VELVIA 50 vs. VELVIA 100

There has been enough time for the new 100 Velvia to be tried,

tested and compared with the Velvia 50. I am looking for any and all

observations, opinions, thoughts and comparisons. I have yet to buy

even one roll, but perhaps will this weekend. Thanks ahead of time

for any input!

If you try typing VELVIA 100F in the search engine you may find what you are looking for.

Indeed there have been several threads on Velvia 100. In particular, try <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005NPP">this one</a>. Ellis' brief observations seem right to me (and he's shot a lot more of this than I have). If someone qualified submitted an article with good comparative scans, that might help answer everyone's questions, but of course no one really knows anything until s/he's shot some for him/herself...

Just a reminder: There is a Velvia 100, sold in Japan only, and Velvia 100F, sold worldwide. These are two different films. So when discussing one of them, please make sure to use the correct name, otherwise it may cause some confusion.

So far, I've found it to be an excellent general purpose film (with the exception of people photos, though). It will definitely replace Provia for me. It will not replace Velvia 50 for me in situations where I need the highest saturation possible.

 

What is the difference(s) between Velvia 100 and Velvia 100F?

My take, after 2 rolls of V100F (U.S.) in 35mm size, is that it reminds me most of Kodachrome 64.

 

Contrasty, a notch less saturation overall, a bit redder and a bit less golden than Velvia 50. A slightly greater tendency to wash out pale beiges like dry grass or cement. Knife-edge edge sharpness. I haven't done a head-to-head with the 50 film (or anything else) to make an actual grain/resolution or color-to-color comparisons - that's just the first impression.

 

Since some reviews seem almost diametically opposed, I have to assume that variable E6 processing will have an influence on what you actually see. As will, obviously, altitude, atmospheric conditions, time of day, etc.

 

My impression also is that the 100f is closer to a true ISO 100 than 50 is to ISO 50, at least for overall exposure using ttl metering, with my meter, my shutter etc. etc. YMMV.

Velvia 100 is rumoured to be close in color/response to Velvia 50, while Velvia 100F is a different color palette. I have seen no samples of Velvia 100 to compare, so that's just rumour, of course. It's interesting that the Kodachrome comparison keeps coming up for 100F; I've now heard that several times, especially with regard to the reds.

<I>My take, after 2 rolls of V100F (U.S.) in 35mm size, is that it reminds me most of

Kodachrome 64.</I> <p>that is sort of my impression as well after looking at the 11

rolls I tested, a lot less grainy than K64.

> My take, after 2 rolls of V100F (U.S.) in 35mm size, is that it

> reminds me most of Kodachrome 64.

> that is sort of my impression as well after looking at the

> 11 rolls I tested, a lot less grainy than K64.

 

Can you elaborate please? Do you find RVP 100F to be neutral balance like K64? Now that would be really surprising, seeing RVP 50's warm color balance.

I shot a few rolls of Velvia F on a recent trip. Now that you mention it, it is similar to Kodachrome, especially contrast wise.

<p>

Here is a shot from Gettysburg.<div></div>

I saw some shots today at Penn Camera in DC. They were all

done with a Canon 70-300 on an EOS 3. My impression: flower

colors popped but didn't block up like Velvia 50. It doesn't quite

have that eye-catching punch, but it is very saturated and

extremely sharp, and the skin tones seemed very natural (not

reddish like you get with Velvia 50). The neutral areas like

concrete or trees looked like Provia to me.

 

This is all, of course, a non-scientific opinion, but now the

clincher: according to the sales people at Penn Camera, Fuji

has apprised them of the fact that Velvia 50 will be phased out in

favor of 100. I'm wondering what National Geographic and a lot

of other publications will do!

I was also told it was being phased out. Well looks like its freezer time guys.

Unless you live in Canada, Velvia 50 is NOT being discontinued. Don't believe me? Call or e-mail Fuji and ask for yourself.

I did call Fuji, and that is what they told me. Yes I have read that Velvia will still be made for now, but his reasoning for that is this is until RVP 100F productions runs are spun up to equal demand, and then RVP 50 will be stopped. So Velvia 50 will still be around till they get the production of the new film up to speed and supplies well stocked. All I know is in Canada I wont be able to get it in the future. I just shot a roll of E100 GX and having used Velvia for so long I wasn't impressed with it. The reds of Kodaks film were very nice though. Vibrant. Other colors seemed washed out in comparison. Probably more accurate though, but I prefer Velvia colors. And having read the new 100F is not as saturated as the 50 doesn't impress me either. I've included a scan of 4 photos from E100GX shot recently. I had to do some saturation on them slightly as my scanner shows weaker colors then what the slide shows. Most of the colors may not be quite this vibrant, but the reds are more vibrant as shown. The reds are the only thing with this film to have almost Velvia like saturation.

I agree with you Scott. I have also compared Velvia with the Kodak and I too never bought or used the Kodak again. I have compared Velvia extensively with the Provia 100-F. Still, Velvia simply jumps out at you there as well. Actually it's not even close to be quite honest. There is no way that the Velvia 100 will be as good as the Velvia 50 for capturing tropical landscapes. Yet, I will try it out and compare side by side like I have done with these other films mentioned above.

 

The reason I started this thread was to get as much feedback as is possible before doing this comparison. I will be ordering Velvia 100 today and will post the results whenever I am finsihed. I have been told by B&H as well as my local distributor that they will not eliminate the 50. I am having a hard time believing why they would ever do this, since the Velvia is the only ASA 50 on the market, and many of us actually prefer it's slowness to the 100 for longer exposures....especially in daylight and sunsets. We will have to wait and see, I reckon! Thanks for all of the comments and opinions.

Scott: Your sample shots with GX show what I'd regard as excellent color, great reds, greens, et. To me the colors look very saturated, more natural than velvia and much, much cleaner than Kodachrome. Looks like Kodak has made it right this time. You indicated some dislike but I can hardly see what you were talking about, perhaps you can amplify for us a little? Thanks for posting the shots. Good subject. (the waterfall did look quite blue as you would expect in the shadow the picture was taken. Did you have a KR (uv) filter on?