Provia 100F - Skylight filter or 81A?

rayonline_nz · Dec 12, 2016

I may pick up some filters. Just want your views which one is better with Provia .... In the twilight hour I don't mind too much of the blues but in the afternoon I want something a bit more natural. I have a 81A already but yeah ... what are your views?

Thanks.

Poisson Du Jour · Dec 12, 2016

Ray,
My own practice is to use a light-pink Skylight 1B to edge off the slight cool affect of Provia, which you note is also present in the evenings, as it is with Velvia (to a stronger degree). It is a personal choice, knowing how Provia 100F (and E6 stablemates) behave in the lighting conditions you describe and whether you want the "cool blue" look characteristic of E6 or need it "warmed up". For a lot of my own work with RDPIII, a Skylight 1B is all I use, with the exception of a C-POL in those environments where its use is standard (e.g. rainforests). Warming filters may place a more noticeable, "artificial" effect on Provia.

flavio81 · Dec 12, 2016

rayonline_nz said:
I may pick up some filters. Just want your views which one is better with Provia .... In the twilight hour I don't mind too much of the blues but in the afternoon I want something a bit more natural. I have a 81A already but yeah ... what are your views?

Thanks.

One month ago i went to a trip on the andean city of Cajamarca which is at 2700 meters above the sea level, then went into another place which is at 3500 meters. I almost never use UV or Skylight filters. I shot Provia 100F with no filters and I loved the colors of the skies, indeed in the afternoon and dawn as well.

As for natural looking, i wouldn't say they were natural-looking (slide films are rarely 'natural looking'), but they looked great.

macfred · Dec 13, 2016

For Provia 100F I use a B+W KR1.5 Skylight filter (1,1x) - I'm very pleased with the outcome. I have a KR3 (1.2x) too, but I didn't use it so far.

A few examples with Provia 100F and the KR1.5 Skylight filter

around noon :

SAS Brug Harlingen -2 by Andreas, on Flickr

Marina Den Oever - 1 by Andreas, on Flickr

land art by Andreas, on Flickr

forenoon :

Vintage Volvo - 2 by Andreas, on Flickr

early morning, overcasted sky :

404 - Vintage Peugeot - 2 by Andreas, on Flickr

DREW WILEY · Dec 13, 2016

Depends. An 81A is useful under blue overcast skies, although Provia is fairly forgiving by itself under such conditions. You just have to judge the
processed chromes over a lightbox to see if you like the effect better with or without the filter. On the other hand, a skylight filter is really better for
cutting UV at high altitiude, which can slightly affect image sharpness over long distances. While I prefer a 1B for Velvia, these newer multicoated
"colorless" UV filters seemed to work better with Provia for that purpose. Fuji chrome film is fairly forgiving at high altitude, but there are minor
improvements which can be made with filtration. And I have done one heck of lot of high altitude color photography, mostly large format, though
every format seems to be getting one size bigger as I get older. That's because gravity is a function both of altitude and time. The further time progresses, the heavier your pack weighs. Isn't that Einstein's Second Theory of Obnoxious Relativity? It's all relative to your age.

Alan Klein · Dec 13, 2016

If you're scanning the chrome, can't you tweak it without worrying about the need for a skylight filter?

DREW WILEY · Dec 13, 2016

No. That won't restore sharpness you potentially lost in the first place by not using one. Or it might mean a helluva lot of work otherwise unnecessary
if you had to apply corrections to certain parts of the image rather than others. Curves can obviously be targeted to shadows. But a filter is just a way better option to begin with, even if you have a digital camera affected by UV. The nice thing about chromes (vs color negs) is that you can evaluate your tests by just looking at em on a decent lightbox. For decades, certain color specific color responses prized in Film A versus Film B etc were actually color reproduction errors! For example, the way outdoor photographers once prized the excessive blue response of old Ektachrome 64.

rayonline_nz · Dec 13, 2016

Thanks for that. I got a cheap Cokin Skylight 1B filter cos I like to use grads doing scapes. There isn't much Skylight filters nowadays. For square filters that fit the Cokin P, Hitech makes a 1A only, Lee doesn't make any, the don't make any normal grads either maybe they have gone with their Seven 5 system now or the larger 6x4". B+W also doesn't make one either, Hoya, Tiffen and Heliopan still do for round filters.

