Magenta Cast on Fuji Velvia 50 RVP

<p>So I shot my first roll of Velvia 50 (120), and when I got it back, there is a magenta cast on all frames. The film expired on 2001, I was not using any filters.</p>

<p>To correct in LR5, I had to set the WB temp to -19 for most, and the tint to around -40. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what color temp that equates to (ie, 5500K). </p>

<p>It seems that this is somewhat common with Velvia 100 when underexposed, but even on an accidental frame of the sky (way overexposed), the cast is still there, so I'm attributing it to the outdated film. </p>

<p>Does anyone know what the temp adjustment converts to as far as °K?</p>

<p>Would a green filter help with reducing or eliminating the cast?</p>

<p>Yes, expired Velvia comes out with a magenta cast.<br /> You would need to use CC filters to correct, so you need to figure out how much red, green, and blue change. This isn't color temperature change.<br>

You can get an old Kodak Color Print Viewing filter kit to figure out the right correction. Use only the R, G, and B filters. Look at the slide through the filters (with a 5500 Kelvin light source), and see what looks right. Then buy the same CC filters for your lenses.<br>

All those CC filters might cost a lot more than fresh Velvia 50. If you like Velvia, buying it keeps it available.</p>

<p>I wouldn't worry about magenta cast - Fuji films have always been a little toward that direction -- just as Ektar goes for bright blues.<br>

Just correct it to your taste in post-processing.</p>

<p>If "true" color, is important for some documentary reason, include color chips in the image so that correction can be done.</p>

<p>All films have some kind of color cast, one way or another. Digital images may (repeat, <em>may</em>) be slightly truer to 'nature', but the truth is that, like Magritte's Pipe, you don't have a pipe, you have an image of the pipe.</p>

<div></div>

<p>I do have a color checker passport, maybe I should start using it.</p>

<p>JDM, you're image looks great with the cast, but I was doing (test) portraits of my daughter and our white dog, but a reddish colored dog looked weird, and the skintones were atrocious. </p>

<p>I'd still like to figure out a filter to use, so I'll probably pick up one of the kits John Shriver suggested. Post is one thing, but if a filter would eliminate a few steps in post, it would be worth it.</p>

<p>The roll was actually 220, and I have another 15 rolls of it in 220. That's a lot of post work.</p>

<p>While the fact that the film is out of date might be the prime cause of the magenta cast, be aware that bad processing can cause that also. When my then local lab was getting close to closing and had very low volume, this became a big problem since they weren't running enough film to replenish it as frequently as it needed to be and they couldn't afford to throw out chemistry either. Try to find a good quality busy lab--they will be able to run their chemistry the way it is designed to be run and your quality may improve.</p>

<p>I see your point both in terms of subject and amount of film involved.</p>

<p>There's a start on CC filters at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_correction <br /> Although the pdf at<br /> http://motion.kodak.com/motion/uploadedFiles/US_plugins_acrobat_en_motion_newsletters_filmEss_15_Filters.pdf<br /> is about movie film, it might be useful.</p>

<p>CC filtration is one of those things that I never remember, but have to learn all over again, every (rare) occasion when I have tried to use it.</p>

<p>Yes Velvia 50 was one of the few slow films that never held up well even frozen.</p>

<p>Start by going to curves RGB, go to the green, and drag to green taking out magenta, and go by sight on your screen if you trust your screens calibration. Use this as a starting point, then go to white balance.</p>

<p>That's what I was doing, which was working albeit tedious.</p>

<p>I found this earlier today: http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-tutorials/Removing-strong-color-casts/126070/137101-4.html , and it works really well, and is easy enough where I may not worry about trying to filter in camera. </p>

<p>I believe that some people do like the interesting look that Velvia gives to skin tones, but I believe that Velvia isn't the film to give neutral or natural skin tones. Also the film is like 13 years past expiration date? But you can probably improve it. </p>

<p>It's 14 years old...Try something fresh?</p>

<p>I often use Velvia 50 expired for 2-3 years already (all frozen during the time) and haven't had any problem. However, you would be trying your luck with film expired for 14 years.</p>

<p>On the other hand, let us simply note that finding 220 <strong>fresh</strong> film is problematic.</p>

 

<p><em>finding 220 <strong>fresh</strong> film is problematic.</em><br>

<em> </em><br>

Make that nearly impossible since Kodak just discontinued both Portras in 220.<em><br /></em></p>