Provia vs Velvia vs Astia for first slide film
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Provia goes blue:
though one should keep in mind that it's blue because the light is blue; the colour here is accurate.
though one should keep in mind that it's blue because the light is blue; the colour here is accurate.
I use Velvia 50 & 100 for my 5x4 work, in conjunction with a spot meter, metering for shadow detail, and I am very happy with the results. The Velvia 100 is preferable for photographing the Arctic tundra and similar scenes. The key thing to remember with Velvia (or Redvia, as Joe Cornish calls it) is that it seems over sensitive to UV.... so a UV filter is recommended. With a UV filter attached my blue skies remain blue rather than changing to magenta! The magenta can look quite nice though.....
On this side of the pond (UK) Velvia is highly regarded (for large format photography anyway) as it gives rich colouration and good contrast. It is proportionately more difficult to use than Provia but the results are more appealing to the UK market. If you have no experience of using tranny film then Provia would be a good starting point, especially if you are not too confidenct in your metering skills. Velvia rewards skilled use.
On this side of the pond (UK) Velvia is highly regarded (for large format photography anyway) as it gives rich colouration and good contrast. It is proportionately more difficult to use than Provia but the results are more appealing to the UK market. If you have no experience of using tranny film then Provia would be a good starting point, especially if you are not too confidenct in your metering skills. Velvia rewards skilled use.
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Looking through the thread,doesn't seem anyone has mentioned Velvia 100F?. I would guess this film is easier to meter than RVP 50 or 100. I find 100F to have high contrast with good saturation,that is not as intense as Velvia 50 and 100.
To the OP. If you like the look of Kodachrome, then i would say Ektachrome 100G and Velvia/Provia 100F could be pleasing to your eye.
To the OP. If you like the look of Kodachrome, then i would say Ektachrome 100G and Velvia/Provia 100F could be pleasing to your eye.
So, it doesn't "go blue" then.....
If you shoot with uncorrected (UV) flashtubes it will look blueish also.
In other words, if the light is blueish, it goes blueish.
Sounds like it is "accurate" to me.
Saying that it goes blue in blue light is like saying that it goes orange in orange light. Of course it does! All film does. You just usually don't see it with color neg film unless you print it yourself.
I don't know what an unfiltered (UV) flash tube is, but Provia always looked neutral with my Sunpak and Vivitar speedlights, and with Dynalites, Normans, and Profotos.
Sounds like it is "accurate" to me.
Saying that it goes blue in blue light is like saying that it goes orange in orange light. Of course it does! All film does. You just usually don't see it with color neg film unless you print it yourself.
I don't know what an unfiltered (UV) flash tube is, but Provia always looked neutral with my Sunpak and Vivitar speedlights, and with Dynalites, Normans, and Profotos.
Almost all flash tubes for studio strobe (monoblock or pack & head) are available in UV corrected or non UV corrected.
The UV corrected have a slight orange/amber look to the flash element.
The human eye corrects for this in blue sky lit scene so while it may be "accurate" it looks funky to most people/viewers.
Correcting blue shadows has always been an issue when printing or with chromes for that matter.
The UV corrected have a slight orange/amber look to the flash element.
The human eye corrects for this in blue sky lit scene so while it may be "accurate" it looks funky to most people/viewers.
Correcting blue shadows has always been an issue when printing or with chromes for that matter.
Shadows are blue. Someone saying that the film "goes blue" in light that is blue is doing the film a disservice. That is all I mean.
I guess that's fair, but a lot of people seem to feel that Provia 100F especially captures shadows as perceptually "bluer" than they looked at the time. I don't know if that's because it's more color-accurate than our own perception is, or because its response actually skews blue at low light levels, but I think it's reasonable to point it out as a characteristic of the film that a lot of people notice when using it.
-NT
That makes more sense than just saying "it goes blue" with no explanation, though I don't agree with the assessment, personally. The simple statement made along with the photo posted could really breed some incorrect assumptions about this film.
It is a pretty neutral film, and definitely does not lean to the warm side. But like all transparency films, it should be filtered differently in different light for ideal results. As should negative film, for that matter, if one really wants "ideal" negatives. The thing as that negative film allows one to use a lot of slop and never realize it. Transparency film, being a direct positive, does not, and makes such things readily apparent to anyone. So, the films get a lot of the "blame" that should go to the photographers...especially on the Internet.
That is exactly my point. The colour is quite accurate, though people will claim that it "goes blue" because most shadow and night scenes have very blue lighting. My point in posting this particular shot was to show that while the image can look very very blue, you can tell from the white column that this colouring is not a function of the film's response.
Certainly you can make a film that has better red sensitivity down low (does that imply a very mild crossover?) and it will look "better" for some purposes in shadows than Provia. But Provia is pretty accurate with the hues IMHO.
I've only compared 400X and Velvia, and golly do they ever go blue, it isn't neutral, especially if you don't expose spot on, compare it to a daylight balance shot digital of the scene with the same lens, that is neutral and is accurate. It should look cold, not blue. Looking cold and looking blue are two different things. It certainly should not look monochromatic blue in the case of 400X that happened to me.
After re-reading this thread it really got me thinking about what happens to our transparencies when it's time to print. Almost all of us are scanning these E-6 films now and printing either lightjet, chromira, lambda, inkjet.. etc. So any color cast or saturation differences between these films can easily be corrected for in P****S*** before printing. I could make Provia look like Velvia, or easily correct the blue cast of provia 400. So to me the choice is easy, I'm shooting Provia for its slightly lower contrast and I'll worry about everything else later.
Tinkering in a computer is no match for a properly-filtered piece of film. A lot can be done there, but even then, it is best to start with an ideal piece of film. Filtering properly balances the exposure on all three layers, which is the only way to get truly accurate color balance.
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Glad to hear Ilfochrome is still about...I was told it was out of production!
When I asked about colour printing supplies the question was why would you want to with today's scanners...
When I asked about colour printing supplies the question was why would you want to with today's scanners...
Provia's great. Some people say it ain't saturated, you just have to know how to use it ;-).
Velvia, IMO, is great for certain subjects only. Personally, I'm more of a "represent it as it really is" kinda guy, at least 90% of the time. The other 10%, I like to go hog-wild, so I use Velvia 50
.
Astia is great too, great for skintones, especially in the studio, where you can control your contrast and lighting easier than in the field.
Negs are for people who don't know how to properly meter their shots
. Just kiddin, I still shoot Portra, sometimes...
-Dan
Velvia, IMO, is great for certain subjects only. Personally, I'm more of a "represent it as it really is" kinda guy, at least 90% of the time. The other 10%, I like to go hog-wild, so I use Velvia 50
.Astia is great too, great for skintones, especially in the studio, where you can control your contrast and lighting easier than in the field.
Negs are for people who don't know how to properly meter their shots
. Just kiddin, I still shoot Portra, sometimes...-Dan
Astia 100F or provia 400x. My preferred choices, by far.
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