Fuji Provia 100 v. Kodak E100SW

I will be travelling to Santa Fe and Taos in mid-October and will be shooting 35mm and 6x4.5. I would like to receive some comments on the pros and cons of Fuji Provia 100 v. Kodak E100SW. What about both of these v. Velvia? Thanks.

Velvia for Aspens is less impressive for the yellows.

Mark

Hi Ellie,

 

<p>

 

In my experience, I find E100SW and RDP differ most in terms of colour pallette. Provia, like most Fujichromes, produces nice blues and greens and Kodak tends to do better at the red end. E100SW is the "warm" version of E100S. If you have a scene with nice browns, E100SW seems to render them richer than E100S or RDP. Other than that, the grain of RDP seems to be slightly finer than E100S, but for practical purposes I doubt it makes a lot of difference, especially at 6x4.5.

 

<p>

 

Both films push very well to ISO200 if you need the extra speed in a pinch, by the way, which is good for peace of mind. I would push either with complete confidence. Reciprocity characteristics are also very good if you need long exposures.

 

<p>

 

RVP - fine grain, very vivid colours (Disney-esque, some would say) and the choice of many for nature photography. It's more contrasty than E100S or RDP, however, and there seems to be some debate about the best speed to expose it at - many expose it at ISO40, but I prefer a slightly dense slide and so expose it at its rated ISO50. Test it and see. Again, pushes well to ISO100 and reciprocity characteristics are benign.

 

<p>

 

I basically select the film most suitable for the subject or the conditions if I'm taking a specific subject. For a general purpose ISO100 film, I tend to use Astia these days, however; it has lower contrast than Provia, which can tend to "block up" in the shadows sometimes.

 

<p>

 

All of these are fine films, and I'm sure you'll be pleased whichever you decide upon. Happy travels!

 

<p>

 

Mark.

(remove the remove-nospam from my email address to reply)

Kodak E100S does an excellent N-1. (Expose at ASA50, pull one stop in development) You might also try E100S or Provia with an enhancing filter. I bought one of these filters on sale. It works as advertised and doesn't affect whites like a warming filter would.

 

<p>

 

Honestly, go and experiment in your local area with the films and see what you like the best. Shoot Astia, Velvia, Provia, E100S, E100SW, and Fuji 100/1000, and make sure it's all at the same scene. Find something similar to where you're going to shoot, like a pile of various colored bricks as a substitue for red rock mesas.

 

<p>

 

You can push Fuji 100/1000 fantastically and get great results. Yes, you do incur the push processing charge. But it's great when you need fast film. Shoot at 800/develop at 1000 for vibrant color, and 1000/1000 for muted color. I used it with my P6x7 and used the Fuji at 800/1000 for a test shot on some flowers. The 8x10 print came out grainless on the flowers, with some grain in the deep shadows.

 

<p>

 

Kodak E100SW will accent reds and yellows, with a similar effect to a warming filter. This is a great film to use where you would normally use a warming filter. I haven't used it except at sunrise or under cloudy/shady conditions, so I can't directly compare its color saturation to E100S or Provia/Velvia.