Velvia 100 vs Velvia 50

[FredrickSummers]

I have found many (many) threads with lots of interesting information on both, however all I have found are from 2007-2010 and I have seen non address the current issue of the price difference. Most seem to pertain when both were being sold side by side in the USA, which is (unfortunately) not the case for us sheet film users. I have zero experience with Velvia 100 and a few rolls of 50 in 135 format, which is less experience then many here have had in a few hours, so I'm asking for experience.
-Velvia 50
+/- slower
+/- slightly more saturation
? shadows tend to green
? A few blogs and posts mentioned that Velvia 50 actually held more shadow detail, but some posts contradict this
+/- darker images even of proper exposure
- Over $100 for a box of 25 sheets after shipping from Japan. B.S.Kumar (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/member.php?1796-B-S-Kumar) does some importing as well as a group buy here (which I don't think is supposed to get mentioned?) being the two most reliable ways I've seen to get it in the USA

Velvia 100
+/- 1 stop faster (I find it easier to slow my shutter down if I want then to speed it up and keep my needed DoF)
+ better reciprocity characteristics
+/- brighter images with proper exposure
+ 1 stop better latitude (most of the info on this I found was Velvia 50 being -1/2 +1 and 100 being -1/2 +2, though not really sure what they mean by that)
+ slightly better resolution and smaller grain
+/- tends to magenta
++ Around $75 for a box of 20 and can be bought from Freestyle or B&H and delivered to your door (in the USA) within a few days.

Much that I have ready between the two, the difference was very small between the two, but still present. So I'm curious on two things:
1) Which do you prefer and why? if Velvia 50, is it or what makes it worth the extra expense to you?
2) How close/far am I on what I have gathered on these?

*Note, pricing is based on 4x5 only, I have no looked at supply or anything with 8x10, so perhaps that's a different story?

[Drew Wiley]

For me the deciding factor in any of this selection would have been the base material of sheet film. Only Velvia 100F was on polyester and dimensionally stable,
as opposed to triacetate. I never used a lot of Velvia per se, but the same distinction applied to Fuji's other categories of sheet film. This can be quite important if
one is optically printing versus scanning. But past history now.

[FredrickSummers]

For me the deciding factor in any of this selection would have been the base material of sheet film. Only Velvia 100F was on polyester and dimensionally stable,
as opposed to triacetate. I never used a lot of Velvia per se, but the same distinction applied to Fuji's other categories of sheet film. This can be quite important if
one is optically printing versus scanning. But past history now.

I was actually talking about Velvia 100 not the 100f that was discontinued. From what I understand 100 and 100f are very different.

[Jim Becia]

I have found many (many) threads with lots of interesting information on both, however all I have found are from 2007-2010 and I have seen non address the current issue of the price difference. Most seem to pertain when both were being sold side by side in the USA, which is (unfortunately) not the case for us sheet film users. I have zero experience with Velvia 100 and a few rolls of 50 in 135 format, which is less experience then many here have had in a few hours, so I'm asking for experience.
-Velvia 50
+/- slower
+/- slightly more saturation
? shadows tend to green
? A few blogs and posts mentioned that Velvia 50 actually held more shadow detail, but some posts contradict this
+/- darker images even of proper exposure
- Over $100 for a box of 25 sheets after shipping from Japan. B.S.Kumar (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/member.php?1796-B-S-Kumar) does some importing as well as a group buy here (which I don't think is supposed to get mentioned?) being the two most reliable ways I've seen to get it in the USA

Velvia 100
+/- 1 stop faster (I find it easier to slow my shutter down if I want then to speed it up and keep my needed DoF)
+ better reciprocity characteristics
+/- brighter images with proper exposure
+ 1 stop better latitude (most of the info on this I found was Velvia 50 being -1/2 +1 and 100 being -1/2 +2, though not really sure what they mean by that)
+ slightly better resolution and smaller grain
+/- tends to magenta
++ Around $75 for a box of 20 and can be bought from Freestyle or B&H and delivered to your door (in the USA) within a few days.

Much that I have ready between the two, the difference was very small between the two, but still present. So I'm curious on two things:
1) Which do you prefer and why? if Velvia 50, is it or what makes it worth the extra expense to you?
2) How close/far am I on what I have gathered on these?

*Note, pricing is based on 4x5 only, I have no looked at supply or anything with 8x10, so perhaps that's a different story?

