Fuji Velvia, Provia, Astia, and Pro160
One of the things I have been trying to learn over the last two years of using film is how the different types (at least quickload types) render colour and tone? Which film should I use in which circumstance and which film should I just ignore. I've mostly been using Velvia and Provia but recently I picked up a box of Pro160s (prior to my Northumberland Light and Land trip) and a few boxes of Astia from the US (at considerable cost unfortunately).
The majority of landscape photographers that I admire use Provia and Velvia (sometimes 100) and Provia only infrequently. However all of the 'art' landscape photographers use Pro160s (or Portra) and possibly the less saturated transparency films like Astia. I don't like taking things for granted though, I'd rather see for myself (even if the results are as expected). So, over the last few months, every time I have had the opportunity I have taken a picture with alternate films of subjects that I hope will show some of the differences (especially at extremes of colour and light). In this post I'll show all of the pictures and discuss my interpretation of what I am seeing. I'll also try to emulate each film by adjusting the results to compensate to find out if I can make Provia look like Astia or Pro160 look like Velvia (as if!)..
Lets take a look at Velvia and Provia to begin with as these are the most commonly used transparency films in large format. I'm using the new version of Velvia and most of the pictures have been taken at the rated iso 50. You can click on any image to get a larger view.
This is a shot I took in the Yorkshire dales with scattered clouds on a blue sky. This isn't taxing either film particularly. The colours are fairly low in saturation and the contrast isn't extreme. The differences here are fairly subtle but here are the main ones
- The overall look of the provia version is fairly cyanic
- The provia is less saturated than the velvia.
- The whites of the clouds look slighly magenta on the velvia version.
- The grass in the velvia seems to have a shift to blue/cyan and is darker - definitely more realistic grass in the provia
Interestly we see two different effects here. The overall cyan cast and yet the grass is definitely towards the orangy red. To correct the Provia you would probably have to add a warming filter and then cool the greens back down again.. However, having tried this I then ended up with muddy blues on the provia transparency. The relationships are complex even here.. Overall however, Velvia seems to separate out the magenta, blue and green components of the picture and the greens > blue, whites > magenta. Provia has less colour separation and has an overall cyan tinge, however the greens seem to be least affected by this; Provia has little of the intense sky blue separation seen on Velvia.
This is taken on a very hazy spring day in Scotland where there was a strong visible blue/cyan cast to the world. Because we're operating in a smaller spectrum of colour, we start to see the difference in film behaviour more strongly. The main differences..
- The provia is intensely cyanic
- The velvia has offered a fairly neutral colour although does carry an overal very slight magenta colouration
- The yellows in the provia are almost acid wheras Velvia has given a rich orangy yellow (more natural to this lichen)
This time the Velvia would be the obvious choice to render a colour accurate picture in these conditions (which goes against instinct). Both films behave sensibly in the shadows (i.e. no extraenous cast)
Here we have some very low contrast levels on a dawn on Rannoch moor about 15 minutes before dawn. The contrast range must have been only about +/- 2 stops at most (although some patches of dark probably go -3+). I exposed the frames about mid way so the highlights are a nice +1 2/3. So, to the differences
- The provia shows a strong cyan cast again, especially in the highlights. However, I think I can see a magenta tinge to the shadows.
- The Velvia is strongly magenta in the midtones and highilight but with a shift to green in the shadows,
Here is a version with the Levels adjusted to fix the black points..
Here you can see the colour cast in the shadows a lot clearer.
Here is a picture full of bold colour. It also shows some interesting ways in which Velvia treats reds and greens. The reds in particular are increased in contrast. If you look at the red leaves, the slighly darker colours in the red leaves are much darker in the velvia transparency. The digital file of this picture shows a lot more yellow in the ferns and the provia is closer to this - I would probably say that the provia is closer to the actual colour. The digital picture also shows that the reds don't go as dark as in either the velvia or ther provia. I think red response falls off very rapidly so reds will tend to be either dark or light, maroon or intense pillar box red. So in summary
- On velvia reds roll of in lightness very quickly, dropping to maroons
- Velvia has strongly saturated shadows as opposed to provia where greens can become quite muted in the shadows and also show a warmish shift..
