Velvia Latitude Question

Does anyone have any experience in Velvia 100 (not 100F)? I've recently started using this film and I like it alot but I think I am making mistakes in my metering for it (blown highlights and underexposure problems)
Does anyone know what is the usable EV latitude of this film? From my limited experience it seems to have about 3 stops in it. Anybody's contribution that can ...ahem...shed some light on the matter will be appreciated.
Regards.
Thanasis.

My best advice would be to bracket the exposure.

It depends somewhat on your reference point. After years of using Velvia 50 I don't find Velvia 100 has less "latitude" or ability to cope with scene brightness, though if you're coming from colour neg film or even a less contrasty slide film then I can understand a point of view that this stuff is hard to expose. I find I can get detail in shadows and highlights two stops darker/brighter than my chosen exposure, but certainly no more. Personally I use spot metering to make sure I understand how the major scene elements fall against this view of its ability to handle brightness range. I use ND grads a lot, and I have to be prepared to render objects that ideally would be mid tones a fraction darker or lighter to use all of the range of the film as best I can.

Another reference point issue which caused me some initial problems is how to rate the film. I always used Velvia 50 at box speed- which might well relate to the performance of my Sekonic rather than an aesthetic judgement ( could be the cameras but I use two systems and they match pretty well) . I found Velvia 100 to be more than a stop faster and now rate Velvia 100 at 125 since when my highlight detail has understandably improved.

I think part of my problem might not be metering so much (for which I use a spot meter on an SLR) but rather using Velvia 100 in contrasty light conditions which I should be a bit more disciplined about. I've noticed that I get better results when I use it for night photography in situations where the light is a bit more even even though light sources such as street lamps etc appear in the frame. I've been using Provia and Reala both of which are a little more forgiving. I'll try rating it at 125 and see how I go.

I usually figure 3 1/2 stops (maximum) for good detail from light to dark. This is just a quick rule of thumb. With a spot meter, I would generally place high values at 1 1/2 stops above zone 5. Another way of metering with this stuff is to just use a gray card if not sure of exact exposure. Both of these methods will get you pretty close, but bracketing (especially with 35mm) is best if there are any doubts, or even if there aren't any and you just want to play with saturation.

Reading the light contrast in a scene is the best way to evaluate a shot prior to taking it with e6. With 35mm just read a shadow and then count stops into a high value area (long lens or get close enough for good metering). If there are 5 stops of light, there will be a large level of lost detail somewhere in the image. With 3 stops, you should have plenty of room for bracketing, detail and saturation (1/3 stop). Best, tim

In the past I would generally anticipate that Velvia 50 or Provia 100 to have 3 1/2 to possibly 4 stops of exposure range. I used to shoot Velvia 50 at EI of 40. As Tim suggests, I would normally expose for brightest spot in the scene with a 1 degree spot meter and then open the lens aperture 1 1/2 stops from the meter reading for the exposure. I would then bracket exposures by 1/2 stop increments if not out frequently but with 1/3 stop increments if I were shooting for an extended period of time and had the film processed every few days.

Rich

I used to have trouble with color slide and transparency exposures and had to bracket like crazy to make sure I got it right. Finally I went ahead and paid the money for Charlie Campbell's "Chromazone" course materials (which I see has gotten a lot cheaper since I bought it). Now if I bracket at all it's simply to get duplicates or for alternate levels of color saturation.

You can find his stuff here: http://www.charlescampbell.com/chromazone/index.html

I will say that I feel it was worth the $$, but the usual disclaimers apply.

Bruce

I agree with the above suggestions--place the highlight 1.5 stops over middle grey, particularly in contrasty light. This works for most color slide films. You might also consider shooting a less contrasty film in contrasty light.

BruceN said:

I used to have trouble with color slide and transparency exposures and had to bracket like crazy to make sure I got it right. Finally I went ahead and paid the money for Charlie Campbell's "Chromazone" course materials (which I see has gotten a lot cheaper since I bought it). Now if I bracket at all it's simply to get duplicates or for alternate levels of color saturation.

You can find his stuff here: http://www.charlescampbell.com/chromazone/index.html

I will say that I feel it was worth the $$, but the usual disclaimers apply.

Bruce

Click to expand...

I have to agree with Bruce about Charlie's Chromazone system. I use this sometimes particularly closer to a subject or when you can meter the proper color at your distance. Charlie has been a friend for well over 10 years and I have taken 2 workshops with him. This would be a good course for some in the field, but now he is shooting digital and teaches Photoshop in his workshops. Charlie has moved from where he used to live in Littleton, CO to his home in Eugene, OR several years ago. I am considering going out to shoot with Charlie and out in OR later this year.

Rich

I have found Velvia 100 a difficult and unpredictable film to use compared to Velvia 50 and Velvia 100F.

Now I know that alot of that will be down to my inexperience with the new materials and learning its capabilities but I also wonder whether it also has something to do with the lab I use to develop my slide film not yet having tuned their development to the new film.

I find Velvia 100 exposures at times all over the place (not a problem I have with the other Velvia's, Provia and Astia) and the occassional unexpected colour casts.

What I do like about it though is the lovely sharpness and low grain