Question on Velvia

Lopaka · Apr 21, 2006

What is the difference between Velvia 100F and the newer Velvia 100? I checked the Fuji site and it leads one to believe that both will remain in production, implying a difference, but I could not determine from the information given what that might be. Still have about 20 rolls (120) of the 100F in the reefer - wondering if its worth getting some 100 and running some comparisons to see if I can tell?

Bob

Dave Parker · Apr 21, 2006

I like the grain structure and color balance more in the 100 than the 100F, it just has a better look in my eyes, saturation is different, you should do the comparisions and see which works for you...

Dave

Gabe Racz · Apr 21, 2006

Still have about 20 rolls (120) of the 100F in the reefer

Sounds like a party! Got the munchies?

I hear 100 is similar to the Velvia 50, only faster and somewhat more accurate in color rendition (but still very saturated). True? I just got a couple rolls of Velvia 100 to try out so I may have more info soon.

Dave Parker · Apr 21, 2006

I don't find the saturation quite as strong in the 100 as I did with the 50, but it is better than the 100F in my opinion, I am not fond of the 100F at all, but I know people who like it better, it comes down to personal tastes, I really wish they had not discontinued the 50, that was a staple film for me for many years..

Dave

davetravis · Apr 21, 2006

I found the 100 to have cleaner whites than the 100F, and when enlarged to 20x24 from 6x7 cm, a tad sharper.
However, I'm stocking up on all the 50 I can find, as I've never found anything that compares to it's sharpness for big enlargements.

roteague · Apr 21, 2006

I've used both the 100 and 100F. They are two different films, ignore the name. The 100F is a bit warmer, but also a bit flat, colorwise. It would be worth getting the 100 speed film, to see if you like its color palette. Now tht the 50 is gone, I'm using the 100 for all my work. Don't let the 100F color your judgement of what Velvia can do.

naturephoto1 · Apr 21, 2006

roteague said:
I've used both the 100 and 100F. They are two different films, ignore the name. The 100F is a bit warmer, but also a bit flat, colorwise. It would be worth getting the 100 speed film, to see if you like its color palette. Now tht the 50 is gone, I'm using the 100 for all my work. Don't let the 100F color your judgement of what Velvia can do.

Hi Robert,

I still have to try my new sheets and rolls of 100 Velvia and may be trying to get some of the last Veliva 50 that is still available.

Have you tested to see if the film needs a warming filter if one wants the color more in keeping with Velvia 50?

Rich

Baxter Bradford · Apr 21, 2006

I have a different take on this one.

Firstly - They have very different responses at dawn and dusk. The Newer 100 makes the skies go an unrealistic red, whereas the 100F doesn't render pinks/reds very strongly at all. I think that the 100F is coolest in terms of palette and slightly lower contrast so often use at ISO200 which boosts contrast and seems to warm it all up a bit.

Additionally there is a concensus in the UK amongst a number of LF landscape photographers is that the 100 (non F) has an unpredictability which is undesirable particularly in the 'golden hours' and so we are intending to standardise on the 100F after freezer stocks of RVP50 are exhausted. Also the Pro160S colour neg film is very good indeed with a far higher latitude/range.

Feedback has been given to Fuji UK on this matter. I just hope that they will tweak the film to rectify this unpredictability.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Apr 21, 2006

From the Fuji Professional Film Dataguide (on their website), the detail they emphasize with the 100F is "the ability to reproduce purples, greens and other subtle colors with a fidelity not found in previous films."

roteague · Apr 21, 2006

naturephoto1 said:
Hi Robert,

I still have to try my new sheets and rolls of 100 Velvia and may be trying to get some of the last Veliva 50 that is still available.

Have you tested to see if the film needs a warming filter if one wants the color more in keeping with Velvia 50?

Rich

Hi Rich,

I haven't made a real comparison between the two as yet. I shot mainly 100 when I was in New Zealand last October, but I have been back to the 50 since then. I know Baxter has shot a bit of it, and for the subtle colors found in the UK, he doesn't seem real fond of it. He has done much more extensive testing than I have. My initial take is that the film is a bit cooler than the old 50, and while it is sharper, it doesn't seem to catch the more subtle warm colors like the old 50.

Sadly, because of the weather, I haven't taken more than a couple of images since January. I went out late yesterday to shoot some 6x12 Velvia 100, but the rain clouds came out and it got grey - actually, typical for this time of year, but after 43 days of solid rain, frustrating.

naturephoto1 · Apr 21, 2006

Baxter,

How responsive do you think that Fuji will be to a tweak for a fix of the Velvia 100 color rendering? I still have to try it in the different format sizes. Fuji sent me some 120 roll film to test. But I will have to get back to Fuji Photo Film USA with my comments.

Maybe we can get a color adjustment. Or maybe if there is enough noise about it, we can persuade Fuji to only retire Velvia 50 for a short time and bring it back into production.

Rich

roteague · Apr 21, 2006

I was always under the impression that the old 50 was discountined was because some of the raw materials were no longer available. But, I'm sure they could tweak the 100 to get the same response.

What might be interesting would be to try some of the Fuji Fortia; I think it is only available in 35mm and 120 (it is a Japan only film).

Lopaka · Apr 21, 2006

Thanks all for your input. I see I neglected to mention my intended use - landscape. The fact that experienced users do see a difference means that it is well worth the time to run some direct comparisons for myself.

regards,
Bob

Dave Parker · Apr 21, 2006

roteague said:
What might be interesting would be to try some of the Fuji Fortia; I think it is only available in 35mm and 120 (it is a Japan only film).

Fortia was and is a wild film, I bought a few rolls off of ebay when it came out and was it ever saturated, it was like looking at a surrealistic version of an image, it was fun to play with, but for everyday stuff, it was way out there, it was neat to shoot neon with it..

Dave

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