- Definitely more open shadows in the provia
Here is a well exposed picture (at least for me) and it doesn't show any extreme casts. The provia cyan is till there and we can see the warm greeny blues in the vegetation shadows. The dark red ferns in the provia are almost maroon wheras in the velvia they are a warm orange. Definitely a win for Velvia here..
Here we can see the classic velvia sunrise colouration. Provia is behaving very differently here.. It has an intense cyan colouration which needed a strong red filter to bring things back to neutrality. Unfortunately a basic red filter also screws up white balance and destorys some of the green colours. The Velvia has created dark magentas in the sky wheras Provia has turned a deep midnight blue. The truth, again, was somewhere in the middle.
Again though, the films are behaving strategically - colour by colour. This isn't just a magenta cast and stronger contrast. Almost all colours and shades have their own independant colouration. This is really what makes velvia so special, there isn't a simple conversion you can apply to a neutral image that will reproduce it. Velvia does respond well to a cyan cooling filter when you have intensely coloured light like this. I've tried applying the appropriate colour changes to the different parts of the image knowing that theoretically it's possible to convert a Provia slide to a Velvia slide. However, it isn't possible and I think I know why.
Quick side trip into destructive transformations. If we have three colours.. Blue, Green and Yellow and we take two theoretical films.. The first (A) has an affinity for blue and greens tend to look blue but yellows look ok.. Our second film (B) has an affinity for Yellow and greens tend to look yellow but blues look ok. So .. if we wanted to transform film A into film B, what colour do we convert Blue into? Green or Yellow?
Anyway, back to film comparisons..
Here is a photo taken on a cool morning in March. We've got no real surprises on the provia and velvia front but we're introducing Pro160 now. As far as I can understand it, negative film cannot be consistently converted as the different orange masks vary or development is more sensitive or something (someone could explain?) but I've kept the conversion parameters in Silverfast consistent so hopefully we have a representative of what could happen. Pro160 is obviously a lot less contrasty but one of the interesting things we can see here is the separation between the cyan and magenta combined with an overall yellowy cast..
More Provia/Velvia comparisons.... nothing new here (unless somebody can see something interesting?)
And here is an example of how different conversions of Pro160 can be dramatically divergent.. I obviously need help (DAV!!)...
Astia!
And so on to Astia.. I bought three boxes and an excessive price from Badger Graphic in the US (it isn't available in Europe any more) and went through a box in comparisons whilst on a family holiday in Northumberland. Well, my opinions are mixed but I'll start showing you the raw material
Well start with a comparison between Velvia and Astia (with the original digital file for comparison)
The first thing we see is that the Velvia is more colour accurate than the Astia (compared with the digital anyway). This was quite a surprise! I expected, with all I had heard about Astia, that it would be very close to life like. In fact it seems like, with vibrant colours at least, astia has a strongly unsaturated look and feel with a slight yellow cast. Another surpsise is that it seems to have a magenta cast in the shadows (unless Peak Imaging are having ph problems). That said, I like the pallete of it. I like the way it has created a water colour like feel. I think that where Velvia separates greens and magentas strongly, astia separates yellows and blues (just a theory yet). Here is another comparison of the whole sky once the sun had risen.
oops... I made a velvia/provia comparison and forgot the astia.
This picture at least shows the green shadows in Velvia and the Magenta'ish shadows in Provia
Quite a green comparison here. We can see the classic bluey greens of the Velvia and the Astia has a lack of saturation in the green although keeps a strong yellow component. This makes for a dried out, desert feel to grasses (compared to the rich lushness of the velvia look - which is probably why summer greens with Velvia end up wierd; combine the natural increased blue component with summer foliage and the bluey cast of green colours and you get something quite alien.
flowers! Here is a nice subtle shot to compare responses. I can see the yellowy cast in the astia, the blue greens in the velvia and a cyan in the provia. The colour in the digital looks a little too yellow from what I remember which I see quite often in digital greenery (obviously too many green sensors).