I have and do shoot both of these in 8x10. My preference is for the Velvia 50. However I need to preface that by saying that most of my shooting gets done out in red rock country in Utah. I have found Velvia 100 to have a stronger red or magenta bias that turns some rocks walls an unpleasant shade, there can also be a purplish cast. Now, while some of that can be color corrected, the Velvia 50 seems to give me a more natural color, although saturated. Both films only get used in either subdued or reflected lighting. That being said, I have found Velvia 100 does an admirable job when I use it here in the Midwest if I am photographing scenes with greens or browns. All in all, I would rather use Velvia 50, but if push comes to shove and Velvia 100 is what is in the holder, I'll use it realizing that some color correcting will be necessary. I scan and print my images using an Epson printer and can "usually" get Velvia 100 to look decent. I think both films, when properly exposed will give nicely exposed transparencies. I actually rate my Velvia 50 at 32 and Velvia 100 at 80 for my shooting. Not sure this helps. In the past I have tried to use both on a shot to see the difference and Velvia 50 usually wins. Good luck.

[Willie]

Velvia 50 can be exposed at ISO 100 and push processed for a bit more intensity if you want. Not sure how the 100 looks as have not used it that way.
Long exposures after sunset with 50 are really nice when there is the magenta sky and reflections. Counteracts the tendency to go greenish on you. Talking exposures to 10 minutes from experience with 4x5.

[FredrickSummers]

Velvia 50 can be exposed at ISO 100 and push processed for a bit more intensity if you want. Not sure how the 100 looks as have not used it that way.
Long exposures after sunset with 50 are really nice when there is the magenta sky and reflections. Counteracts the tendency to go greenish on you. Talking exposures to 10 minutes from experience with 4x5.

Thank you for the pointer. The longest exposure I've had with Velvia 50 is 1 minute. I was afraid to go over that as Fuji suggests no longer then 64 sec, which is one swing to 100 for me as I like long exposures of waterfalls around me, thank you for the tip!

[FredrickSummers]

I have and do shoot both of these in 8x10. My preference is for the Velvia 50. However I need to preface that by saying that most of my shooting gets done out in red rock country in Utah. I have found Velvia 100 to have a stronger red or magenta bias that turns some rocks walls an unpleasant shade, there can also be a purplish cast. Now, while some of that can be color corrected, the Velvia 50 seems to give me a more natural color, although saturated. Both films only get used in either subdued or reflected lighting. That being said, I have found Velvia 100 does an admirable job when I use it here in the Midwest if I am photographing scenes with greens or browns. All in all, I would rather use Velvia 50, but if push comes to shove and Velvia 100 is what is in the holder, I'll use it realizing that some color correcting will be necessary. I scan and print my images using an Epson printer and can "usually" get Velvia 100 to look decent. I think both films, when properly exposed will give nicely exposed transparencies. I actually rate my Velvia 50 at 32 and Velvia 100 at 80 for my shooting. Not sure this helps. In the past I have tried to use both on a shot to see the difference and Velvia 50 usually wins. Good luck.

Thank you for your response! I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and red rocks just don't exist anywhere close, but I do want to photograph out there in a few years! Most of my landscapes will be mostly green and blues with various colors of flowers as well. Do you have any experience with blues with either?

Also, I'm not sure if 8x10 has Velvia 100 in the US, but how do you feel the difference in price weighs with the color/performance difference of the two?

[vinny]

I've shot plenty of both in the southwest, midwest, pacific northwest and I'll echo what Jim said. I don't like what velvia 100 does to red's and shadows. I do like the additional speed as the wind always pics up when I'm about to open the shutter. I have heaps of velvia (the original 50 in the freezer) so I'm not in the same boat as you as far as $$ goes.

[dave_whatever]

For me Velvia 100 requires some caution when shooting anything with strong reds (sunsets) and for me can seem to have a less gentle rendition of highlights once you get to the +2 area. Still a great film.

Velvia 50 for exposures over a minute - no problem, add a stop of expsure at least compared to meter reading and take it from there. For long exposures Provia is unbeatable though.

[biedron]

My strong preference is Velvia 50 over Velvia 100. I shot some of both when starting out in LF and quickly settled on 50. I'm willing to live with the slightly narrower exposure range. I can't say that I've seen shadows tend to green with Velvia 50, I'd actually say more towards magenta. I'd also echo that with proper reciprocity adjustment, long exposures with Velvia 50 are not as big a problem as Fuijifilm's exposure guide would lead you to believe. Somewhere on this site Jim Becia listed the corrections that he uses for Velvia 50, and I have found them to work quite well.

