What do you guys like Provia for?

[albireo]

But I am consistently disappointed with Provia 100, both in comparison to Velvia as well as to highly saturated color negative like Ektar 100 and even less saturated color neg like Portra 400.

My experience matches yours. Based on my 120 workflow and on my taste, I have decided I have no use for Provia, especially for the price it's sold at in Europe. I have carried out side by side tests of (Provia vs Ektar) and (Provia vs 400H) with my Autocord and Fuji GA645i and in all instances I preferred the Ektar/400H results.

I've also found that on my flatbed scanner (an Epson v550) my 120 Provia scans are just not as impressive as my negative scans, both colour and B&W. There is a certain fuzziness in my Provia scans, a certain unpleasant glow in the midtones - no doubt an issue with my technique or the entry level flatbed scanner I'm using, though!

In terms of colour rendition, for my taste the real stand-out film amongst Fuji slide products used to be Sensia 100. I used to get beautiful colours out of it in the 90's. Sadly long discontinued.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

My experience matches with yours. Based on my 120 workflow and on my taste, I have decided I have no use for Provia, especially for the price it's sold at in Europe. I have carried side by side tests of (Provia vs Ektar) and (Provia vs 400H) with my Autocord and Fuji GA645i and in all instances I preferred the Ektar/400H results.

I've also found that on my flatbed scanner (an Epson v550) my 120 Provia scans are just not as impressive as my negative scans, both colour and B&W. There is a certain fuzziness in my Provia scans, a certain unpleasant glow in the midtones - no doubt an issue with my technique or the entry level flatbed scanner I'm using, though!

In terms of colour rendition, for my taste the real stand-out film amongst Fuji slide products used to be Sensia 100. I used to get beautiful colours out of it in the 90's. Sadly long discontinued.

Do you have samples we can see?

 

[albireo]

Do you have samples we can see?

Sure!

Fujifilm GA645i - Fujinon 60mm f/4. One is Ektar 100, the other Provia 100. Two snapshots taken about 5 minutes apart. Both scanned on my V550 using Vuescan.

Ektar 100:

Provia 100F

The Ektar is a far closer representation of the 'mood' and colours I remember from that afternoon walk.

A few more details: I inverted the Ektar using my custom Vuescan+Colorperfect workflow. The Provia is pretty much straight out of Vuescan. Both imported in Photoshop for cropping, dust removal and resizing. No colour correction/levels etc performed in Photoshop. I'm sure the colours can be tweaked to get these to look different, but I specifically aim to use Photoshop as little as possible in my photography.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

They look fairly similar to me although the Ektar appears a little more saturated. Of course, Vuescan adjusts the colors, exposure, contrast, levels, etc when it scans so it's hard to know where the film lets off and the scanner/software takes over. Neither may actually be representative of the originals. I adjust to get an image that I'm happy with - exposure, color, etc. I don;t go back and actually compare to the original chrome. Of course with color negatives, there's really nothing to compare too.

 

[albireo]

Of course, Vuescan adjusts the colors, exposure, contrast, levels, etc when it scans so it's hard to know where the film lets off and the scanner/software takes over. Neither may actually be representative of the originals.

Hi Alan, the above is not strictly correct. Vuescan can be used to produce unadulterated 48bit raw files with no adjustments applied. That's what I do with my negatives. I then let an external program deal with the inversion and removal of the orange mask, which is different based on film maker/stock. The tool I use for this is called Colorperfect (there are other ones though). Colorperfect has inversion profiles for most popular negative films, including Ektar 100, which is what I used above. I would hazard that, provided the inversion profiles closely match the film stocks, a Colorperfect inversion will be a pretty good representation of the original. Of course, any copy of a negative is an interpretation: this includes an imacon scan, a drum scan, a print.

You're right in that Vuescan might apply liberal colour interpretation to the Provia positive. Apart from stretching the histogram all the way through (thus deactivating Vuescan's levels correction) I haven't played with this because as I said I like to keep my post-processing to a minimum - I specifically moved back to film photography after years of digital to spend as little as possible in front of a computer Another degree of freedom will come of course from the scanner itself - can't exclude that either.

Personally I see a noticeable difference in the two shots above. In general, with my (amateur-level) workflow and equipment, and after doing a fair number of tests, I find Ektar is better in colour, sharpness and dynamic range when scanned on the V550. Given that a brick of Ektar 100 in 120 costs £25 in the UK, versus the £42 for a brick of Provia 100F, for me it's a no brainer, really.

I'm sure Provia is a good film in general though, and might be great for others - I've seen fantastic results from 5x4 Provia drum scans for instance.

 

[GLS]

I find Ektar is better in colour, sharpness and dynamic range when scanned on the V550

Dynamic range is greater with Ektar of course, but the other two are definitely up for debate. I use and enjoy both.

Here is another direct comparison between the two. I shot this scene with my Hasselblad 501CM on both films within seconds of each other:

Provia100F

Ektar

Slide film will always struggle with the dynamic range in these types of scene, therefore it's not an ideal comparison in that regard. Nonetheless I thought the Provia did quite well. The bluer tone of the greens with the Provia is quite obvious here. I like both versions for different reasons.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I like the top version better. It seems sharper, more contrast is better for my eye. These results may be because Provia has less dynamic range. But I've never been impressed with greater details in the shadows. Who cares? The eye is drawn to the main subject which is lighter. That's where the details count. Most people don't look that closely into the shadows to see how great the dynamic range is. regular viewers don;t care. They;re either drawn to the picture or not. Darker shadows add contrast, make the picture pop more and adds interest. As far as the blue color, that's a simple adjustment in post if you don;t like it.

I adjust results to my liking. I never go back to see if it matches the original slide. After all, the viewer doesn;t get to see the original slide to compare too. So as long as I'm happy with the color, lighting and contrast results, then it doesn;t matter if the slide is different. With color negatives, it's even less important because there's little way to compare. Here are two Velvia 50 slide shots on the same roll taken minutes apart with two different lenses. Adjustments were different. Which represents the original slide better?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/5270429762/in/album-72157625476289859/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/5270637805/in/album-72157625476289859/

 

[macfred]

Another comparison Provia vs Ektar - photographs were taken within two minutes. First shot on Provia with FUJI GW670III and Fujinon 90mm, the second with FUJI GA645Wi and 45mm lens.
Here I prefer the Ektar version.

Provia

Ektar

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I like the provia picture better. Sharper and pops more. But both are ok. Everyone's taste is a little different.

 

[macfred]

... Everyone's taste is a little different.

Amen!

 

[GarageBoy]

The Ektar light house scene is a tad too magenta for me

The problem is flatbeds can't punch through slide film shadows

I only shoot slides to view on a lightbox - I've given up on most affordable solutions - maybe digital camera digitizing is my answer

 

[CMoore]

Those of you that shoot Provia, do you use the 81A filter all of time, or just selectively.?
Thank You

 

[GLS]

I only use an 81A occasionally.