These huts show some wierdness in the blues.. I know the tarpaulin wasn't greeny blue of the digital and it wasn't the royal blue of the velvia. In this case the astia seems most accurate although the magenta shadows don't look realistic - then again neither are the green shadows in the Velvia.
This is a comparison across all of the films I've been using. You can see quite clearly here the dramatic separation of blue and magenta cast of the velvia. The provia is looking pretty neutral if slightly cool. The Astia has the same 'parched summer' look with some magenta in the dark areas (check the water colour). Pro160 looks quite good but I can never get a nice compromise between too much green or too much magenta - here I've gone slightly magenta in the mid tones. Finally, the digital just looks a little alien; the blue clouds and intense yellowy green shadows (in the grass) don't look natural to me, although it does get the water and beach pretty spot on.
This shows the magenta or green shadows in astia and velvia and the yellow in the astia overall. It also shows the increased dynamic range of astia in comparison to velvia. Finally it also shows the horrible peachy sky that you get with digital combined with the hideous yellowy greens yeuch...
Here is a dramatic image showing the magenta/green differences between astia and velvia. It also shows that astia has got the sky pretty right. Look at the greens though! Velvia looks spring like whereas the Astia looks like the end of summer..
As the sun goes down...
This one confused me.. The sand doesn't change much between shots but the skies are sooo different (note that the digital ewas taken in shade so it isn't a good match for the others really). I can't manage to discuss these pictures too much as I'm all analyticaly burned out... I'll leave this and the final picture for you to tell me what you see.. These last transparencies are very underexposed (the velvia not so much so).
I hope that leaves you with a good impression of some of the differences between the main large format films being used by landscape photographers in the UK. I would like to try out some Kodak film at some point too. As a final point, it has been said that some of the colour casts I'm seeing may be to do with my processing lab (Peak Imaging) not having their developer at a consistent pH. The next test I am going to try is to send a few of the same shot to different developing labs in the UK. Hopefully this should provide a measure of how consistent we can expect lab processing and how to recognise what is film colour influence and bad processing colour influence.
Please help me by providing your own interpretations of what you see here. The more I can get to know the characteristics of these films, the better I can predict what will happen when faced with a new picture.
UPDATE: Here are some links to other online comparisons...
Provia vs Astia long exposures
UPDATE: I've been using some newer profiles so please take a look at the following page which shows how Astia should look when scanned properly :-) click here for a review of profiled scanning on a v750
Highlight this Comment Patrick Dixon13/06/2009, 16:31
I'm not quite clear what the 'digital' is - a digital back on a 4x5?
From my totally non-scientific 120 film observations, I agree that velvia has a magenta bias and provia slightly cyan. Overall I prefer provia because the skies look more natural, and unless you predominantly shoot sunsets and sunrises, that's what looks most natural to me.
Thanks for taking the time to post this.
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin13/06/2009, 16:37
Hi Patrick, I should have been more clear - I use a 5D which I keep on about 5600K colour balance post processed with the defaults in lightroom. Glad you enjoyed. Personally I think Provia seems very good for sunsets where you have very intense colour,
Highlight this Comment Bip Mistry13/06/2009, 20:13
Excellent information and images. Thanks for taking the time to do it, i'll pass on the information widely. Cheers Bip Photographer
Highlight this Comment Dav Thomas13/06/2009, 21:53
Now that's why you're may favourite geek of all!
The findings pretty much match up to my own (very less analytical) findings. I am quite surprised with the amount of cyan cast from the Provia though, I always though it was more neutral than that. I suppose that is why Peter Watson (who pretty much exclusively uses Provia) often uses a warm up filter with it.
So the findings point to the fact there's no one film that works consistently whatever the conditions. So what do you do? Choose the film that suites your aesthetic? Choose a different film depending on the scene?
I've been using some Kodak EPP recently, be interesting to see where that sits in the equation.
I do like the tonal range of Colour neg film (I'm not skilled enough to distinguish between 160s, 160vc, 160nc etc). The problem is it's a complete pain to process, not at all easy to find a standard conversion point. I've used Silverfast's own presets, I've tried scanning as a positive and converting in Photoshop and I've also got an application the name of which I can't remember at the moment. Nothing is entirely satisfactory.
