Kodak EPP versus Fuji Velvia 50

[Tim Povlick]

Greetings,

I wonder if anyone can comment on Velvia 50 versus EPP? I will be shooting in 8x10 and scanning the results. This is for landscape, in southwest USA. In southern California, the desert can use all the extra saturation a film provides (it seems to me). Is scanning one versus the other easier?

Regards,

Tim

(A search of this forum did not turn up a clear answer)

[Gene McCluney]

I exclusively use EPP in 4x5. It gives saturated colors, and is slightly warm in color balance. I always understood that Velvia 50 is the most saturated color film available. EPP is not as saturated. EPP can give very agreeable skin tones, and most people feel Velvia 50 does not. Most scanners are designed around scanning transparencies. A good transparency, properly exposed within its "range" of f-stops, and well processed will scan very well, regardless of film stock shot on.

[Tim Povlick]

I will have try some EPP.
Thanks Gene!

Best Regards,

Tim

[Don Dudenbostel]

I would agree with Gene. Many landscape shooters like the contrast and saturation of Velvia but for much of my personal work I like a more honest and moderate contrast film. In scanning contrast and saturation can be boosted but contrast is hard to tame if information is blocked or blown in the film. I used EPP in my commercial work since it came out in the 70's. In more recent years I've shot Provis and now Astia. Both are very fine grained and excellent color with Provia being a little more saturated but not too much. Astia is designed for scanning and is what I feel is the ideal film for me. I would rather boost saturation and contrast rather than fight with reducing it.

[sgelb]

if you are shooting landscape, I think you might want velvia. the biggest issue with velvia is exposure and filtration and lost shadows. I know that velvia needs an extra 1/3-1/2 stop for truest colors. Velvia is a thick emulsion that seems to benefit from a little more exposure, EPP probably the opposite.

IMO if you want super super saturated, vivid true colors, provia and fuji are the way. Velvia can be very difficult to scan properly.

check out this shot:
http://www.davidbrookover.com/ut_01.shtml check out green river sunset. pretty incredible. this guy is shooting provia or velvia and he was a film tester for fuji for a long time (in japan of all places). I think there is a little post going on and definitely a grad of some kind being used. i have seen a print it is truly something spectacular.

I dare to say it would be difficult to get results like this with EPP. I would try E100G or my personal fav E64. E64 has a nice color pallette IMO, nice saturation, not too much. they used to make a E64X which was an outdoor warm balance, that is a fantastic film.. i shoot it sometimes even though the batch of 120 I have is 15 yrs old.

[Gene McCluney]

I should add that when EPP was introduced, it was a snappier, more saturated choice than the other Ektachrome emulsions Kodak offered, its just not as snappy and saturated as Velvia, thus making it a more "all around" film.

It's an "old technology" film, but it is still popular enough that Kodak keeps making it. That is saying something very good about it, I think.

[Drew Wiley]

I found I had to be very cautious using Velvia in the desert, especially with multicoated
lenses. The contrast was just too harsh for general use in open sunlight, although
there were certain niche opportunities. For 8x10 I really prefer E100G, though it sometimes needs a UV filter for distant scenes. Sometimes I carried a trio of films:
Velvia / E100G / Astia; but Astia in 8x10 is hard to get. I don't use Provia 100 because
it's still on a dimensionally unstable acetate base. All the others are polyester.

[Tim Povlick]

Wow! Thanks very much for all the great responses. This is a treasure trove!

Greatly Appreciate the expert advice.

Best Regards,

Tim

[Gene McCluney]

I don't use Provia 100 because
it's still on a dimensionally unstable acetate base. All the others are polyester.

Where did you hear that Provia 100 in sheet film sizes is on Acetate base? It wouldn't make sense for Fuji to just make one emulsion on acetate in sheet film. I doubt they do it.

In any case EPP is more like Provia than Velvia. But even then Kodak and Fuji have different color signatures.