difference between Velvia 100 and Velvia 100 F

In the past I have used velvia 50 and provia and I know the

difference; recently I made a side by side comparison between old

velvia 50 and new velvia 100 as stated in a recent post. I heve

sometimes used inthe past velvia 100 F but had no opportunity to do a

side by side comparison between these 3 velvia sisters.

Can someone of you share his opinion about difference between the 3

version of velvia?

P.S. In my recent side by side comparison I used Provia 100 F too,

with my surprise it is more contrasty than velvia 50. It is possible?

Or it could depend from the fact that it was developed from another

lab?

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/film/velvia100f.shtml <br>

Fujichrome Velvia 100F Professional Vs. Velvia Classic and Provia 100F<br>

old news but may be of help

I did a comparison between RVP50 and RVP100F. Here it is --

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00FEEQ

Fuji has a light table display with about a half-dozen scenes with medium format Velvia 50 - Velvia 100F - Velvia 100 chromes side-by-side-by-side; and to put it mildly, the 100F looked like an abortion that survived the coat hanger.

 

By the way, I saw this display at the PhotoPlus Expo in NYC last fall, and when I pointed out how awful the colors looked on (especially two of) the samples, he just gave me a sheepish look.

I'll post some materials that may help you.

Data Sheet.

My opinions:

 

VELVIA 50: Sharpest, especially with black silhouettes, has the best color for most landscape work. Not as harsh as other two. Not so good for long exposures where greenish cast and reciprocity failure can create problems.

 

VELVIA 100F: Less saturated than other two, but still plenty colorful for most general shooting and many landscapes. I thought this was awful when it first came out, but have since started using it in place of V50 since 50's days are numbered. I've actually come to prefer it for snow scenes and situations that require heavy filtration - there's less magenta shift when grad NDs are used to hold back gray clouds, for example. In soft light, I didn't see much difference between it and Velvia 100, except that 100's greens are bluer and reds are more pronounced (this isn't always a plus). Its big weakness is lack of color during 'magic hour' (gold light comes across yellowish) and at twilight, when pink skies are very dull compared to V50 or V100.

 

VELVIA 100: I still have a love/hate relationship with this one. In cloudy weather it's great for moody forest shots, red leaves, etc, though sometimes it augments the red of pine trunks, dead leaves, etc. to a distracting degree. It's great for gold light at magic hour and is surprisingly good for moonlit exposures (deep blue skies). On the other hand it's harsher than Velvia 50 and can't handle a scene with extreme shadows and highlights as well as Velvia 50. The reds are too much for my taste when a sunset/rise is already very red, and black silhouettes aren't as clean as with 50.

 

In a nutshell - all three are good films for different circumstances, but neither of the 100 speeds are a perfect replacement for 50.

I feel that Velvia 100F is closer to Provia 100F than to Velvia 50.

 

In the place to use Provia 100F, if use Velvia 100F instead, it might give you some more colors.

 

Or I would rather say that Velvia 100F is a great competitor of Provia 100F.

I like Velvia 100F, while the 50 stuff I intensely disliked while it was still available. Haven't shot enough of the 100 non-F to form an opinion. 100F isn't as garish for subjects with people in them as 50.

Where I live Velvia 50 is still available (with expiration dates well into 2007) so Fuji obviously has not discontinued making it. That is a good thing, since for landscape photography I find that Velvia 50 still beats 100 and 100F. For me the Velvia 100F has yellow overtones which can make green colors look too artificial - granted Velvia 50 greens are also exagerated, but 100F is pushing it too far. I also shot Velvia 100 and have been disappointed with magenta overtones, green foliage that tend to be bluish, and highlights that are a bit washed out.

 

If I was forced to choose a 100 ASA film I would go with the Provia 100F as have more pleasing colors than either Velvia 100 or 100F. As for shooting people I would not choose any of the Velvia films because skin tones are not their strong suit.