Inside info about Velvia 50 from Fuji Film USA

naturephoto1 · Oct 21, 2007

Hi everyone,

Having returned from Photo Plus in NYC on Friday I wanted to fill you in on some information.

I spoke to one of the Fuji USA staff members that I have known for years. I was told that Veliva 50 and the original Velvia are one in the same film. There are/have not been any changes made.

I was told that the information that many of us had obtained was incorrect. That being that certain materials that were used in the original film were no longer available. I was told that it was not that that materials were no longer available, but rather the materials had become quite expensive.

So, as a result, Fuji has brought back the same Velvia made with the same materials but at higher cost due to the increased material cost . The "new" Velvia 50 is supposed be exactly the same film as old and have the same grain, sharpness, color, long exposure characteristics/reciprocity, etc. The film should still be shot at the same speeds as in the past, depending upon your likes with an ISO of 50, 40, or 32. Therefore, there should be no changes or improvements to the film.

So, then we should only see the variability in the emulsion to emulsion batches that we are all accustomed in observing.

Rich

Doug Smith · Oct 21, 2007

Thanks for the inside information on Velvia.

I did my own informal test last weekend between the old and 'new'. I finished one of the last rolls of the old Velvia I had and reloaded with my first roll of the new and shot the same scene again at the same exposure - Queenbridge Park at sunset. The new roll seemed marginally faster, and a little less red than the older roll, which could be accounted for by the 2 or 3 year age difference between them. Granularity and Velvia's characteristic curve seemed identical to my eye. Anyway, I'm just glad they brought it back as I never developed a liking for the 100asa version.

Doug

braxus · Oct 21, 2007

I wonder why so many people seem to comment that the new film seems slightly faster then the old. Instead of shooting at 40 ISO, they now shoot at 50 ISO. Any ideas on this one?

naturephoto1 · Oct 21, 2007

braxus said:
I wonder why so many people seem to comment that the new film seems slightly faster then the old. Instead of shooting at 40 ISO, they now shoot at 50 ISO. Any ideas on this one?

Regarding the ISO, it was suggested that the differences may be the "speed" that the lab was processing that day. It was also suggested that the same may be attributable to the reported differences between Fuji and Kodak E6 chemistry, but here there may be some difference.

Rich

Heinz_Anderle · Oct 22, 2007

I assume that the only remaining industrial lab in Austria now uses Fuji chemistry.

My Velvias from the early 1990s, ISO 100 push developed by Kodak in Vienna, all came back too dark, too contrasty and too warm, with these ill-famed orange flesh tones. This was the main reason that I quit shooting especially this film, remaining very skeptical about the praises.

I recently bought two new Velvia 50 rolls and used one for a test shooting at a sunny autumn day, again pushed one f-stop. The results pleased me, with a good highlight/shadow latitude, the juicy reds, blues and greens, a slightly lighter maximum density improving scanning, and a quite natural skin color (at least for average Austrians). It appears that the lab prefers Fuji-Hunt chemistry for a good reason. Fortunately I can thus stay with the nominal speed.

With the dedicated coloraid IT8.7 target offered by Wolf Faust, calibration for Velvia improves scanning color fidelity; there is still no such tool for Ektachrome 100VS/EBX to obtain neutral and correct results, neither by Kodak nor by independent manufacturers.

Congratulations, Fuji!

timparkin · Oct 22, 2007

Hmmm.. It does seem strange that more than a few people have reported less red and faster film. This consistent difference sounds like the film has hanged somehow.. Any more opinions would be appreciated.

Tim

wildbill · Oct 22, 2007

I have yet to see an accurate, thorough, test of the "new" film vs. the "old" film. By that i mean side by side, matching exposures, same iso's, same shutter speeds of varying lengths, same processing, under controlled conditions.
It's surely more expensive!

tim_walls · Oct 22, 2007

Hmm. Just compared the new RVP50 datasheet with the old RVP data in the Fujifilm Professional Dataguide, and it certainly appears that the spectral sensitivity, dye density, MTF and characteristic curves are absolutely identical between the two.

There has been some comment that the new datasheet shows extended blue sensitivity at the low end, but I think that in fact the old datasheet was just missing the gridline at 400nm.

PHOTOTONE · Oct 22, 2007

There are going to be differences between "runs" of any given emulsion. The fact that there appear to be minor differences between the "old" and "new" Velvia can be attributed to the fact that they are from different coating runs.

David Henderson · Oct 22, 2007

Having used both recently I believe that the new emulsion is without a doubt faster than its predecessor. After using hundreds of rolls pa of Velvia 50 for ten years I have not been aware of any meaningful batch to batch variations in speed. But if you shoot old and new emulsions side by side you will notice a difference in exposure of a quarter to a third stop.

I don't know where the OP's source is getting information from? Is Velvia made in the USA which might allow him first hand access to data that the rest of us don't get? Or is it just repeating a rumour that has no basis in fact? Certainly I can think of other examples of information coming out of photography companies via the back door that has proved to be misleading.

naturephoto1 · Oct 22, 2007

David,

My source was Bruce Mitchell who is now in a different group of Fuji Film USA (now in Florida). But he used to be in charge????? of I believe Professional Services in NJ. These were his comments that were supposed to be what has come down from Fuji, Japan. No Velvia 50 is made in Japan, not the US. You may be seeing a difference and it may exist, but this is what I was told as being correct.

Rich

LizzBartlett · Nov 15, 2007

I just got my first 2 rolls of the 50 back from processing and I'm really pleased. These were just shot in Zion and if there is a drop in red, I might not notice it! I am glad to have the 50 back as I never really liked the results from either the Velvia or Provia 100s.

IBBY!
Lizz

PhotoJim · Nov 15, 2007

Could the difference in perceived speed between the new and the old Velvia 50 be attributed to the gradual slow loss of speed that films seem to suffer in storage?

Inside info about Velvia 50 from Fuji Film USA

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