Velvia 100 & Velvia 100F - What's the deal?

[andr__moura]

I've seen, in some of the earlier posts, some of you saing that there

were two versions of Velvia: one for the Asian market, and the other

for the rest of the world, and that the latter version was less

saturated. My question is; Are you shure about this? Aren't they the

same film in a diferent package? (a bit like the Nikon F/N series)

What does the F means? It also appears in Provia line.

 

I've never tried any of the new Velvia because they are still not for

sale in my country so, I was just curios. Honestly, I find it hard to

believe that Fuji would introduce a new Velvia that would sacrifice

the colour saturation that made the old Velvia famous and unchanged

for 10 years!

 

Cheers!

[michael_hohner]

There <em>are</em> two versions. One is sold in Japan only, the other is sold worldwide (including Japan). They have different color characteristics. Don't know what the "F" stands for, and it probably doesn't matter. Fuji didn't sacrifice Velvia's high saturation. Velvia 100F is also highly saturated. And if you like the old Velvia more, you can still buy it because it's not discontinued.

[ed_hurst]

I discussed this question with someone from the technical dept. of Fuji in the UK. He explained that the Velvia 100 (not F) is largely a faster version of the original Velvia 50. It is not just that it is saturated, it also has the distinctive "character" of the Velvia 50 colours (which you either love or hate).

 

Velvia 100F is a new emulsion, intended to be saturated, but without the same "character" of Velvia 50 - the idea is to have a saturated but believable set of colours. It also incorporates new technology making it finer grained (hence the "F" - like the Provia 100F and Astia 100F) and the extra colour layer.

 

So, Velvia 100 is a faster version of the old film.

Velvia 100F is a new film - saturated but with a different character, and finer grained.

 

Most countries decided only to distribute the 100F, as it is newer technology. So the 100 is only available in Japan (I think).

 

But I'd love to get my hands on some of the 100 - but have not found a way yet (I live in Britain).

[andr__moura]

Thank you very much for your kind answers! The postings I read weren't very explicit about the situation on the new Velvia. Now it all makes sense. Some of the postings I read said that Velvia 100F was less saturated, but now I understand that, maybe it isn't a case of saturation but a case of color caracteristic.

Again, Thank you very much for your answers.

My best Regards to you all!

[upscan]

André: Whoever sid that Velvia 100F was less saturated did you no favour. 100F is much more saturated, ...all in the wrong places. The blues become garish and overbearing, the reds are muddy and brownish. You will not get a clean red from this film. I once criticized a photograph for the gaudy blueish magenta in a sunset picture that looked as if taken with one of those garish filters. It turned out no filters had been used, it was Velvia 100F´s true colours. Just look at the Fuji brochure for 100F and pay attention to the reds and the blues in the photos. Did Fuji people go colour blind or do they think every landscape must look Vegas fluorescent? If they wanted to prove 100F could see blues, fine but there is no need to go beserk! OK Fuji, now we know you can do it, get back to the drawing board and make a decent film. BTW, Velvia 100 I am told is same as Velvia 50 except faster. It is not exported to NA.

[tomoko yamamoto]

<p>I have been testing Velvia 100F for the past month and I like its color fidelity. I have shot flowers outside with or without flash and a doll in a studio setup and you get the results very close to the colors of the subject.

 

<p>I happened to be in Japan when both of Velvia at ISO 100 were put on the market. I purchased several rolls of each as well as a few rolls of Astia 100F and used them in Scotland. According to a Japanese magazine article I read on my flight back to the US, a famous Japanese photographer said that both of Velvia should be rated at ISO 125 to get the saturation comparable to Velvia 50. I followed his advice to the letter and bracketed exposures around ISO of 125 to sometimes disastrous effects in Scotland.

 

<p>Now that I have tested the exposure latitude of Velvia 100F thoroughly, I can say that it requires careful exposures. I have placed my sunset shot on my <a href="http://www.tomoko-yamamoto.com/">web site</a>.

[andr__moura]

Interesting post Julio1 I've always heard about how the new velvia 100F wasn't as saturated has the old velvia 50, ad it didn't reproduce the colours so vivid as the velvia 50 and so on. Now you're saying me that it is excesively saturated in the wrong colours. My question came out becaus the new vwlvia 100F won the Eisa award for th best color reversal film for 2003-2004, sayng that it had the same colour saturation than the old Vlviea and that it had set a new standard for film fotography. I believe that, just as the old Velvia, this new one is being very controversial. There are still people who do not like velvia 50. I'm glad to understand that fuji has actually created a new film, that I'm looking forward to try (yes, I believe I have to try it to see what feel about it). Again, Thank you very much for your posts, and enlightening coments.

With the best regards, André Moura.

[gaetano catelli]

according to Pop Photo's review -- http://www.popphoto.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=683 -- what's different about velvia 100f's color characteristics is that it is better at skin tones than velvia 50.

 

here's a shot i took last month on canal street under the midday sun. obviously no great shakes in composition. but, the reds, greens, and blues are as i remember them.<div></div>

[george13]

Velvia 100 is the newer film. I don't know what one the other guys is talking about...Velvia 100 is more saturated, and your colours are MUCH hotter than the colours of the 100F. Neither Velvia 100 nor Velvia 100F are good for portraits: their reds are too overpowering.

[larry_miller5]

<p>Gaetano, the picture looks good to me. Nice colors. I shot with Kodak's Elite Chrome (Extra Color) film until they discontinued it. They look about the same to me. I really did like that particular Kodak film. Velvia will work... </p>