I suppose the thing with Astia is that it's not designed for landscape, it's a portrait film, so it's designed to compliment skin tones not grass! I really like Astia with it's soft tones, and the yellow/blue separation you get in skies (how ever far removed the look is from reality!).
So have you decided what your film of choice will be? I'm guessing you'll be sticking with Velvia.
Dav
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin13/06/2009, 22:38
Hi Dav, I do like a couple of situations for Astia - the main advantage of it is that it is the most neutral in the shadows so if you need to keep some colour consistency there (architectural perhaps) then it's a winner. Provia is good in so many situations, especially when you have 'in your face' sky colour. It's like the responsible adult of the film world, cool, calm and collected. Velvia is all brash and good to liven up a dull party (overcast conditions) wheras Astia is the wallflower - you never quite know what you might get but you probably won't try. Pro160 is the proverbial hammer to crack a nut, it will do the job but the results may only be good enough for cooking.
I'll definitely keep some Astia and Pro160 around although I've yet to take a photograph with either that I'm happy to put in my gallery.
Highlight this Comment Patrick Dixon14/06/2009, 11:42
The other film to throw in the mix is Velvia 100F. I've been shooting some out-of-date 120 rolls that I got in a job lot of film, and I'm quite impressed with the results in a totally non-scientific not-very-good-photographer kind of way.
It seems to me to have the latitude and relative neutrality of Provia, but with a bit more Velvia punch.
No comparisons, but here's one example.
Highlight this Comment Charles Twist15/06/2009, 09:04
Hello Tim,
Good work and some interesting thoughts! Your test has a good mix of morning/evening shots and middle-of-the-day shots. I think that you should extend your test to situations where there isn't such a strong colour cast from the sky - more middle-of-the-day, open daylight shots would satisfy my curiosity, since I hear from Joanna Carter (who shoots in those conditions a lot) liking Astia and even Velvia 100. She also insists on a strong UV filter as recommended by Fuji in order to avoid strong casts and acid colours - I have given it little credence, but it may interest you.
You might also like to consider the effect of warm-up and cooling filters. I find Velvia 50 reacts strongly and well to the 81 series while Provia reacts weakly and well and Velvia 100 reacts strongly and ugly-ly.
I also wonder: if you had shot each scene with just one film type, might you be less opposed to one or the other? By which I mean: given the strong colour casts of the environment in which you shot, might have you been happy with the tranny and accepted it as 'real' if you had no means of comparison? I tend to find the pictures are different rather than better/worse.
You might also like this test. Put a light grey square in your picture (with Photoshop) in the area you want to analyse. The grey (= colour neutral) square will appear to have a tinge which is complimentary to the colour cast around it. This should allow you to determine the colour cast therefore. I believe this will be more accurate than comparing the casts of different transparencies.
FWIW, I agree with the need to use different emulsions in different situations.
Keep up the good work. Best regards, Charles
Highlight this Comment Dennis15/06/2009, 10:39
I have used Provia 100 since it was introduced into the UK (it replaced Kodak which need a warm-up filter). Could not get on with Velvia 50. Geoffrey Crawley wrote in AP that neg film was best for scanning, yet agencies still like trannies so far as I know - or has this changed?
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin15/06/2009, 12:00
@Patrick: I was asking Joe Cornish about this yesterday. He has occasionally used it but doesn't particularly like it. However I know a lot of American photographers use it so I had best give it a go (damn)..
@Charles: The Holy island shed shot, Dunstanburgh and the flowers were all middle of the day shots. I'm interested in the UV filter recommendation, I'll dig into that. I'm not sure it's worth experimenting with warming and cooling as in most cases I could test this in photoshop and have nothing to suggest that warming during taking would make things any different to warming during post process (at least for 81A/B levels of warming). I agree with your conclusions about how Velvia and Provia react but put this down to the fact that Velvia is already a little warm and Provia is already a little cool. I don't know about Velvia 100 but considering the latent magenta/red boost, I would expect warming to just push things over the edge a little.
