which transparency films have greater latitude, especially to under exposure?

[robin_west]

I mostly use Velvia 50 at present, which is lovely when I get it

right, but this film has very little tolerance to under exposure.. I

suspect that some of the faster 100asa alternative films may have a

greater latitude but does anyone know how they all compare?

[peter_white2]

I suspect they are all about the same. The primary reason negative film has greater "latitude" is because you don't view the negative, you use it to make a positive. And when you make the positive, you have an opportunity to correct for errors in exposure of the negative. No such opportunity with slide film.

 

If slide film had greater latitude, that would mean it also would have less contrast, and images would all have a "washed out" character.

[preston_merchant]

I think Velvia has more latitude than people give it credit for. I have had some practically white slides turned into decent prints by a Fuji Frontier--this would be overexposure, of course, and not what you're asking about, Robin.

 

But I find underexposed Velvia to hold up really well, too, at least if your scene has considerable range--this seems to be key. The Frontier can do some remarkable things, so don't write off your underexposed slides just yet.

[ralph_barker]

I usually use Provia or Astia for chromes, depending on the subject, because of their different color palette (less saturation and contrast, in particular). With less contrast, they appear to have greater tolerance. But, in truth, I think most slide films have about the same luminence range. Negative films have a stop or two of additional range, but I'm of the opinion that "tolerance" is a fiction. Although some compensation can be done in printing, tonal values at one end or the other are still lost if the exposure isn't accurate.

[kevin m.]

Hard to top Kodachrome for under-exposure lattitude.

[jose f.]

My favorite for latitude, surprisingly, was Agfa 100RSX. Always surprised me how well it held both highlights and shadows, but it is also a moderate-contrast film, unlike Velvia 50. As someone said, moderate-contrast films appear to be more forgiving, probably because they're less dramatic and less saturated. Agfa supplies were difficult for a while and I drifted away from it.

 

Frankly, none of the many I've tried (Fujis, Kodaks and Agfas) seem to be very forgiving of exposure errors. I've pretty well settled on Provia 100F.

 

Does anyone have experience in this area with Kodak's new E100G?

[mike_elek]

I think some of the older Agfachrome films had nice latitude. Very soft colors, nice grain structure. Too bad it's not around anymore.

[doug herr]

<I>Does anyone have experience in this area with Kodak's new E100G?</I><P>

I find it has a bit less latitude than Provia 100F or Astia - and richer colors than Astia, and cleaner shadows than either.

[steve_swinehart]

The best you'll find right now for handling both under and over exposure are Kodak E100G and E200 (my experience - yours may be different than mine). You can underexpose by nearly a full stop and still get a good image. I've done it accidently and still came up with totally usable transparencies.

 

Compare those two film's curves with either Velvia or Provia and you will see a huge difference in the Gamma of the slopes, and how fast they roll off at the toe and shoulder. The longer the toe & shoulder, the better the highlight and shadow detail as the film gently blows out or blocks up instead of hitting a "wall" at either end.

 

Velvia may be the worst film I've ever shot for lack of latitude. It's the only film where I've had blocked shadows and blown out highlights on the same frame. The exact same image shot on E200 showed full detail in the highlights and shadows - plus, it didn't look like the colors were manufactured in a parallel dimension where everyone's retinas are color-impaired.

 

Provia acts a lot like Kodachrome in that you have to nail the exposure exactly or you pay the price. Interestingly, this is not quite so true with 4x5 Provia where I often give it 1/2 stop more exposure than the roll film equivalent and get really good exposures.

[el_fang]

In my experience Sensia 100 has the best latitude. I was shooting it for a while and thought I had slide exposure down pat. Then I switched to Provia 100F and the exposures went all over the place... mostly correct, but a lot more over/under misses than I had with Sensia, so I was forced to tighten up my technique even more. "All else being equal" applies, btw... same camera, lens, and lab.

[george2]

The least contrasty and saturated films have a greater latitude. The best choices would logically be <br>

Elitechrome 200, almost identical to E200, or<br>

Sensia 100, almost identical to Astia 100F

[robin_west]

Thanks again everyone for your answers and suggestions..

 

Kodachrome is tempting Kevin, I used miles of it years ago but they lost two films on the trot for me the year before last whilst in transit between the UK and Timbucktoo (or where-ever they go now.. Switzerland really I think..)so I'll have to stick with E6 I guess..

 

Shame Agfachrome's not an option then Mike..

 

It seems to come down to Provia / Astia or Sensia perhaps, versus

Elitechrome, E200 or E100G..

 

Steves comments are very interesting and match my Velvia conclusions thus far..

 

As it happens I recently used five rolls of Sensia in Sydney and the Blue Mountains after running out of Velvia, and having just reviewed the results, I think Al has a point..

 

I used a fair bit of Ectachrome twenty years ago but didn't really like the slightly blue'ish cast I seemed to get.. However I suppose the current Kodak E6 films are much better than those were..

 

Jay also 'e' mailed me and suggested that I should give Velvia a try at ISO40 which he states is its correct rating, and that exposing at 50 is in fact already an under-exposure..

 

I think I'm going to be a bit busy this weekend trying all or some of the different options.. I'll finish off my current roll of Velvia at ISO40, then make a start with Sensia or Astia alongside some Elitechrome 200 or E200 or E100G; probably the latter if I can get it to retain my preference for lowish speed..

 

Best Regards

 

Robin

[andy_piper2]

Two other suggestions - IF they're still being made.

 

Kodak Ektachrome EPN 100 and Kodak Ektachrome 64. As with the Agfas and E100s, they have lower saturation and contrast.

 

But they are quite old films, and thus have more grain for the speed than Velvia or the E100's or most other modern films, and MAY have been discontinued, although my pro film store still has both on the shelf.

 

Me - I've just worked at "getting it right" with Velvia 50. The 100 films just don't have the knife-edge edge-definition of RVP, although they have mostly caught up in terms of grain.

[robin_west]

Thanks Andy.. I'm trying Sensia at the moment.. We'll see how that works out then on to Kodak..(Then probably back to Velvia!...)

 

Brgds Robin