But in all honesty I think you cannot rely on the opinions of others when it comes to film choice (well, on anything for that matter...) - buy a box or two of both and test them out on the type of landscapes you shoot.

Bob

[Jim Becia]

Thank you for your response! I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and red rocks just don't exist anywhere close, but I do want to photograph out there in a few years! Most of my landscapes will be mostly green and blues with various colors of flowers as well. Do you have any experience with blues with either?

Also, I'm not sure if 8x10 has Velvia 100 in the US, but how do you feel the difference in price weighs with the color/performance difference of the two?

Velvia 100, or for that matter, Velvia 50 will both show shadows with a blue bias, especially in open skies. As mentioned, a few sheets of testing in your area will probably tell you more based on your preferences. As to my preference, I will put it to you this way, I have about 500 sheets of Velvia 50 and about 40 sheets of Velvia 100 in 8x10. So, my funds have "voted" for Velvia 50. Good luck.

[dave_whatever]

Velvia 100, or for that matter, Velvia 50 will both show shadows with a blue bias, especially in open skies.

and for very good reason - shadows ARE blue under open skies. Our eyes do a lot of colour management that we don't realise. ;)

[Jim Becia]

and for very good reason - shadows ARE blue under open skies. Our eyes do a lot of colour management that we don't realise. ;)

Yes, I certainly know that, however, these film and E100VS (when it was available) all take the blues to a "higher" level.

[Alan Klein]

I shoot Medium Format 120. I tried Velvia 100 and went back to Velvia 50 because I just like the colors better. I found that although you can adjust colors in post processing after scanning, somehow you just can't duplicate the "pop" of Velvia 50. Samples of both.

Velvia 50 https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/tags/velvia/

Velvia 100 https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/tags/velvia100/

[FredrickSummers]

Thank you all for your help on this!


Velvia 100, or for that matter, Velvia 50 will both show shadows with a blue bias, especially in open skies. As mentioned, a few sheets of testing in your area will probably tell you more based on your preferences. As to my preference, I will put it to you this way, I have about 500 sheets of Velvia 50 and about 40 sheets of Velvia 100 in 8x10. So, my funds have "voted" for Velvia 50. Good luck.

Thank you again Jim! It has been suggested to me you are very much a guru on these films as well and I do not doubt this! I have ordered a box of 50 from the group buy (I think today is the last day if anyone else is jumping in) and just placed an order for Velvia 100 from BH. I plan to shoot 2-3 sheets back to back of each other and see what I like of each. I recently got my roll back of Provia and it was much more impressive then I expected, so I will have to throw that into the mix as well! Do you use Provia much yourself?

You don't happen to have a link to your thread with the reciprocity failure numbers do you? I can keep digging but I figured I would ask.

[Drew Wiley]

I remember landscape photographers screaming when Ektachrome 64 was discontinued, because they had become accustomed to its exaggerated blue shadows.
With Velvia, a lot of that deep shadow separation is hard to reproduce in print, though a high-quality scan might indeed pick up both the bluish-blacks and the
bigger dye cloud "grain" down there. In such cases, it could be corrected to a more neutral black if desired. What people can't seem to get used to is the cyanish
blue shadows of Ektar color neg film. But that can be addressed too. I generally read conditions intuitively. But if I ever carried my color temp meter up to high
altitude on a clear mid-morning and measured the deep shadows, the poor instrument would probably freak out.

[Jim Becia]

Thank you all for your help on this!



Thank you again Jim! It has been suggested to me you are very much a guru on these films as well and I do not doubt this! I have ordered a box of 50 from the group buy (I think today is the last day if anyone else is jumping in) and just placed an order for Velvia 100 from BH. I plan to shoot 2-3 sheets back to back of each other and see what I like of each. I recently got my roll back of Provia and it was much more impressive then I expected, so I will have to throw that into the mix as well! Do you use Provia much yourself?

You don't happen to have a link to your thread with the reciprocity failure numbers do you? I can keep digging but I figured I would ask.

I have been called a lot of names, but not "guru' and I doubt that I will ever be mentioned with that term again. As a followup to the thread, I am using more and more Provia in situations where I need the added film speed. And I am slowly learning the traits of that film. I am pretty much starting to only carry Velvia50 and Provia. Seems between the two films, I am pretty happy.