If I were using any one film on it's own, I might considered the colour as real had I not known better (although I remember thinking that Provia had a cyan cast and Velvia a magenta cast before testing).
I have thought about adding a patch test for the films (although I'm not paying £200 for gretags!) .I have a Canon A1 which I could throw a few rolls of film through at different exposures... hmm.. have to think about that one..
@Dennis: I think (I have no experience so it's just a guess) that agencies still want trannies because of the hassle of converting negs. Anybody else know about this?
Highlight this Comment Charles Twist15/06/2009, 13:15
Hello TIm,
I obviously wasn't clear: I meant that you could put a little grey square in to the scan using Photoshop. It is well know that a grey square surrounded by pink looks green and the same grey square surrounded by green looks pink. I was suggesting this as a method of testing for colour cast in the scans (or parts thereof). Just an idea. Obviously, analysing the rendition of a black-grey-white card is more accurate (but no less scientific).
In regard of filters, another thought to cross my mind is that filters have a cast of their own (a transmission spectrum) which will interact with the response curve of the film. Marc Schmidt (of UKLFPG) said he was going to try and do some spectra; I am not sure where he is up to, but you can always ask him as that would tie in nicely with your article. Likewise and more famously with the colour cast of ND grads.
Best regards, Charles
Highlight this Comment Bax15/06/2009, 20:18
Hi Tim - you have been busy on this assessment. A very coherent analysis which makes good and helpful reading.
The Pro160S is very tricky to scan, I've never been able to have a standard setting as I use with RVP etc. Clicking the black point sampler off the rebate doesn't seem to get it neutral. In order to get the colour balance as I like, I've found the histogram sliders in each colour channel to be the thing to adjust. The other issue for it with my scanner it the grain aliasing which necessitates running it through Neat Image noise reduction software. Nevertheless I now tend to shoot RVP50 (old school) and if too much range, switch straight to Pro160S with a smattering of RTP64.
The Velvia 100F is ok used at ISO100, but not worth the expense I'd suggest. However, if you want to use it at ISO200 with a 1 stop push as standard, then it gets far better with the colours seeming to warm up slightly. This offers a great alternative when shutter speed is a consideration. I only use it at ISO200.... As if you didn't have enough variables!
Have fun
Bax
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin15/06/2009, 20:45
@Bax: thanks a lot bax! I'm now going to end up testing pushing pulling velvia 50, 100, 100F, kodak, arghha,aghh!! :-) Interesting about the Velvia 100 pushed though. I'm going to be testing Provia pushed too as I've heard it behaves OK.. and also just general pull push Velvia as I've hear you can increase/decrease contrast (could be good for very low contrast scenes!)
Thanks again!
Highlight this Comment Richard Downer16/06/2009, 19:22
Hi Tim. I would agree with Bax regarding Velvia 100F - I had to push a few sheets by 1 stop when I had a dodgy shutter and(stupidly) hadn't realised, it is a bit warmer rated at 200. Also, if it helps, I've not done any definitive tests but I've found that Velvia 100 at exposures of 4 seconds or longer is way more magenta than RVP/RVP50.
Highlight this Comment Charles Twist17/06/2009, 17:13
Hello Tim and Everyone,
Les Meehan in his book Creative Exposure Control mentions pushing/pulling colour transparency film as a means of modulating contrast. It's a good book, worth reading for this and other aspects. I have tried pushing and pulling all the velvias by up to 1 stop and find the results very satisfying. I can't report any substantial effects on the control of contrast. Maybe I was hoping for too much. I look forward to hearing your findings.
I have found that V100 gives a very strong magenta cast in dark skies. I haven't been able to pin down a rule as such, though. I have shot a 16-min exposure with V100 without noticing a cast. I think it's more something to do with the darkness (the tone, in proper parlance). At some stage I might actually try photographing a graduation from 0 to 100% black. Dare I say it, I sometimes feel that the Lee filters are to blame in the way they interact with the V100 colour response. The ND0.9 gives worse results than the ND0.6, but that could be linked to other influences. The V100 magenta cast is not something that is observed by everyone, either, which makes it very strange.
