How to Meter/Expose Astia 100F??

[Gordon Moat]

No bad greens with Astia 100F. This is the most colour accurate film I have used, the next closest being Kodak Ektachrome 64. The next closest is Kodak E100G.

On the other hand, if you want more saturated greens, use Kodak E100GX, Provia 100F, or Velvia 100 (in that order). When you want super saturation in everything, then Velvia 50 or Kodak E100VS.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[timbo10ca]

I use an incident meter and rate it at 100. Haven't had a problem yet, and have some great long exposures at dusk too.

Tim

[Michael T. Murphy]

I have been using Astia and Portra 160NC for 10 years, since I started scanning and doing digital output.

You can always add saturation and contrast at the scan stage. But if you have too much contrast or saturation, you can't add back the subtelty that is not there. You get combing at best.

That assumes scanning and digital prints of course.

For some reason I went with Provia last year. Definitely back with Astia this year. Provia did have some blue cast sometimes.

[Preston]

I have used Astia 100F almost exclusively for the last 5 years in both 4x5 and 645. I really like its neutral color pallet. Sometimes I will use an 81-b to warm a mountain scene, but generally shoot without a color correction filter. I also appreciate this film's receprocity characteristics: it reacts much better than to long exposures does Velveeta .

I use a Pantax digital spot meter at iso 100, and always meter for the high values; placing the most significant brightest value no higher than zone VII. I then check the deepest significant low values to see if they fall at zone III. If not, I'll pull out an ND grad or wait for better light. I have found these placements to work very well with my Microtek 1800f.

-PB

[Rust Never Sleeps]

Thanks for the tips, I can't wait to try Astia out and I am glad that most don't find the greens to be a problem. Preston, I too use a Pentax digital spot meter and usually start out by metering highlights and then checking out shadows. I think I also will place highlights like snow at zone VII and bracket a 1/3 step up, maybe even let bright snow hit VII 2/3. At VII 2/3 to VIII with Velvia it was a lost cause. How is Astia at zone III then, pretty good detail??

[Preston]

If you have significant areal coverage by snow, VII-2/3 may be a bit too high since this placement may make it difficult to hold the subtle detail that gives a snowfield its texture. Careful scanning and adjustment in PhotoShop will be called for. I get decent detail at Zone III. I am also very careful with the adjusments I make at scan time, and in PS in order realize good blacks with texture. Given the expense of 4x5, I rarely make a second exposure. Fortunately, Astia is fairly forgiving as long as you don't try to push it too far up the scale.

Kind Regards,

-PB