Shooting Color Slide - Provia or Astia

david b

Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
4,026
Location
None of your
Format
Medium Format
I am looking to shoot a bit of color transparency film for a project and I asked this question over on flick: Provia or Astia.

I will be scanning the work.

Anyway, one of the responses was this:

Astia shows the world as it is.
Provia shows the world at its best.
Velvia shows the world as some people want it to be.

Does this seem about right?
 

Pinholemaster

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2005
Messages
1,566
Location
Westminster,
Format
8x10 Format
Hard to say what's correct film selection for you. Best to test all three to see what film works best for your project.

I prefer Provia when photographing people. Velvia for landscape. Astia when things need to be as neutral as chemistry can be (your results may vary).

Good luck.
 

keithwms

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
6,220
Location
Charlottesvi
Format
Multi Format
Yup, it's hard to make blanket statements about colour and/or tonal accuracy of any of these because they have plusses and minuses.

Astia has the broadest exposure and colour-temp latitude and that's why people usually get results with it that the consider more accurate. If you are new to slide then astia is a good place to start.

But the others (and 64T) are capable of accurate colours under certain lighting conditions. I mean, for the very best colour accuracy in product shots, I think 64T plus tungsten lighting is tops! But obviously that just isn't practical for many applications.

If colour accuracy is a major issue then one uses a colour meter and filters and the whole bit. A lower-end solution would be to include a colour sep chart in a shot as a reference so that you can adjust later.

What's your subject, what's your light?
 

waynecrider

Subscriber
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Messages
2,576
Location
Georgia
Format
35mm
Haven't shot the new Astia but it use to suck under overcast skies, and Provia use to go blue (still?) requiring a warming filter when the K temp went down. I think between the two I'd go with Provia.
 

mark

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2003
Messages
5,703
For me it would depend on what i was shooting.

Astia for natural colors and for already punchy scenes.
Velvia for that landscape calendar look that I like
Provia in between. I like Provia for most things.
 

davetravis

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
658
Location
Castle Rock,
Format
Medium Format
Hi Dave,
Comparatively speaking, roll film is cheap.
New Mexico is full of all gradients in color.
Since you're scanning and post processing, try Astia for the widest latitude, and snap it up later.
Good luck and much success.
 
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…