What is the next best thing to the original Fuji Velvia RVP 50?

What is the next best 35mm slide film to the original Fuji Velvia RVP 50? The

RVP50 is not sold at this time and may not be sold again ever.

 

I tried some of the "replacement" Fuji Velvia 100s, but got nothing just

disappointment.

a new version of the RVP 50 will be available soon. No idea how close it will be to the original.

<a href="http://www.fujifilm.com/products/professional_films/pdf/Fujichrome_Velvia_II.pdf"> Fujifilm statement (PDF)<a/> about the new velvia 'II'

Disappointing in what respect?

Hmmmm. I found the new 100 Velvia (Not F) to be a better and more honest color capture under most of the photography I do than the RVP 50 Velvia. I sold my last 5 rolls of the 50 on E bay just this past week and am not looding back.

 

I loved the 50 Velvia but under many circumstances, it was just a bit over board on color saturation. Where I felt it shined was when trying to capture faint and delicate hues that were visible to the eye but hard to capture on most films and digital sensor screens. When one tried to capture "blasts" of color before your eyes, I felt Velvia over captured it.

 

When the new Velvia 100 (not F) came out, I fell in love on the first roll. I find it even does skin tones well too.

 

My opinion. Dave

There is no very close substitute for Velvia 50 (RVP). I've seen Fuji claim that first 100F and then 100 were close to RVP and they aren't, so I'm not anticipating that the relaunch of Velvia 50 scheduled for spring 2007 will be an exact match either.

 

Of course much depends what it was about RVP that you liked. If it was the saturation then 100 would match it in my view. If it was the ability to render decent colour in many dull environments, then 100 will compare decently. However the colours are just different. Velvia 50 could support a strong cyan and a strong golden yellow. Velvia 100 can't to the same degree. Velvia 50 picked up every trace of colour ( no matter what colour) in a low light (sunrise/sunset) situation and tended to exaggerate it. Velvia 100 doesn't, unless its red, in which case it does it worse. RVP often rendered neutrals as muddy or yellowish. Velvia 100 is far more faithful and cleaner in this respect. Velvia 50 could make strongly lit greens look like something out of a Fisher-Price catalogue, but also had a tendency in different light to render grass and trees as olive . Velvia 100 is less extreme, but has a tendency to a blue balance in foliage greens, especially certain types of conifer.

 

I don't think Velvia 100 is so much disappointing as different. It puts right or nearer to right some of RVP's excesses, and I have to say that as a long time volume user of Velvia 50 its a while since I regarded it as perfect. I guess 100 is disappointing as a match to RVP, and I find myself using more Provia 100F in bright or sunrise/sunset conditions to avoid the overstrong reds.

 

I guess the best advice I can offer is to get used to a different emulsion so you can predict how it will behave in particular circumstances. Maybe you should wait until the new Velvia 50 comes along next year to decide which one, but make sure you're aware of how Velvia 100 and maybe Kodak 100 GX behave in different conditions by that point.

I found that Velvia 100 saturated reds late in the day to the point that it looked like neon.

I found that I liked Velvia 100F even though it is less saturated. I can no longer find 100F

so I am now experimenting with Kodak 100VS.