Will It Really Replace the Wonderful Velvia 50??????????
Written: Jan 23 '04 (Updated Nov 18 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful, vivid colors. Faster than the original. Minimal grain at enlargement.
Cons: Less flexible than print films of same speed.
The Bottom Line: When you care about the quality of imaging, look no further.
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That's a question all of us who shoot slide film, but especially those of us who rave about Velvia 50 have been asking. Perhaps more importantly, all the photo mags have been predicting that the ISO 100 version of Velvia will replace its older, slower brother. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
As someone who loves Kodachrome (and much of that is due to Howard Creech here at epinions.com), and was angered, after discovering it that Kodachrome 25 was discontinued in 2001, I was reluctant to admit that Fuji had a real winner in Velvia 50. Still, after using quite a few rolls of it, I had to admit that it should hold an honored place in the slide film pantheon of great films and said so right here at epinions.
Now, we have another, faster version of this wonderful film and I continue to marvel at the consistency of quality delivered by Fuji.
As I sit here and write this review, I just heard that Kodak intends to fire another 15,000 folks to cut costs. While Kodak has concentrated on gutting its work force over the last 10 years (and cutting product quality and lines, too), Fuji has focused on product development and bringing new and better products to market. In most cases, Fuji products are also less costly than those from our friends in Rochester, NY.
Here then are my observations on this great Fuji slide film.
GRAIN: While one stop faster than its pioneering older brother, grain in this emulsion is still incredibly fine and not much more noticeable than that found Velvia 50, Kodachrome or Ektachrome 64 or Agfa's RSX 50 (the only other ISO 50 slide film on the market today). With an RMS rating of 8 it is only a slight bit grainier than Fuji's Provia 100 with an all time low of RMS 7. This is great news for the slide shooter who intends to print from the slide and make significant enlargements. Grain is much less noticeable when printed than in most corresponding print films of equivalent ISO rating.
Grain does not become, in my opinion, an issue for time lapse photographs. I was able to place my Nikon F100 on a tripod and shoot 3 second exposures of the Atlantic City Casino skyline at midnight at f16 and received back well exposed, colorful and sharp slides. These slides were also printable as enlargements without significant increase in grain pattern.
COLOR SATURATION:
As with all Fuji film stock, either slide or print, color saturation with this emulsion is enhanced, rich and vibrant. This is an absolutely ideal choice for scenic landscapes, sunrises/sunsets, fall foliage, or other shooting situations where color is an integral feature of the subject matter being photographed. Unlike its slower brother, however, Fuji has made corrections in tone with this film and it is more adept at capturing complexions more accurately than with Velvia 50. Despite this improvement, most professionals and the photo mags will recommend that slide film users choose Provia or the new ASTIA for portraiture. Having used all three, I must agree. Color saturation for facial tone is still a bit "too vivid" and ruddy and when I know I'm shooting people, I'll choose either a Kodak offering such as Kodachrome 64, Ektachrome 100 Pro Plus (see my review here of both films) or the other Fuji offerings Provia and Astia.
CONTRAST:
This film handles contrast better (in my opinion) than Velvia 50. Some might also argue that it does so better than most Kodak offerings and they might be right. While I won't sign up to the last statement in its entirety, I will say that this film, wonderful in great lighting outdoors, faithfully captures contrast the way the photographer saw it at the time he released his/her shutter. This films lacks harshness in its handling of contrast and in that, I believe it may well be the best film of its speed for use outdoors under harsh or less than desirable conditions. Its medium contrast and vivid color saturation make it an IDEAL slide film for use during overcast days when a more contrasty but less saturated slide stock would deliver bland colorations and loss of detail.
EASE OF USE:
Like all slide films, Velvia 100 is less forgiving of exposure errors than print film. For those who use exposure compensation and/or bracketing in sequence, I have concluded that maximum compensation should not exceed 1/2 EV from frame to frame. When shooting in a sequence, I have found that exposure compensation should not exceed more than 1 full stop. To be on the safe side, especially for photographers with higher end cameras, this film should probably be compensated in 1/3 EV increments since slide film will show these factors much more readily in smaller increments than will print film.
Because this film stock is twice as fast as Velvia 50, the photographer will enjoy the ability to hand hold his/her camera when using this film outdoors with good light. I was able to do so on a late afternoon with a rapidly dwindling degree of daylight and was still able to obtain hi-quality and colorful images down to - 1/2 EV.
This film handles flash with a remarkable degree of elan. I used this film in San Juan, P.R. in late afternoon and up to the point where I was forced to incorporate flash. When combined with ambient and available light, I was able to capture in rich detail and with intact colors, all the colorful paint schemes and architectural details of the buildings in Old San Juan. It was only when I ran out of Velvia 100 that I was forced to switch to Provia and Sensia 400. I very much appreciated that this film was able to take me from sun-up to sunset without batting an eye.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
While some may think its colorations are still too "over the top" or that the colors are not "memory" colors, Velvia 100 is still probably the most vibrant slide film available today. It is ideal for rainforests, cityscapes, architecture, festivals and just about anything one can think of (other than intimate portraiture). At this point in photographic history, it may just well be the finest slide film available.
I like this film and can see how and why so many Kodachrome 25 and 64 users have migrated over to Fuji to use the Velvia line. Despite my admiration for all of this film's great qualities, Kodak still offers some incredible products in both their consumer and pro line of slide films and they have the advantage of doing everything (including portraits well).
Velvia 100, with an extra stop of speed and all the flexibility that that offers is a worthy possible successor (if that should be the case) to the slower Velvia 50. If you want to see all the majesty of creation that is able to be captured by film, then give Velvia 100 a chance. You will be stunned, pleased, elated and beguiled by the results.
CONSIDER ALSO THE FOLLOWING SLIDE FILMS:
Kodak Kodachrome 64
Kodak Ektachrome 64
Kodak Ektachrome 100 Pro Plus
Kodak Ektachrome 100 G
Kodak Ektachrome 100 GX
Kodak Elite Chrome Extra 100
Recommended:
Yes
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