Comparison: Velvia 50 vs. 100F

[todd_caudle]

The results are in. I loaded 25 holders, one side w/

Velvia "Classic," the other w/ 100F, and shot duplicates of all

scenes, changing only the shutter speed. (I would post images, but

not sure my inadequate scanning ability would suffice, so words will

have to do for now.) Here are my initial thoughts, fwiw:

 

1) It appears that there is actually slightly more than one stop

difference between 50 & 100F. Probably should've changed exposure by

1 1/3 stops instead of just one. This warrants further testing.

However, the difference is slight enough that it does not alter my

opinions.

 

2) If you were hoping for a 100-speed Velvia with the same color

pallette as 50iso, you'll be disappointed. I'm underwhelmed in most

situations. The color of 50iso is noticeably warmer, meaning that

those nice, brilliant alpenglow sunrises look more vibrant with 50.

The 100F is much flatter.

 

3) In overcast light, the 100F looks quite good, rendering a more

accurate, but still nice color. Parry's primrose that I shot

alongside a stream looked much more true to life than 50iso. Greens

looked more blue-green, as they were in real life, than the warm

green of the 50.

 

4) Shadow detail was a bit better on the 100F. On some shots using a

graduated ND filter, the transition was less evident due to the

increased detail where the transition of the filter came into

contact with shadows.

 

5) As far as grain goes, my unscientific eye could detect absolutely

no difference between the two. Both Velvia classic and 100F show

amazingly fine grain in large swaths of empty blue sky. Pretty

impressive for a 100-speed film.

 

Conclusion) I was really hoping for a 100-speed replacement for

Velvia classic, as I don't want to carry multiple types of film in

the field. For 10 years Velvia has been my film of choice, an

emulsion that, for my taste anyway, always did what I wanted it to.

Overall, 100F is a disappointment. Shadow detail is nice, but when I

look at a photo, I want to be impacted by the whole of the

photograph, and in that I found the "oomph!" of 100F lacking. If you

plan to shoot anything with red, yellow or orange hues in it, skip

the 100F.

 

Interesting when one considers that many times, when Fuji was

releasing a new version of Provia, rumors had it that it was

actually a stealthy way to release a 100-speed version of Velvia,

while in truth it was just a much less saturated film. Finally,

after over a decade of producing THE film for landscape

photographers, Fuji releases an actual 100-speed version of Velvia,

a film that looks notably different (and not in a good way) from its

successful predecessor. What were they thinking?

[John Crowe]

Your results are pretty much what I would have expected providing the extra stop (or less) of 100F. I am looking forward though to seeing if it really does stand up with respect to grain and resolution as you suggest.

 

The real test in my opinion though is how it performs against E100VS which this film was obviously created to compete against. Have you tested this combination or are you considering it, or are you going to leave that up to someone else?

 

Thank-you for your posting, this stuff still has not made it into Canada!

[tim_atherton2]

"Thank-you for your posting, this stuff still has not made it into Canada!"

 

Except via Iceland... I have it all loaded up - just haven't had the time to test it.

 

I will be interested to see how I find it. I've never been a big fan of Velvia 50, but neither have I liked Provia 100F too much (too "cool" and lifeless for want of a better word). My favourite film for a good while has been Astia for both inside and out.

 

So not sure what I'll make of the Velvia 100 based on the responses I've seen so far - just have to wait and see.

[upscan]

Todd: Other testers are not wholly elated with this film either, you are not alone. (See luminous Landscape) -When Provia III first came out Fuji had to backpedal a bit and improve the film as a result of its cool (no pun) reception. Perhaps that will happen with V100F too. Never buy the first version of anything seems nowadays to apply to film as well. The real test I do not think is going to be how it performs against Ektachrome VS, nor do I think Velvia 100F was developed to compete against it since VS's market share was nothing to worry about. With Velvia 100F Fuji intended to compete against Fuji, and that is exactly what a smart company should do rather than lie in its Velvia 50 laurels and others watch overtake it, as happened to Kodak with Kodachrome. The real test will be how V100F competes against the new Kodak film, Ektachrome Elite 100G whose emergence Fuji seems to have anticipated. Kodak has posted some truly splendid specs for 100G and I hope some one will soon post an evaluation. At last, one hopes this will be a faster alternative to Velvia 50.

[brian_kennedy]

I'm looking forward to trying it myself. I shoot mostly Provia 100F now, with a little Velvia 50 mixed in. Though RDP is on the cool side, I like the colors, saturation, and (relative) shadow detail. Do you shoot much Provia, Todd? How would you compare the new Velvia 100F to Provia 100F?

[todd_caudle]

Brian Kennedy: I've tried Provia F, but found it lacking for my tastes. The 100F, IMO (with all due deference to Eddie B., namely, none), is halfway between Velvia classic and Provia F (latest version.