Best regards, Charles
Highlight this Comment Simon Miles20/06/2009, 10:40
Thanks Tim, for a very interesting post. I have to say that I rarely shoot Velvia since I started to scan my transparencies as part of my standard workflow. The reason is simply that Provia has better dynamic range, by my estimates at least half a stop (Astia is even better). Another problem with Velvia is that highlights and strongly saturated colours are more prone to overload during the scanning process.
I am less concerned about slight colour casts during image capture, because digital imaging provides very fine control in post production. You complain that it is not possible to replicate the Velvia colour palette from other films, which is probably fair enough. However, Velvia has been so dominant in landscape photography for so long that I sometimes worry we have become conditioned to expect the Velvia look, almost by default. Interestingly, many photographers seek to create the same look with digital capture. Perhaps therefore we are missing an opportunity to move away from Velvia-vision to a more personal interpretation, based on our pre-visualisation and artistic judgement?
You rightly say that Provia has a tendency to a cyan bias. I have also found it suffers a significant green cast during long exposures, as a result of reciprocity. Perhaps because I often work in soft/low light, with long exposures, I have found the Coral filters to be better suited to Provia, rather than the more usual 81 series. The stronger red/magenta component of the coral filters would obviously be undesirable with Velvia, but seems to render a very nice neutral/warm colour balance with Provia. Overall, I feel that Provia is the most versatile of the Fuji emulsions and, because I do not like to carry multiple film stocks, this would be my choice.
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin20/06/2009, 11:35
Hi Simon! I'm with you up to a point. Provia is excellent in many situations and I agree that Velvia can be excessive with extreme color gamuts, but I do think there are quite a few situations where Velvia can bring out something in a scene that Provia just couldn't (or that would be difficult to post process by me). Having spent a lot of time playing with the two films and seeing what the actual differences are, I feel more confident in pushing the colour around in pictures to bring out the colour bias I want (I have managed to work up a Provia picture to look quite like a Velvia one, but not consistently and not quickly). I shall definitely be using more Provia than I had done previously. However, when there is a large range of mixed, muted colour in a picture I think I shall continue to use Velvia though.
A quick question though. Being as you are primarly scanning, can you see any difference between a coral filter applied during exposure and a colour adjustment post exposure? If there is a difference I may well be missing out on getting the most out of Provia. Also,
Thanks for commenting!
Highlight this Comment David O'Brien20/06/2009, 12:49
Hi Tim
First of all, thanks for an excellent post. As a 5D user (yes, I know you guys with the "Big Stuff" may only consider using such a camera as an image finder!), I probably feel out of my depth by the range of the analysis set out in your post but as I am considering a move (but don't tempt me further!) into LF, this is really enlightening and shows the degree of control that may be necessary in a move away from digital. I am becoming more analytical in my photography and notice the occasional colour cast which I may strive to correct in post-production but it is only when you see the side-by-side results here, that the importance of becoming more familiar at identifying when a colour cast may result and being able to avoid it, is vital. It is possible, in the alternative, that I cannot see the woods for the trees and that colour casts exist throughout my digital workflow, but I'm just not looking carefully enough!
With all things being equal at the time of image capture, I would readily admit that the results of your comparative digital images above appear "weak" in comparison to some of the film rendition - the yellowy-ness of the greens, in particular, troubled me. In relation to your "take-away" Northumberland beach image, the digital file simply looks lifeless (although I don't know how, if at all, you have processed the RAW file).
That said, the point I take away, as a digital user, is that some of the tranny results are also unappealing to me (the Lochan tree works for me in Velvia but does not in Provia, for example) and that if I were to move to LF, I think that an attempt to match film to situation would seem sensible....and I would congratulate you that you are quite a way down this path of discovery already! I've probably grown up thinking that a move to LF would be an embrace of the colour-saturated world of Velvia 50. However, for me, at least, some of your comparative examples above simply do not appeal in the Velvia 50 emulsion (the colour intensity and colour cast of the Velvia capture of the Northumberland beach scene series just below the huts' series) and I would ask why, therefore, would I shoot exclusively Velvia 50.
Really interesting post.
Thanks again.