Here is what I use for Velvia 50 reciprocity:
Sec. Sec.
1 1
2 2
4 5
5 6.5
8 12
10 16
12 19
16 28
20 39
25 49
30 66
40 88
50 120
60 158
80 213
110 284

I can't remember where I initially found this but it has served me well. I also have started using the Reciprocity App and that has worked out well also. This chart and the reciprocity app are within seconds of each other when I compare them, not enough to really make any difference. Hope this helps. Jim

[Jim Becia]

Not sure why the numbers did not stay spaced like I had typed them, but hopefully you can understand the chart.

[Mark Darragh]

I have used both films in a wide variety of situations over the years and, in most cases, prefer the colour rendition of RVP 50 over RVP 100. In my personal experience with RVP 100, blues often exhibit a pronounced shift toward magenta low light conditions and in shadow areas.

I've attached (hopefully) two images which were shot using 4x5 RVP100 and RVP50 respectively which were both long exposures (1 min +). They might help to give you an idea as to how they render green subjects, particularly once reciprocity failure starts to kick in. The thumbnails are not great quality and have had a little bit of editing so the magenta cast in the RVP 100 is not as obvious compared to the original transparency.

As has been mentioned, the best way to decide your personal film preference(s) is to shot some and base you choice on what you feel will best convey your vision for your subject.

All the best.

[FredrickSummers]

I have used both films in a wide variety of situations over the years and, in most cases, prefer the colour rendition of RVP 50 over RVP 100. In my personal experience with RVP 100, blues often exhibit a pronounced shift toward magenta low light conditions and in shadow areas.

I've attached (hopefully) two images which were shot using 4x5 RVP100 and RVP50 respectively which were both long exposures (1 min +). They might help to give you an idea as to how they render green subjects, particularly once reciprocity failure starts to kick in. The thumbnails are not great quality and have had a little bit of editing so the magenta cast in the RVP 100 is not as obvious compared to the original transparency.

As has been mentioned, the best way to decide your personal film preference(s) is to shot some and base you choice on what you feel will best convey your vision for your subject.

All the best.

Wow, that helps a lot! I've got a box of 100 I've almost shot up and a box of 50 on the way. I'm planning on shooting a few scenes with both plus Ektar and Provia for comparison. I'll post here when done to keep the thread updated.

Anyone know the EV range of any of these? From Ben Horne (don't remember his username on here) 50 is roughly +\- 2. V100 and provia are supposed to be higher, but I can't find numbers. I ask because I use a Pentax digital and try to keep the scene within 4 EV and meter to keep the hi lights, but it would be nice to know how far the film can hold.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark Darragh]

You might find this link to Tim Parkin's Flickr page of interest

https://www.flickr.com/photos/timparkin/26276532831

Obviously a target shot "in studio" will be different what you'll encounter in the wilds but it does give a good reference point. 4-5 stops is closer to what I have found to be usable dynamic range of RVP50. If you were fortunate to have access to a drum scanner you might be able to push that a little more.

Look forward to seeing the results of your comparisons.

M

[StoneNYC]

Wow, that helps a lot! I've got a box of 100 I've almost shot up and a box of 50 on the way. I'm planning on shooting a few scenes with both plus Ektar and Provia for comparison. I'll post here when done to keep the thread updated.

Anyone know the EV range of any of these? From Ben Horne (don't remember his username on here) 50 is roughly +\- 2. V100 and provia are supposed to be higher, but I can't find numbers. I ask because I use a Pentax digital and try to keep the scene within 4 EV and meter to keep the hi lights, but it would be nice to know how far the film can hold.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, shipping your 4x5 Velvia50 out tonight ;)

[assanto]

Hi everyone. I humbly submit my latest video that may help in addressing the question of Velvia 50 vs. Velvia 100.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVZbimenb2g

Thanks for your support!

Tony

[Alan Klein]

Tony Thanks for a great video. Your video helped me understand a lot of stuff I didn't know about using this film. I've shot 120 Velvia 50 (mainly) and some Velvia 100 over the years in 120 6x7 format. I like 50 better but that could be because I shot it longer. Alan.

[FredrickSummers]

Hi everyone. I humbly submit my latest video that may help in addressing the question of Velvia 50 vs. Velvia 100.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVZbimenb2g

Thanks for your support!

Tony

Tony, that is a HUGE help, thank you very much for that! Also you were one of 4 YouTube channels I watched many videos of that finally convinced me to make the dive into Large Format, you were the last one I had not seen on this board too. You channel has been very beneficial to me in a number of ways, thank you.

[assanto]

Thanks for the kind words Alan! I appreciate the support!
Tony

[assanto]

Frederick,
That is very humbling to hear. I appreciate your support and wish you well on your journey into large format!
Tony