Fuji Provia F - Yellow cast ?

[Bill Glickman]

I read the following from a good photographer....

The printer at my prolab said he can't even believe Fuji is selling Provia F. Fu ji won't sell it in Japan, as they fear Japanese consumers are too peculiar abou t the colors. According to the Fuji engineer in Tokyo to whom my friend spoke to (via email in Japanese...friend is a translator from Japanese to English), they have a problem w/ yellowing in the colors and haven't been able to fix the problem yet.

Has anyone noticed this problem with Provia F. I have not shot this filnm under all conditions yet, so maybe these problems have not surfaced yet for me. Or m aybe this guy got a bad batch of film? Any heavy Provia F users who shoot lands capes, your opinion is greatly appreciated. Thank you.....

[TAN K H]

This is my primary film. It's a very saturated film that IMO doesn't have a distinctive overall cast (unlike its predecessor the plain Jane Provia). It's 'neutrality' is precisely one of the things I like about it. The other is the general lack of reciprocity correction for most architectural scenes (a working photographer's dream), even at dusk.

[Howard Slavitt]

I think it has a strong yellowish cast. I am surprised about how many people rave about the film. I still use it at times because of it's other advantages, but not as much as I otherwise might.

[Sergio Ortega]

Bill,

The latest issue of Practical Photography has the results of a comprehensive test of color transparency films. They also found this film (Provia F) to have a yellowish cast.

[Ellis Vener]

Well I haven't seen this 'yellowish cast' in Provia F. Not in regular 4x5, Quic kload 4x5, 120 roll film or 35mm roll film. i've shot it in full daylight, "gold en hour" light at the beginning and end of the day, with Nikon Speedlights, with Lu madyne, Balcar, Norman, Speedotron, and Elinchrom studio flash systems, with a variety of reflectors and Chimera, Plume Wafer, and Balcar Prisma lightba nks.

What I have noticed is that if your lab is running with Kodak biases the speed i s a little lower than if they are using Fuji aimpoints.

I've shot several hundred sheets and rolls.

You should test and make your own decisions and not rely on others and spread rumors. If you are reporting the results you have found at your lab (and every E-6 lab is different) that's one thing; rumor monge ring.

P.S. I don't work for Fuji

[Paul Schilliger]

The Provia II had a magenta tendency that killed some greens and blues. The Velv ia has sometimes oversaturated greens and I find the Provia 100F to be in between. I have shot on e box and a few rolls so far, mostly inside but also for landscape. I like it! It is very sharp, contras ty (actually a little more contrasty than it's predecessor), has a rich tonal range, but needs, seing my re sults, to be rated around 80 ASA. I had not noticed the yellow cast so far, but will open my eyes. But per haps are there different qualities, as I live in Europ...

[Sergio Ortega]

Update on previous posting:

Bill contacted me to find out where Practical Photography Magazine could be found, so he could review the test of color transparency films I had mentioned in my previous posting, particularly the Provia F test results.

It's a British publication. I tried to find a web site for it with no success. Borders Book Store carries it, as well as Barnes and Noble.

The test rated just about every available color transparency film on the market, and print films as well, for a variety of characteristics, rating each one on a scale of 1 to 10.

If I remember correctly, the editors remarked that Provia F had a yellowish cast, noticeable in skin tones. They also raved about its lack of grain and sharpness. Overall, they rated Astia as the best one of all films tested.

I don't place much stock in these magazine tests, preferring to go by my own experiences, but I thought it interesting that these testers/editors found the yellowish cast mentioned by Bill in his question. So I guess it's more than just a rumour.

Sergio.

[Bill Glickman]

I thank all you all for the response... it'a amazing how this experience is common. I did finally get a hold of a Fuji engineer today. They confirmed the problem, and are currently working to remove the cast out of the film The Fuji engineer did identify a fix, use a Magenta 05 filter, and the cast will not appear on film... so it's probably not quite a yellow cast....so Ellis, this is not a rumor. Th Fuji engineer explained, this cast came as a result of Fuji designers trying to make the film reproduce perfect skin tones. Now they are tweaking the colors to find the perfect balance so skin tones are true as well as landscapes.

Ellis, it seems that asking a simple question on this forum is considered "rumor mongering" to you? I thought this was the purpose of the forum - to see if ones experiences are unique or possibly widespread. Who got damaged in this alledged "rumor"? Maybe people actualy benefited from this post? I sure hope your scare tactics of "rumor mongering" does not prevent others from reducing this forum to reporting lab test results only? If others feel I am violating the purpose of this forum, please advise me so in a post, and limit my questions and responses to solid test results only...

[Julio Fernandez]

I shot a few rolls of F and while the yellow cast was not noticed, - in fall landscapes I did notice that the reds had a tendency to go muddy brown and lifeless with a slight underexposure. Velvia on the other hand seemed to hold onto the reds far better even with underexposure. The grain in F I found was exactly as claimed by Fuji, but on the whole I was quite unsatisfied with this film and have been waiting for somebody to tell me that it is all under control now. Obviously, it is'nt. Too bad, the frain is amazing!

[Mark Brown]

I also mailed Fuji in Japan to ask about why Provia F wasn't available for domestic release, and was told that it was still "under development" (despite being availble in Europe and the US) with release expected onto the Japanese market some time this year - so a fix may be pending soon.

Last month's issue of Asahi Camera had a quick comparison test between some re-imported Provia F and RDP-II. A yellow cast was reported in skin tones, not otherwise noticeable in other subjects, but the reporter did say that this might have been due to the film being subjected to less than perfect conditions while being re- imported. Colour saturation is slightly lower than RDP-II, and this was especially evident when both films were push processed.

Lack of local supply notwithstanding, I don't plan to switch from RDP-II as my standard ISO100 film anytime soon, at least in 120 and 5x4".