Changing to Slide Film.

[SC]

In October I will take a trip to the mountains, hoping to get some shots of the leaves changing, and some wildlife. I have never used slide film, but the advantages of Velvia for this type photography is tempting. I have always wanted to try slide film, but I understand that it is less forgiving than negative film, and processing is more expensive. Is there that much difference in quality between slide film, and say something like Kodak High Definition negative film. For now, I think I will take two camera's, the digital for back up, and make the transition to Velvia in the 35mm. And so let the learning process begin. I have not been able to find much information explaining the slide process. Where can I find info on how to convert to prints if desired, and why exposure is more critical, and what to do about it. I am picking up bits and pieces, but no good one source.

 

[motcon]

Kodak High Definition negative film is garbage, quite frankly.

you will be very pleased with velvia; very. yes, it does have a bit less flexibility than neg film, but you can easily overcome that by proper metering, bracketing, or both.

you very simply have it processed at the local lab. you will get back color positive slides. from them you can evaluate and determine which you want as prints. any fuji frontier system can produce prints from slides. fuji frontier systems are found nearly everywhere these days; local wal marts etc.

you'll be pleased with the contrast and saturation of velvia.

 

[drlynn]

I have to agree. Kodak HD is strictly a "snapshot" quality film. The only difference between it and regular Kodak consumer film is a touch less grain, but not enough to fo quality enlargements.

If you have time, shoot a roll of Velvia before the trip to get used to shooting slides. It really is not much different from shooting print film, but many people get "psyched out" by all the talk of how unforgiving slide film is.

If your camera has auto bracketing, then bracket at +/- 1 stop, especially on those extremely important, gotta-get-this shots.

I think you'll be impressed with your results, if you'll just relax and shoot.

 

[SC]

Thanks for the reply, this is less complicated than I thought. I have been reading on a wildlife photographer's web site, who likes to push the film one stop. I understand the concept and the advantage, but are their disadvantages, such as making exposure even more fickle?

 

[drlynn]

The main disadvantage of pushing is that a lot of labs do not offer push processing. The ones I go to around here do not, anyway.

Also, pushing film tends to increase the grain of the finished image, making enlargements less attractive.

For most day-to-day use, just shoot normally. Some people will rate the Velvia down to ISO 40 and then have it processed normally. This tends to add detail to the shadows, but it does make it easier to overexpose, especially in high contrast situations.

 

[SC]

So now I find that Velvia is offered in 50 and 100, I will probably use 100 since the speed will help in wildlife, but since this is a fairly new product, has there been any problems or dislikes with this film? Some minor quality issues will not bother me, but the speed could be useful.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[motcon]

the 100 is new. from what i hear from my photog friends (who are no slouches, btw) is that the technology is basically the same as the 50 with some improvements. the fuji site gives some great information on the film.

http://fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/Products.jsp?nav=1&parent=PRODUCT_CATEGORY_234668&product=


New Fujichrome Velvia 100F retains the exciting color reproduction that Velvia 50 is known for while providing significant advance in speed, grain, versatility and color reproduction.

 

[ksmattfish]

As i understand it the reason they say slides don't have the exposure latitude of print film is because while the final product is the slide itself, with a neg the final product is a print, adding another step in which to compensate/control variations in exposure.

Can good prints be made from under/over exposed slides using Fuji Frontier, or some other digital "darkroom"?