 

As far as comparisons to VS, I agree that that's probably what Fuji had in mind, but why? Kodak has been playing catch-up with Fuji for over a decade, I see no reason to reverse rolls now. There are very few situations where I've felt that VS out-performs Velvia. Its most notable attribute is in overcast light where red is a primary subject color.

[scott bacon]

Well done Todd. Thanks for the preview and your honest opinions. I'm looking forward to seeing comparisons on the light table. :-)

[rob_barker]

Thank you for the useful review Todd. Fuji UK have promised me a box for review as soon as they have some in-country. I am particularly interested in the reciprocity characteristics of the film, and the ability to cope with high contrast conditions. All the reviews so far seem to have agreed on the saturation and warmth - more than provia but not as much as Velvia 50. I will naturally post a review myself once I've had a play with the new film.

[rob_barker]

I hope that noone will object too strongly to me editing this thread. I thought I might have detected a little unfriendliness creeping in, so I've cut out those bits and kept all the useful content of the thread. Any comments by mail to me please, not here in the thread.

 

Rob

 

Co-moderator

[todd_caudle]

Something I failed to mention, since it did not come up in this test, is 100F's apparent reciprocity characteristics. If indeed no exposure adjustment is needed for long exposures, that would be a plus for this film. For instance, a friend of mine (hey Jerry) was talking about how good it would be under the forest canopy in the Smokies. He talked about doing 30-sec. exposures with Velvia 50, and extending the time to 52 secs. for reciprocity adjustments. We got to thinking that, by using 100F, that 52-sec. exposure would be reduced to 15 secs., netting a 37-sec. savings on a 30-sec. exposure. Here's a brain-teaser for you: How do you take a negative-7-second exposure? (hehe)

 

Another point that is immaterial to the film's visual characteristics is that it feels much thinner than Velvia 50. Not much of a concern here, except that I remember from my b&w processing days that I never crimped any 120 rolls of T-Max when loading them onto reels for development, but ocassionally did put a pinch mark in thinner Plus-X film. Hopefully my friendly lab tech will be careful with 100F's thinner base.

[jeff_wolfram]

I thought the big news with this film was it's fourth layer ability to 'see' florescent

light? I used some to shoot some night shots that are very green on the 50iso and

were green on the 100f. Have you guys noticed a difference in shooting mixed

lighting scenes?

[robert_cardon]

Todd - What do you rate you're velvia at? What then would you suggest rating the 100 velvia at?

 

Also, any thoughts as to a comparision between velvia 100 and Provia F?

 

I think you are quite right, Velvia 50 is good film and it's hard to top.

 

Also, can you tell us what the costs were for the new velvia? I don't see any prices anywhere. This is what makes velvia 50 so attractive, $83.95 /50 sheets of 4x5 at B&H. Now the Kodak stuff is in the low to mid $90s per box of 50 - what are they thinking???????

 

RJ

[todd_caudle]

Robert,

 

I kinda have a screwy way of rating film in that I have my meter set at 32iso, but that's only because, through extensive real world shooting, that's where I happened to adjust/calibrate my meter. Proper rating for classic would probably be 40, so 100F just might be a true 100.

 

I did include a comment earlier about 100F and Provia. In a nutshell, I don't understand why Fuji would take a name like Velvia, which already has a certain amount of cachè, and release a film that looked any different. I hoped for a 100-speed Velvia, not a cross between Velvia and Provia.

 

Prices are about the same as Kodak 100VS. Higher speed = more silver = higher price.

[kw_smith]

>>> The real test in my opinion though is how it performs against E100VS which this film was obviously created to compete against.

 

Soon to be discontinued E100VS. E100GX will replace it but doesn't yet exist in 4x5.

[lars ake vinberg]

KW Smith wrote:

 

>>> Soon to be discontinued E100VS. E100GX will replace it but doesn't yet exist in 4x5.

 

Surely you mean that E100GX replaces E100SW? GX is quite different in color rendition than VS, hardly a replacement.

[danny burk www.dannyburk.]

I've corresponded with Jeff at Badger Graphic re: Velvia 100 (non-F version)

and he says he will check into it. As some of you may know, he's well-known for

obtaining hard-to-get Fuji film from Japanese sources.

 

Anyone who's interested in getting Velvia 100 might let Jeff know that you're

interested; I expect that he'll be successful in obtaining a supply

(www.badgergraphic.com).

[rene_bouchard1]

As I live here in Japan, I've looked into the availability of the films. Velvia 100F is available in 35mm/120/220 and 4x5, but Velvia 100 is only available in 35mm and 120/220. When I heard Fuji would only make 100F in 4x5, I was quite disappointed. I've tried both in 120 and read magazine reviews and the 100 has more saturation and looks really good used with sunsets and the like and the 100F seems to do better in bright situations with more detail in the highlights.