35mm is common, ISO 50 is a judgement call. In MF/LF/ULF, ISO 50 to EI64 are fine."

So the last film you mentioned was Provia 100F and so that's why I asked for clarification because in terms of sentence structure, you could have been talking about the provia not velvia... glad we settled that, just explaining why I was confused.

EDIT: I just realized you did mention RVP next... but I forgot what RVP was ... I'm not good with the abbreviations for all these films, they never make sense and often don't exactly match what you'd think the name would be matched to, like TMY and TMX, I would think both TMX would be tmax... and RVP... well ... who knows ... VEL and PRV make more sense to me ... something like that. I'm babbling now...

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 18, 2013

^ I should stick to standard names like Velvia and Provia... I do tend to drift off into my more common working referrals of films. I agree the abbreviations could have been made more meaningful by manufacturers, that point is valid. But what we have is OK after a bit of getting use to.

StoneNYC · Jul 18, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
^ I should stick to standard names like Velvia and Provia... I do tend to drift off into my more common working referrals of films. I agree the abbreviations could have been made more meaningful by manufacturers, that point is valid. But what we have is OK after a bit of getting use to.

True, my brain in general seems to not do as well as many others in the film community.

As for the OP's question, for my purposes I did find that Velvia50 of all the Velvia's was my favorite, but that Provia100f seems more applicable OVERALL to more things. It's also still available in 4x5 where Veliva50 isn't (in USA).

Rather than learn different films in different formats, I tend to try and stick with the same film no matter what format, the base might be different but in general it helps to stick with something that can go cross platform IMO.

wildbill · Jul 18, 2013

If you say that velvia 100 is essentially the same as 50, you haven't put it through it's paces. In many cases they are very close. In others, things get ugly. Mainly red as others mentioned and not just in shadows. I was showing a friend some 4x5 chromes over the weekend and he asked "why are these trees purple (pines with red bark) in this one and not in this one?" Rvp 100 vs. rvp, that's why. I only use it when I need the speed/reduced reciprocity.

Also, I'm not sure what provia has to do with the op's question. Totally different animal.

GarageBoy · Jul 18, 2013

Thanks
I have a constant case of "the grass is greener on the other side" and not enough cash or enough creativity to go through enough of the stuff

Don't know what E100VS printed like, but the slide itself, in all of its garish reds/yellows/orange made everything feel extra summer-ey to me

I just finished a roll of RVP 100, and bought some RVP 100F.
Never tried RVP 50 though

StoneNYC · Jul 18, 2013

wildbill said:
If you say that velvia 100 is essentially the same as 50, you haven't put it through it's paces. In many cases they are very close. In others, things get ugly. Mainly red as others mentioned and not just in shadows. I was showing a friend some 4x5 chromes over the weekend and he asked "why are these trees purple (pines with red bark) in this one and not in this one?" Rvp 100 vs. rvp, that's why. I only use it when I need the speed/reduced reciprocity.

Also, I'm not sure what provia has to do with the op's question. Totally different animal.

I guess, as having less experience, I shot a few rolls of Velvia 50, Velvia 100 and Provia 100f of the same sunrise to see the differences, yes there was a one difference as these were taken over the course of an hour (in -15 degrees Fahrenheit temps) overlooking the Grand Canyon, and certainly for the Velvia50 I didn't account properly for the poorer reciprocity characteristics, and some were under exposed even being 2-5 minute exposures. But I didn't find the red/orange sunrise to be so significantly different from Velvia to Provia that I would call them different animals. Again, not as experienced so forgive me if I'm saying outlandish things. I was told Velvia100f was too muted in color and not to bother so I never tested that and (from what I've read ^^ it's discontinued anyway?)

So that's why I mentioned it, it's part of the few remaining chromes left and is still higher than true color saturated so why not mention it as a potential side option.

~Stone | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

benjiboy · Jul 18, 2013

You can't rely on other people's experience, if you want to appreciate the difference between these films I suggest you shoot them.

Poisson Du Jour · Jul 18, 2013

benjiboy said:
You can't rely on other people's experience, if you want to appreciate the difference between these films I suggest you shoot them.

True, but the experience of others over a long period time, combined, can enhance awareness of problems and pitfalls with almost anything in life. Film like Velvia is expensive, and will continue to be so. Arming yourself with the knowledge and experience helps make the investment worthwhile and less fraught. Not everybody starting out with the first roll of Velvia will be pleased with the results, chiefly because they haven't done their research; it is a bit of an acquired taste and knowledge of how to use it in conditions that it responds very well to is what is important. Once you've mastered that, you're set!

I would not be surprised if Velvia 100F is given the chop any time soon. It has been universally scorned for its quirky colour palette and lack of punch compared to 50. But is it a case of "one man's tonic is another man's poison"? I'm sure it has its ardent followers who like the flashy, avant garde palette far removed from its stablemate. I suggest the OP take careful note of all comments made in this thread and buy a roll of one of the Velvias, expose them and examine the results with a critical eye. That will be an interesting experience.

silentworld · Jul 18, 2013

My personal experience has been that Velvia 100 works fine in flat light. Its colors seem a little over the top at sunrise and sunset compared to Velvia 50 but it is still OK. However, at twilight hour (before sunrise or after sunset), Velvia 100 seems to produce a strong magenta color cast which I can‘t get rid of. Velvia 50 is the better option in this case. I use mostly Velvia 50 though. I haven't found anything better than it to capture the subtle hues in the nature under soft light, magic! Even its slow speed works better for me a lot of time as it save me from using a ND to get a slow shutter speed.

clayne · Jul 19, 2013

I thought RVP50 was *the* Velvia and all others were simply cut-rate heathen films no self-respecting chrome shooter would ever admit to owning?

lxdude · Jul 19, 2013

Poisson Du Jour said:
RVP 50espite populist opinion, this film is not over-saturated.

Well, that's your opinion. Fuji themselves say it has "the highest saturation". I find its saturation very high, not close to natural, except under subdued or overcast light, when it can deliver very nice results.

So, I guess it depends on what is meant by "over-saturated". Some love its saturation, so I guess to them it is not over-saturated. To someone who prefers Astia's or even Provia's way of rendering, it probably is over-saturated.

clayne · Jul 19, 2013

lxdude said:
Well, that's your opinion. Fuji themselves say it has "the highest saturation". I find its saturation very high, not close to natural, except under subdued or overcast light, when it can deliver very nice results.

So, I guess it depends on what is meant by "over-saturated". Some love its saturation, so I guess to them it is not over-saturated. To someone who prefers Astia's or even Provia's way of rendering, it probably is over-saturated.

Here.. take this little tablet. Here's some water to wash it down.

How does RVP 50 look to you now?

Fuji Velvia users: which is your preferred flavor and why?

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