Provia vs Sensia?

Does anybody have any experience of these two films for portrait and

landscape( and sometimes both in the same shot)? Does the quality lift in the

Provia justify twice the price? Which is the better all-purpose film?

i am new to Fuji, being an old-time kodak user.

Does any body know of any authoritative reviews on the Net?

Many thanks

They appear very much the same. Apparently, the contention is that they are the same emulsion but just marketed to two different markets. I don't know if that's true.<br>

If the work is extremely critical use Provia, at least then you can say you used professional film.

I beleive Keven is confusing Astia with Provia. Sensia is the consumer version of Astia. There is not a consumer version of Provia.

 

I use Sensia as an all purpose slide film in 35mm. I like Astia/Sensia better than Provia for portraits. It also works well for landscapes, but Provia is more saturated and contrasty. I think Astia/Sensia is a better all purpose film because Provia tends to get a blue/cyan cast if shot in the shade. My comments apply to the last generation of Astia/Sensia - not the newer Astia 100F which I have not shot.

Of the two I normally shoot Provia, but very low volume so the cost isn't such an

issue. However, on safari in Africa last year I shot Sensia for the first time because I

needed a large number of rolls and, side by side, I noticed a significant difference

between the two emulsions

 

Provia has much tighter grain and more saturation, so whether or not it's worth

paying twice as much for the Provia really depends on how critical your work is. For

consumer-level, amateur work, Sensia should do just fine.

Wasn't it the case that Provia 400 was the same as Sensia 400 but that Sensia 100 was the same as Astia? And that Provia 100 was on its own. I seem to recall reading that in these pages.

 

But then at some point I noticed that the actual names on the boxes are Provia 100F and 400F and I don't know if they are distinct from other ones without the "F" that I just happened never to have bought. It never seems as though what's in stores corresponds to what's on the Fuji (Cdn) site, or at least they are out of sync often enough that I simply give up trying to keep track.

 

I know I may not have helped much but at least you know you're not alone. :)

Sensia is not the same as Provia. Neither is it the same as Astia. A quick glance at the datasheets shows that.

 

Sensia's colour, including skin tones, is closest to Astia 100F among the new offerings, but of course it is not so fine-grained.

 

Think: today's Sensia is a better film in terms of grain than yesterday's Astia, which was used for all kinds of professional work. Your only real concern should be colour balance, which might not be critically consistent roll-to-roll. Whether that really matters will depend on what you're doing.

Provia is a totally different film than the Astia/Sensia cousins.

 

Sensia is merely the amatuer version of Astia. There is no amatuer version of Provia 100F, but near as I can tell Sensia 400 looks really similiar to Provia 400.

 

In terms of contrast and color saturation it goes Sensia/Astia, then Provia, and then Velvia. I find the difference in grain between Provia 100 and old Astia/Sensia 100 to be dramatic with Provia being significantly sharper comapred to the mushy, fuzzy grain of Astia/Sensia.

 

The new Astia is supposed to be much sharper than the old and supposed to rival Provia, although I haven't shot it to confirm it.

 

Personally I think Astia/Sensia is a much better film for beginners compared to the more tricky Provia that has significantly less exposure lattitude. You really should shoot both films side by side and make your own preference.

Let's add to the confusion (including mine).

 

As has been previously mentioned, the old Sensia (pre-2003) was the consumer version of the old Astia. Things have changed. A few weeks after Fuji announced that it was replacing its Sensia emulsion with a newer, finer-grained film, I called their offices in suburban New York to find out what the story was. I spoke with a woman, whose name escapes me. She told me that the new Sensia would be based on a film known as RDP III, which we know as Provia 100f.

 

I cannot find any information corroborating this. Fuji's web site does not indicate this. For instance, it indicates that the grain for Sensia is equivalent to the grain of the previous emulsion (not that this makes a whole heck of a lot of difference).

 

Why don't you try a few rolls of each film and decide which one you like? And while you are at it, why don't you try the new Kodak Elitechrome emulsion. It is the consumer version of the E100g line, and to my eyes, images taken on it are fabulous. Depending upon where you live, it might also be cheaper than Provia and price competitive with Sensia.

 

Enjoy the holiday!

"I cannot find any information corroborating this. Fuji's web site does not indicate this. For instance, it indicates that the grain for Sensia is equivalent to the grain of the previous emulsion (not that this makes a whole heck of a lot of difference)."

 

Well, that's out of date. According to a datasheet I got recently from Fuji, the granularity of the new Sensia is the same as Provia 100F. (But the spectral sensitivity curves are not the same. And if you test Sensia against Provia, you'll notice that they are obviously different.)

 

The problem here is that Fuji doesn't do helpful things such as renaming the film when they change it, so you'd know whether you got the new stuff or the old, or whether the tech data is up to date.

 

But really, who cares if Sensia is the same as one of the professional films? You should base your decision on whether you want to use it on more important things, such as whether you like it.

I sure hope that Sensia doesn't become Provia 100F-based. I use both films and have about 20 rolls of Sensia II (Astia type) left in my freezer. I like having a low contrast slide film available that can handle highlights like the hair in the sunshine below.<p><img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=1535146&size=md"><p><i>Nikon F3HP, AI 105/2.5, Sensia II</i>

I have been using Provia 100F since i "discovered" few years ago. I like the contrast and the saturations, and yes tight grain. Had no problem when englarging soome of the images. Yep, its a bit on the blue side on shades. Never tried the Sensia, but i heard its a great film and its much much more cheaper than Provia.

Astia 100 is has good saturations, i never really experimented with this Astia 100, but i like the colour, its as good as Provia plus for portraits Astia is better than Provia. It doesnt kills the skin tone. Again its another pricely film too.

But as been said, if you need the edge go for Provia and Astia, if you can afford it.

 

Merry Xmas.

Thanks for all your help, guys. I have just finished a test on Astia 100F. results? It looks to me like the Xparency version of reala-supersmooth, very little grain, and a LOOONNGG tonal scale. scanning and adding +15 saturation in Photoshop seems to deliver a rather lovely look. Interesting to note that it still records primaries as quite saturated.

Sensia, on the other hand, which I have also tested, delivers rich colour and remarkable skintones for a film that is supposedly a cheapie.

Contrast is up there however, unlike Astia, which has quite open shadows and delicately-detailed highlights. That said, Sensia delivers neutral shadow areas, quite a feat in the UV-rich light prevalent down here in New Zealand.<div></div>