Velvia 50 replacement

[Alan Klein]

So I can't get Velvia 50 for a reasonable price or seemingly for any price due to their discontinuance. I shoot 4x5 and 120. I'm down to my last full box of 4x5 sheets safely in my freezer and a couple of rolls of 120s.

What are others doing to replace Velvia 50?

[eric black]

I prefer and have used Provia for several years now after being a total Velvia addict years ago- give that a try and see what you think. Its not as saturated, but you can compensate for that if you wish after the scan in post processing. I do save a few sheets of Velvia 50 for special occasions that might warrant its use.

[koraks]

What are others doing to replace Velvia 50?

Shoot digital?
Shoot Ektar and scan or print to RA4?

Provia is nice, but (1) it doesn't look anything like Velvia and (2) since it's also a Fuji product, the risk of discontinuance and price hikes in the next few years is nearly 100%.

[Drew Wiley]

I was thinking the same thing. Fuji's commitment to sheet film seems questionable. If I had that dilemma, I'd standardize anew on Kodak E100. It's an excellent product better balanced than Provia, but less contrasty or saturated than Velvia. Shoot a roll of it in 120 and see if it appeals to you. It has a slightly cooler look than Provia or Velvia, being balanced to 5500K daylight rather than Fuji's approx 5200K.

[Alan Klein]

I was thinking the same thing. Fuji's commitment to sheet film seems questionable. If I had that dilemma, I'd standardize anew on Kodak E100. It's an excellent product better balanced than Provia, but less contrasty or saturated than Velvia. Shoot a roll of it in 120 and see if it appeals to you. It has a slightly cooler look than Provia or Velvia, being balanced to 5500K daylight rather than Fuji's approx 5200K.

I have shot Provia 100 and Ektachrome 100 in 4x5. I found the reds with Ektachrome redder than Provia's orangey look. The Ektachrome greens look more green too.

[j enea]

you scan your film, so I would shoot provia or E100 and you can add some post to get a look close to, but exactly, like velvia

john

[Alan Klein]

That really doesn't work too well. At least I haven't been able to duplicate Velvia that way.

[Alan Klein]

Try it on my Ektachrome and Provia samples a couple of posts ago to see what you could do. Then post it here and let us know what settings you used. Thanks.

[Kiwi7475]

Not sure how well it works but RawTherapee has a film simulation tool. It’s LUT based. May be worth trying.

https://photo.stackexchange.com/ques...raw-processing

https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Fil...ion_Collection

[Drew Wiley]

Simulation is not the same thing at all. The high contrast of Velvia and its specific dye formulation allows capture of certain hue subtleties which no other film can achieve. But the tradeoff is the fact that only works within a relatively narrow exposure range, and at the expense of neutrality in certain other spectral categories. The other problem is that much of its is lost in translation anyway, whether that involves scanning or some printing medium unequal to the task, almost any conventional print medium, in fact. It's kinda like comparing real ice cream to the same alleged flavor of imitation ice milk : it sorta works, and it sorta doesn't.

I did a very successful large print a few weeks ago that began with an 8x10 Velvia original, with some very subtle distinctions of early season green and other hues in it. But I had to jump through some awfully tricky hoops in order to correctly translate all that into a matching optical enlargement. It would have been well nigh impossible to resolve those vital tricky hue distinctions in something like an inkjet print. And it also meant the reproducible range of the hues I needed to precisely bag had to lie inside a third stop either at the top or at the bottom, at the time of exposure. No room for exposure error whatsoever; but the natural lighting itself was just right, at least for a few lucky seconds.

Current Ektachrome is not quite as fussy, and better balanced overall. Much better balanced than Provia. But I've made excellent prints with em all, going clear back to Ektachrome 64, Kodachrome 25, and pre-E6 Afgachrome 50. I love every one of these films, and numerous other chrome options too, but for different reasons. Don't try to beat any of them into submission. Instead, dance with em, and let them lead at their own pace. Each has their own specific personality and color signature.