Velvia or...?

[joel_blacher]

I have been shooting Velvia (along with E100VS) and now that I am

scanning to print I am wondering if it matters. If I can adjust

color and saturation in PS then is it important to have a high

saturation film, or should I be choosing film based upon other

criteria? My question is born out of a desire for more speed for

wildlife photography and low-light macro and prints with the same

color characteristics.

[roger_smith4]

Try a film that's much easier to scan like Sensia/Astia and then bump up color/contrast in Photoshop if you need it. You'll get more shadow detail than with Velvia.

[cbender]

I'd say, shoot the film that works for you. I very rarely shoot velvia anymore because I find it hard to scan. Instead, I shoot Astia and punch up the colors if necessary. That doesn't give me any more speed, but it does make scanning easier.

 

I don't really know what to recommend for a faster slide film. I was never very happy with the 400 speed Provia (both with the colors and the price), but I haven't used it in several years.

[steve_swinehart]

Try E200. You can push it to 320 with no loss of shadow detail and no noticable grain increase. Has a much longer scale than Velvia and is much better at retaining both shadow and highlight detail. Scans easily, and if you want the Velvia look - you can do it yourself in PS or look at the Alien Skin Exposure that has a Velvia effect (www.eyecandy.com).

[steve_leblanc]

Chad, is there anything less expensive than Astia that you have good luck with? Astia-lite?

 

Steve, do you mean Kodak EliteChrome when you say E200? ot Ecktachrome pro which is also E200 I think?

 

I'm looking at trying to land on a good file for scanning. Slide or neg. and I'm coming to the realization that all of the high speed films are just as grainy as TriX was back in 1970. Supposedly there was some big improvements made in film over a few decades, but that hasn't been my experience.

 

Want fine grain and great colors? Use a low speed film. Seems to be the basic rule of thumb.

 

I'm using a Canascan FS2710 and I know there are better scanners that that out there, but I bought it a number of years ago and it seems to be doing some scans for me pretty well. Scanning is a major learning process and art form in and of itself.

[dglickstein]

I shoot 100VS and get amazing results with my Nikon Coolscan 9000. I rarely need to adjust the color in PS. Good luck.

 

dG

[cbender]

Steve -

 

If you're willing to shoot a neg (which causes other, different scanning problems), then try good old Kodak Gold 100. It is a bit hard to find, but can be ordered from B&H and similar places. I find it has reasonably small grain and very pleasing colors. Just don't extrapolate and try the Gold 200, 400, etc, as those tend to get very nasty very fast. Gold 100 should be less than $2/roll for 36exp.

 

Fresh Astia is expensive, especially the new 100F (the old version was not so expensive). I actually don't usually shoot 'full priced' Astia, instead choosing to go with slightly out of date film that is significantly (half) cheaper. If the film has been cold stored, it should be fine. If you're not comfortable shooting out-of-date film (or can't find any) I believe that Sensia is the consumer version of Astia, but someone else can correct me if I'm wrong.

[joel_blacher]

Actually, I have 100 speed films that I like (Velvia, E100VS, Reala, and Supra 100). I was thinking about 400 speed stuff. I am open to print film as well. Its just harder to judge than slides and I don't really want to pay for prints just to proof.

[Matthew Currie]

I've had good luck both shooting and scanning Kodak UC400.

[b_hall1]

I would like the original slide to have the defining characteristics and the digital image to be close to it. In other words the original slide of a famous image is valid and has value as the original...

 

Of course that requires that either scanners improve or that a compromise on film is made...

 

Well, Provia is a popular choice and for the next subject of speed you might try pushing it to 200. Then there is E100G and E100GX where the X means extra...

[bobmichaels]

Steve asks: "is there anything less expensive than Astia that you have good luck with? Astia-lite?"

 

Answer: Fuji Sensia (available only in 35mm) appears to be identical to Astia to me, except for the consumer price. I believe Fuji's US code for Astia is RAP while Sensia is RA. I only wish they made Sensia in 120. I shoot Astia in 120 and Sensia in 35mm.

[steve_swinehart]

"Steve, do you mean Kodak EliteChrome when you say E200? ot Ecktachrome pro which is also E200 I think?"

 

E200 is a professional film and part of the "E-Family" of professional transparency films (E100G, E100GX, E100VS, and E200). It uses T-Grain emulsion and has a built-in UV absorbing layer. It is not EliteChrome.

 

Go to the Kodak website and look under the "Pro Photographer / Lab" tab and select "Products." Go to the "Transparency Films E-Family" tab and select it and it will show you the 4 films.

 

I've used EPD a lot (its 200 speed predecessor), and E200 is a huge improvement over that film. I use almost nothing but E100G and E200; as the E200 pushed to 320 looks far better than Provia 400 in both tonal scale and grain structure.

 

I've shot Provia for a number of years, and the E series has a far better tonal scale than Provia (more shadow detail, while retaining highlight detail).

 

The Kodak film is a little warmer color palette than Provia - but, I always used an 81A filter with Provia to get rid of the blue / green bias of the film which always made things look too cool to me.

[roger_smith4]

I use the big brother to your scanner and highly recommend Sensia as similar (but cheaper than) Astia.

[steve_leblanc]

Thanks all, I wasn't the original poster, but I got a lot of good information.

 

Thanks all!

[Robin Smith]

Astia 100F is finer grained than the original Astia and I find the 100F a little faster too. Sensia is the same as the original Astia. They are all excellent general purpose films. I use Astia 100F but I used to use Sensia in preference to Astia before the 100F came along as it is cheaper.

[franka t.l.]

I too take that the Astia 100F is now the best film for film/digital hybrid workflow. Although it will not exactly reproduce the color of the Velvia by simple saturation push .. but one can always selectively alter the saturation and other parameter on the image.

[AaronFalkenberg]

With scanning film there is one thing that is always more important than saturation: contrast. I like the saturation of Velvia, but only when the lighting conditions permit will I use it because of it's high contrast. Once there is too much separation between either end, there is little that can be done to bring it back. Provia 400F is slightly less contrasty, but quite expensive. However, I'm not a fan of how it renders early morning blue/cyan sky. I don't photograph wildlife, so I am shooting Provia 100F almost exclusively, with some Astia for delicate winter/snow hues. The former cannot be beat for macro work, again given the contrast range is not too great.