David
Highlight this Comment Simon Miles20/06/2009, 13:06
Tim, my initial experiments with Provia required a lot of work in Photoshop to correct quite strong colour casts (to my eyes at least). So why do I use it? Because I work a lot in soft light with long exposures and, unlike Velvia, Provia requires no exposure adjustment for reciprocity up to 30 seconds.
I found it difficult and time consuming to achieve a pleasing colour balance when scanning unfiltered transparencies. The problem, as I see it, is the colour casts affect highlight, mid-tone and shadow areas differently. Eg, blue/cyan casts disproportionately affect shadow areas, making it tricky to apply just the right correction.
The Coral filtration works superbly with Provia in soft light (much better than the 81 filters). A Coral 2 seems to give me very neutral, just slightly warm, colours in these conditions, with nice clean whites and no strong colour casts in the shadows. The filtered transparencies are much easier to scan and process in post. Basically, the filtration has done 90% of the work - the heavy lifting if you will - leaving the fine-tuning work for post-production.
Of course, a lot of this is subjective, so it is probably worth experimenting - music to your ears no doubt!
Simon
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin20/06/2009, 13:10
@David: I am sometimes disparaging about my 5D but saying that, I often get results with it that I can't capture with my large format. I'll be upgrading to a 5Dmk2 soon and will continue to mix and match when required.
Being able to work with different pallettes is one of the bonuses of film work. However, like you have pointed out, digital still has an edge in places.What I have started doing with my digital files is using a 'standard' post processing workflow (e.g. fixed white balance at 5500K and no magenta/green correction a contrast and saturation boost). This gives me a baseline from which changes can be made. Before I had this baseline, I think I was killing some of the potential in a shot (at the very least, if now know if I'm making dramatic changes to 'natural' colour).
Carrying a couple of types of film works for me as Velvia gives me 80% of the look I like (even though I have to desaturate sometimes) and is amazing in very muted light and Provia gives me the ability to freeze action, have no reciprocity and capture more accurate colour when the light is intense.
I just spent an enjoyable 20 minutes looking through your portfolio and think you would get one with LF, although don't chuck the 5D away!
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin20/06/2009, 13:12
Thanks Simon - I'll definitely order a coral 2 to play with and post my findings! I can see whatever composition I find next is going to get a lot of exposure...
Highlight this Comment Michael E. Gordon09/09/2009, 20:25
Hi Tim: a great and through analysis!
I'm not sure that I have anything useful to contribute, but I'll offer this: every film is a compromise and a trade-off. If we accept that color correction is a given post-scanning (because it is!), then we'd do best to pick the emulsion best suited to what we want to see in our prints. For this reason, my color emulsions are only Astia and Pro160S. I happen to like the color and tonal palette of each, and each gives me the widest latitude to do with it what I want. I cannot very effectively open up blocked Velvia shadows, but I can certainly get my Astia to emulate that look if I choose.
Highlight this Comment David Mantripp27/10/2009, 14:48
Just discovered this blog - very addictive! It's nice to see the film debate is still alive. Personally I settled on Velvia 100F as a good compromise between Provia and Velvia 50 a while ago, although I mostly use 35mm (XPan). Interesting about US photographers though: a few months ago I was in San Francisco, where a fairly unpleasant chap at the film counter at Aldoph Gasser's swore blind that Velvia 100F "doesn't exist any more" and was pulled from the market due to poor customer reaction... Clearly total bullshit, but nevertheless, I did - and do - get the impression that Velvia 100F was never very popular in the USA, possibly because it got introduced just as digital went mainstream.
Now, what about Velvia 100 ? :-)
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin27/10/2009, 14:58
@Mr Mantripp: Thanks for joining in on the comments David. I was hoping to get some Velvia 100 and 100F tests going but haven't got around to it yet. Once I've got paid next, I'll put an order in for some and get back to you :-)
Highlight this Comment FrankG29/12/2009, 02:01
An excellent review for this Kodachrome lover. Thank you. It's too bad you never compared the Kodak Elite family.
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Links need angle brackets like so http://example.com/...
...or if you want to link some text you can!