Yes I could adjust the blues in software, not sure how much I would shoot under 12 noon sun, I may just shoot under better conditions. But I like to see the slides on the lightbox or projected a bit more corrected

Poisson Du Jour · Dec 13, 2016

Alan Klein said:
If you're scanning the chrome, can't you tweak it without worrying about the need for a skylight filter?

No tweaking or twerking allowed!
Conventional wisdom, and the skills one learns in foundation analogue photography, is to get everything right in-camera (filters in-situ as required), instead of bullying colours, highlights and shadows in post (which very, very rarely brings equilibrium). If the shot is not correct at the time of the shoot, forego it and make good with the next.

rayonline_nz said:
not sure how much I would shoot under 12 noon sun,

Fuji films look, frankly, bloody awful in those conditions — that light is way too harsh for them. You would see this if you photographed the Southern Alps in NZ at 12 noon where everything is bleached out. This is where a Skylight 1B filter can be useful, but what you really need is softer light to "fit" the film.

fdonadio · Dec 14, 2016

Poisson Du Jour said:
Conventional wisdom, and the skills one learns in foundation analogue photography, is to get everything right in-camera (filters in-situ as required), instead of bullying colours, highlights and shadows in post (which very, very rarely brings equilibrium). If the shot is not correct at the time of the shoot, forego it and make good with the next.

+1 (million)

I was going to say something along these lines, but Poisson did it way better than I would.

Cheers,
Flavio

George89d · Dec 14, 2016

Poisson Du Jour said:
Ray,
My own practice is to use a light-pink Skylight 1B to edge off the slight cool affect of Provia, which you note is also present in the evenings, as it is with Velvia (to a stronger degree). It is a personal choice, knowing how Provia 100F (and E6 stablemates) behave in the lighting conditions you describe and whether you want the "cool blue" look characteristic of E6 or need it "warmed up". For a lot of my own work with RDPIII, a Skylight 1B is all I use, with the exception of a C-POL in those environments where its use is standard (e.g. rainforests). Warming filters may place a more noticeable, "artificial" effect on Provia.

I agree with you.. maybe this could be good choice, what do you think? https://www.camera-warehouse.com.au/cokin-a232-skylight-1b-filter

DREW WILEY · Dec 14, 2016

There is an abundance of sky filters out there nowadays, including some very expensive ones by Heliopan, though MC Hoyas are the best price to
quality ratio I've found. And actually, it's more a matter of a gradation of choices going all the way from colorless UV filter to pinkish 1A's then a
few 1B's. But I understand your dilemma, looking for square ones.

NortheastPhotographic · Dec 14, 2016

I love an 81A with Provia. Really brings it back from the land of cold tones. A bit of blue in the air and that film goes coooolllld.

Poisson Du Jour · Dec 14, 2016

DREW WILEY said:
There is an abundance of sky filters out there nowadays, including some very expensive ones by Heliopan, though MC Hoyas are the best price to
quality ratio I've found. And actually, it's more a matter of a gradation of choices going all the way from colorless UV filter to pinkish 1A's then a
few 1B's. But I understand your dilemma, looking for square ones.

Who makes those pricey Heliopan filters?? I have seen them advertised here in Australia but nobody is using them that I can refer to.
Hoya and B+W still rule the roost, but there should be many more filters for a bit of variety.

Poisson Du Jour · Dec 14, 2016

George89d said:
I agree with you.. maybe this could be good choice, what do you think? https://www.camera-warehouse.com.au/cokin-a232-skylight-1b-filter

Welcome to APUG land!
For a guy in far flung Serbia, you are amazingly adept at latching onto a 1B filter down here in Australia!
I have never even heard of the place in your link...

As Drew says, there are many, many choices (but we could do with a few more!) and huge variances in prices and quality (relating to glass, multicoating, polarising material et al). My own personal rule is that if you are using an expensive, corrected lens and are using filters, shoot for the best quality filter you can find. Some of my KSM polarisers are $600 each (I've broken a few with my "butter fingers"...). Ergo, it's not so kosher to invest in a $5,000 lens and then slap on a $5.00 Chinese UV filter (or worse, an acrylic filter!). Quelle horreur!

thuggins · Dec 19, 2016

I've faced the same problem now that Ektachrome is no more. A warming filter can certainly tone down the coolness of Provia.

Provia 100F - Skylight filter or 81A?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency