Astia vs. Velvia

[gma]

After reading about the rich color saturation of Velvia 50 and the pastel color rendition of Astia 100 I made some identical 4x5 architectural shots using Astia 100 and Velvia 50 in daylight. I exposed the Velvia at the rated EI 50 rather than at 40 as I have seen recommended by others. I had not used either film, but I have used Provia with consistently good results. I expected to see a drastic difference, but to my surprise there was a subtle difference. The Velvia has warmer shadows which I much prefer over the slightly bluish cast of Astia and Provia. Greens were noticeably warmer also. If I view the Astia transparency alone it looks perfectly acceptable. When the two are side by side the Velvia wins with more pleasing color in my opinion. I think if I had made a Provia shot too, probably it would fall right between the Astia and Velvia. Now I am curious as to how Velvia 50 compares with Ektachrome VS. Any comments?

[MarcoF]

I wrote a small article on my website about the comparison between Velvia vs E100VS, it's not a scientific test but I think that it could be quite useful...sadly the article is in italian, but I posted some images too and I think that they speak for themselves...anyway, in the Petrified Forest images, Velvia rendition of colours is closer to the "real" scene while in the VS there is a noticeable bluish/velvet cast...the same bluish/velvet cast helped us to obtain a quite psichedelic effect on the "lower" lavender in the Provenza's shoot...the final images are about reds and greens rendition, I prefer Velvia ones, I find it warmer and more pleasing than VS...here's the link:

http://www.fotoavventure.it/freecontent/VS_Velvia.php

Ciao
Marco

[gma]

Thanks, Marco.

Nice work! I prefer the Velvia also. Did you rate the Velvia at 50 or 40 as I have seen recommended by a number of other photographers?

gma

[MarcoF]

Thank you!!

I usually rate Velvia at 50.
Sometimes, when I'm working in very contrasty situations and I want to open up the shadows a bit, I rate it at 40, but 90% of times is 50, I'm much more pleased with the results...

Ciao
Marco

[Leitz_Lad]

Hello,

What do you guys think of Velvia 100 vs the 50 version?.

Cool first post

[gma]

Stan L B is a frequent user of Velvia 50 film. Maybe he has tried the 100 also. In a recent magazine article I read the two Velvia films yield almost the same color saturation. I have not seen the 100 speed in local stores, but a clerk said she can special order. The extra speed would be good to have.

[MarcoF]

I've never used Velvia 100F, but maybe you can find useful this article :

http://www.naturephotographers.net/a.../gt0803-1.html

I'll be in Utah at the end of this week and, for the first time, I decided to bring with me some boxes of Velvia 100F and Astia 100F other than the "classic" Velvia 50, just to personally check these films...if you are interested I'll let you know my impressions when I'll be back...

Ciao

Marco

[David A. James]

The difference seems to me more than just color. The Velvia is a sharper film with poor/to fair shadow detail and needs early morning, late afternoon or overcast sky to perform at its best. It is free of of the muddy casts characteristic of Ektachromes. This becomes particularly important in medium format. It is the film of choice for Arizona landscape work.

After reading about the rich color saturation of Velvia 50 and the pastel color rendition of Astia 100 I made some identical 4x5 architectural shots using Astia 100 and Velvia 50 in daylight. I exposed the Velvia at the rated EI 50 rather than at 40 as I have seen recommended by others. I had not used either film, but I have used Provia with consistently good results. I expected to see a drastic difference, but to my surprise there was a subtle difference. The Velvia has warmer shadows which I much prefer over the slightly bluish cast of Astia and Provia. Greens were noticeably warmer also. If I view the Astia transparency alone it looks perfectly acceptable. When the two are side by side the Velvia wins with more pleasing color in my opinion. I think if I had made a Provia shot too, probably it would fall right between the Astia and Velvia. Now I am curious as to how Velvia 50 compares with Ektachrome VS. Any comments?