Shooting Velvia

[nightbringer]

Hello, I've picked up a few rolls of Velvia to shoot some landscape shots, are there any particular things you have to keep in mind when shooting it?

Also, any tips to get the best out of the colours?

[ameerat42]

Wish I knew. It's about the only one I haveN'T used. There are a few film users here who have/do/can.
Am.

[vanngirl]

um, the usual? polarising filter?

[ricktas]

it likes vibrancy. So find a good sunset/sunrise and go for it!

[sunny6teen]

avoid a polariser when using velvia. the colours will be very saturated without it.
velvia's very popular for landscapes but can be fiddly getting the exposure right. it's pretty sensitive.
with velvia 50, I rate the EI at 40 but I'll change it to 64 for high-key work or 32 for low-key.
I may rate it at 50 in overcast conditions to bump up the colour...or at 32 if it's harsh, contrasty light.
if you haven't used it before, you'd be wise to bracket your shots and see what your preference is.

[nightbringer]

I went out and did some test shots, about half a roll in the sunrise this morning. I did hear about some people rating it at 40, but I have been hearing conflicting theories about that - apparently the old stuff people suggested rating at 40, the new stuff you rate at 50. I've been rating it at 50, I figure I'll do a roll and see how it turns out and then try shooting 40 on the next one. I haven't really tried experimenting with bracketing on my camera, I did do it for a roll of black and white last week but I'm still waiting on that to come back from the developer to see how it turns out.

Does anyone with an F100 have any experience as to how bracketing works on that particular camera?

[N*A*M]

i have the PDF manual somewhere
i'll find it for you
quite sure it is covered in there

[N*A*M]

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/nikon/nikon_f100/nikon_f100.htm

download all 3 PDFs

the section on bracketing is in part 2, pp57-59

[fabian628]

just shot a roll. I will let you know how it turns out when I get it developed! :D will be my first ever roll of slide film :p

[fabian628]

some shots with velvia 100. I did notice the exposure latitude was not very big. Also the transperancies had a red cast, not sure if that was due to the developing though. They also seem cooler than other films, I may purchase a warming filter next time i shoot velvia.

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af352/Natural_Defence_Plant2/film/V700_835.jpg

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af352/Natural_Defence_Plant2/film/V700_829.jpg

[jim]

Shoot landscapes rather than portraits. Velvia tends to do unpleasant things to skin tones. (over-saturation, and something of a magenta cast)

[geck]

With regards to the red cast, I found that if it is expired it can fog slightly red. I agree with jim re not using it for portraits, although I have read of people using a blue filter to try to correct the magenta cast - I don't think it really worked though... In my experience its fantastic for scenery, and (if expired) cross processing gives some very interesting results but I wouldn't cross process fresh or well stored stuff - if its Velvia and not Velva 50 those rolls are like gold.

[nightbringer]

I've heard that Provia 100 is better if you want Velvia like colours but still want to shoot portraits. I got a roll back earlier this week, I've been meaning to post them up here to AusPhoto:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5112/5915184050_ab10fedf6c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4tran/5915184050/)
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6056/5915184494_7f8dc0848b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4tran/5915184494/)
4457-06.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4tran/5915184494/)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5111/5915184916_8696414753.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4tran/5915184916/)
4457-20.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/t4tran/5915184916/)

[ecopix]

I used to routinely use an 81A with a polariser for through-the-day scenic shots. Long exposures can go greenish, so for dusk shots I used a weak magenta (flouro) filter, which got the warmth back in that kind of light. I adored Velvia, used to buy bulk rolls of the stuff and process it myself for stock work and assignments.
Two camera bodies, rated at 50 in one and 100 in the other, and just pushed it in processing. The 100 ISO rolls were a little contrasty but beautiful.
It's one of the few films you can go out on a grey, rainy day and get beautiful snappy images with rich greys that really look nice. It seems counter-intuitive to use a saturated film for grey subjects, but it really works. Next grey day, take a walk with your film camera loaded with Velvia.
The other thing about Velvia was that it was almost indestructable. I remember camera gear so hot it burned my face in outback Queensland in the summer, but the film was always fine. The Kodak films couldn't take that punishment. Also repeated x-rays at airports - I took Velvia through many on a big trip around SE Asia and it was fine.
Provia (RDPIII 100) was actually less grainy (granularity) than Velvia at 50, but less saturated and not quite as sharp. The sharpness of Velvia was actually edge contrast, a bit like USM. Astia had beautiful highlight attenuation, but was muted in colour (still lovely for the appropriate subjects).
They were all state of the art films. Still are, of course. Makes me want to dust of my FM2 and my old 'Blad and join you. I heard the old Velvia was discontinued due to an environmental issue, so they must have reformulated it. Good on you for shooting film!

[nightbringer]

You know you want to - Velvia is one of the main reasons why I shoot film. The other is my intense dislike of long hours spent on post-processing digital pictures, when it's more interesting to do it the traditional way with film - developing in a darkroom and then making your own prints.

[steffoto]

I realise this thread is a bit old but I am new here and wanted to add my thoughts.
I shoot almost exclusively Velvia in large format - 4x5. It is a wonderful film for seascapes and waterfalls expecially.
I rate it at 50. I know some others like to rate it at 32 to try to bring up some more shadow detail but I find it is very sensitive to over exposure (as are most slide films). It only has around 5 and a bit stops of range so you need to meter very carefully. I suspect 32 might work for exposures under a second or so. Most of my exposures are more like 8 to 10 seconds.
As others have mentioned - you can get a magenta cast from expired film if it has not been stored properly. And occassionaly some green from very long exposures.
There are 2 variations of Velvia. The RVP100F is a nice film but does not have the same vibrant contrasty saturation of the old formula RVP-50. The 50 was discontinued some time ago but Fuji re-introduced it a while back. I use both but much prefer the 50. The 50 is harder to get and more expensive because most landscape photographers love it.
I also process it myself at home with Tetenal's 3 Bath E6 kit. Does a great job. And is a lot cheaper than the $10 a sheet I get charged at a lab!
As nightbringer says - Velvia - why I shoot film. :)