Late last year, I finally ran out of my large stock of frozen Fuji Velvia 50 sheet film. I had used that film since it first came out. I have switched to Velvia 100 but I am having problems. My E.I. for Velvia 50 using my equipment and my meters was always 40, which was what many large format photographers rated it at. When I switched to Velvia 100 I first tried it at it's rated 100 because I had read that, unlike Fuji 50, which generally should be rated slightly slower than it's ISO rating (which my own experience confirmed), Velvia 100 was a true 100 speed film. The results were terribly underexposed.
For color, I have used a Minolta Flashmeter IV for many years to make incident readings in the light of the subject except in difficult situations where I cannot read in the light falling on the subject, in which case I use a Zone VI modified Pentax spotmeter. (I use the spotmeter for all b&w work but have just found incident readings to be better for my color work.) I always had Velvia 50 down pat. Exposures were almost always right on the button.
I did some tests and found that I had to rate Fuji Velvia 100 at 40 or 50 to get decent results which is odd, to say the least. I was suspicious of the film and processing because I found that Helix Camera in Chicago sells it for $30 less for a box of 50 4x5" sheets than anyone else, which seemed odd, but they are a big, reputable store. It was well within expiration date and they keep their pro film frozen. (They are a huge store catering to professionals.) I then found out that Helix had a branch store in the western suburbs of Chicago near my home and that was great news to me because I thought I had a place to drop E6 film off for processing since my old E6 lab had closed. I took my first sheets to Helix and not only were they grossly underexposed, but they were shifted strongly to red, magenta and blue. At that point, I suspected that Helix's processing was bad and/or the film was bad. I contacted Helix but they never bothered to get back with me.
I shot some more sheets at E.I. 80 and E.I. 64 and sent it to a different lab (Gamma, also in Chicago). Almost all were underexposed and unusable but there were no color shifts, confirming to me that Helix probably does have a problem on their E6 line. So, last week I tested the film in it's 120 version using a roll film back in the same large format camera using the same lens as my previous tests and I found that I have to rate it at E.I. 40 when using my normal Minolta Flashmeter IV incident readings. Something isn't right, obviously.
Suspecting my Minolta meter, I compared it to my in-camera meters, one of which had just been adjusted. It matched them almost perfectly when used in reflected mode. Also, I did a quick down & dirty field test that I have used in the past - that is, take a reflected reading off of the blue north sky on a clear mid-day afternoon. (The old "sunny 16" rule.) The Minolta meter matched the sunny 16 rule perfectly.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give any information that someone might be able to use to suggest what might be wrong. I should not have to rate Fuji Velvia 100 at the same E.I. that I rated Velvia 50 at (40). What do you rate Velvia 100 at in sheet film sizes? This darn Fuji Velvia 100 is all over the place for me but Fuji Velvia 50 was totally predictable and dependable. Has anyone else had similar experiences with Fuji Velvia 100 or have any suggestions about what may be going on?
For color, I have used a Minolta Flashmeter IV for many years to make incident readings in the light of the subject except in difficult situations where I cannot read in the light falling on the subject, in which case I use a Zone VI modified Pentax spotmeter. (I use the spotmeter for all b&w work but have just found incident readings to be better for my color work.) I always had Velvia 50 down pat. Exposures were almost always right on the button.
I did some tests and found that I had to rate Fuji Velvia 100 at 40 or 50 to get decent results which is odd, to say the least. I was suspicious of the film and processing because I found that Helix Camera in Chicago sells it for $30 less for a box of 50 4x5" sheets than anyone else, which seemed odd, but they are a big, reputable store. It was well within expiration date and they keep their pro film frozen. (They are a huge store catering to professionals.) I then found out that Helix had a branch store in the western suburbs of Chicago near my home and that was great news to me because I thought I had a place to drop E6 film off for processing since my old E6 lab had closed. I took my first sheets to Helix and not only were they grossly underexposed, but they were shifted strongly to red, magenta and blue. At that point, I suspected that Helix's processing was bad and/or the film was bad. I contacted Helix but they never bothered to get back with me.
I shot some more sheets at E.I. 80 and E.I. 64 and sent it to a different lab (Gamma, also in Chicago). Almost all were underexposed and unusable but there were no color shifts, confirming to me that Helix probably does have a problem on their E6 line. So, last week I tested the film in it's 120 version using a roll film back in the same large format camera using the same lens as my previous tests and I found that I have to rate it at E.I. 40 when using my normal Minolta Flashmeter IV incident readings. Something isn't right, obviously.
Suspecting my Minolta meter, I compared it to my in-camera meters, one of which had just been adjusted. It matched them almost perfectly when used in reflected mode. Also, I did a quick down & dirty field test that I have used in the past - that is, take a reflected reading off of the blue north sky on a clear mid-day afternoon. (The old "sunny 16" rule.) The Minolta meter matched the sunny 16 rule perfectly.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give any information that someone might be able to use to suggest what might be wrong. I should not have to rate Fuji Velvia 100 at the same E.I. that I rated Velvia 50 at (40). What do you rate Velvia 100 at in sheet film sizes? This darn Fuji Velvia 100 is all over the place for me but Fuji Velvia 50 was totally predictable and dependable. Has anyone else had similar experiences with Fuji Velvia 100 or have any suggestions about what may be going on?
