Is velvia discontinued?

[dave_whatever]

Pretty much everyone says the exact opposite. The only difficulty in scanning slides is having a scanner that can push through the density.

+1

Scanning chromes is a doddle. Especially if you expose correctly.

[angusparker]

Pretty much everyone says the exact opposite. The only difficulty in scanning slides is having a scanner that can push through the density, while getting accurate colors and a good scan from negative film is more dependent on the scan operator's skill.

And no matter how hard you try, negative films just don't look like chromes.

Choose your tools as you see fit, of course.

+1 Been my experience too.

[StoneNYC]

Velvia is not discontinued and neither is the chemistry. What was discontinued was the E-6 chemistry by KODAK, but FUJI still makes their version of E-6, the lab you called probably just doesn't order from Fuji and didn't know they could get Chemistry from them.

As far as Velvia sales, normal Velvia100 is available in stores like B&H etc, and Velvia50 can be bought from Japan stores, or eBay, and there are a few of us who organize group buys and distribute them, more info on that by PM only.

So yea Velvia and E-6 is still available. The poor dissemination of info is what kills stuff, people spread false rumors and people panic and switch instead of doing their own homework.

Thanks for asking.

[Wayne]

Ektar isn't cheaper anymore. In fact, it's doubled in price since I last put some in the freezer. Don't know any solution to that, except shoot 4x5 when I don't actually need an 8x10 shot, and shoot roll film when that will do. But that concept doesn't work too well out on the trail, when I realistically carry only one given
format at a time. It's been a long time since any color sheet film had fully reliable supply. Even when it was routine, and every serious camera store sold a selection of three different brands (Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa), these companies would drive me nuts because they were constantly altering the specifics. Constant "new and improved" implied an endless learning curve for any critical application. And I have always hated anything on acetate base because it isn't dimensionally stable. Ektar has a few distinct color issues, but it is the most versatile color neg film I've ever encountered for non-portrait applications.

Ektar IS cheaper..its cheaper than Portra and its the cheapest color negative film available on the US market in medium or large format. That doesn't mean its cheap. Its not. That's why I just ordered a pack of 120, and didn't order any 4x5 at all. Getting close to $4/shot now and that's not good news for me.

But I do think RA-4 printings is still pretty cheap. About 45c per 8x10 if you buy the right chemicals. I hope that little bubble lasts a while.

[MultiFormat Shooter]

Velvia is not discontinued and neither is the chemistry. What was discontinued was the E-6 chemistry by KODAK, but FUJI still makes their version of E-6, the lab you called probably just doesn't order from Fuji and didn't know they could get Chemistry from them.

As far as Velvia sales, normal Velvia100 is available in stores like B&H etc, and Velvia50 can be bought from Japan stores, or eBay, and there are a few of us who organize group buys and distribute them, more info on that by PM only.

So yea Velvia and E-6 is still available. The poor dissemination of info is what kills stuff, people spread false rumors and people panic and switch instead of doing their own homework.

Thanks for asking.

+1,000 /thread

[Bleirer]

So as a beginner in 4x5 what would my options be to get started with velvia? I have darkroom experience in 35mm but no longer have a darkroom. Are there places you can recommend to send out unprocessed film and get scans back (Cleveland area or mail-in)? Should I just set up from the beginning for tank or tray processing? If so where can I send out for scans or is buying a scanner pretty much required? What would be a suitable used scanner? So many questions.

[koraks]

So as a beginner in 4x5 what would my options be to get started with velvia?

Availability is good, but I personally find it quite costly.

I have darkroom experience in 35mm but no longer have a darkroom. Are there places you can recommend to send out unprocessed film and get scans back (Cleveland area or mail-in)?

I'm sure people can recommend local labs to you. I'm on the other side of the planet and around here, I find lab development for E6 sheet film cost prohibitive at € 5 to € 10 per sheet for 4x5 and with 8x10 you're pretty much on your own.

Should I just set up from the beginning for tank or tray processing?

If you consider shooting any volume at all then this will turn out to be the most cost effective solution. Tray development sounds like a rather failure prone approach to me and I'd sooner consider investing in a tank system, possibly even with a thermostat controlled tempering bath and roller system (e.g. one of the Jobo systems). But you could get by with a Mod54 holder and a tub of water at the right temperature, particularly if color accuracy isn't highly critical.

If so where can I send out for scans or is buying a scanner pretty much required? What would be a suitable used scanner? So many questions.

I couldn't recommend a good scanning service, although I understand that there are several drum scanning services. For lower-end purposes (which is fine for me), a flatbed scanner can be adequate for your needs. I personally use an old Epson 4990 and it's fine for my personal needs.

As you can tell, it all depends on your personal requirements - and your budget. There's no golden standard to adhere to.

[tgtaylor]

I'm resigned to Fuji pulling the plug on Fujichrome. I am dreading the day but it's coming, I'm surprised it's lasted this long. The volume required to run these coating lines just isn't there anymore. Suppliers go broke, no one steps in to make some of the exotic chemicals required.
I give it a year, maybe two.
I hope I'm totally wrong, but with Cibachrome gone, I mostly shoot Kodak color negative film it's so easy to make ra-4 prints.
I still have a fall ritual every year of going out and blazing away with my Bronica making 6x6 slides, project them with an old Kindermann projector and listen to my wife ohh and ahh.

As far as printing, nothing beats C-41/RA-4. Color negative film has a far greater dynamic range than slide film and with masking techniques you can selectively change the color. On Horsetail Fall I printed using two different filter packs: one for the sky and the second to enhance the color and texture of the rock. You can't do that with slide - it's WYSIWYG.

Anyone who doesn't have a slide projector is missing out on a real treat. Big screen, dark room and it's like going to the movies. I have 3: A Kodak AMT with Kodak's best lens (at least it's most expensive lens), a Rollie 66, and a Cabin 67Z and boxes of slides to project. Incidentally look at the thread herein below titled Reversal Printing with Kodak D-11.

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

I realize that darkroom workers didn't typically mask color negs for printing because they "didn't have to". That was once the necessary domain of high quality
jobs from chromes like dye transfer printing and then Cibachrome, a medium quite difficult to tame without routine contrast masking at the very least. But that
mere custom or preconception does not mean that RA4 prints cannot be significantly improved in numerous cases by making supplementary masks to the color
negs themselves. The inherent orange mask helps, but only to a certain degree. No, when somebody just wants to learn RA4 color printings, I would not want to
complicate things by talking about supplementary masking. Let them learn the basics first, and determine their boundaries using existing film and paper choices.
But if someone wants to get into high gear and go beyond those boundaries, and do it fully optically, masking opens a whole new arena of possibilities of control,
including finely-tune contrast increase or decrease, selective balance of hues, or various tricks like Thomas just noted.

[Bleirer]

I'm inclined toward the digital route for starters. I doubt I will ever invest in a darkroom again. What I'd like to know is options or suggestions for how to get my exposed velvia into photoshop, now that I know I can rely on it being available for a while.