Is ther something special about Velvia?

[Senor Hound]

I have heard SO many professional photographers say they love Fuji Velvia. I really didn't start photography until after the digital age, so I don't understand what it is and really what makes so many like it so much.

If someone wants to share their love story with Velvia, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Steph]

I have heard SO many professional photographers say they love Fuji Velvia. I really didn't start photography until after the digital age, so I don't understand what it is and really what makes so many like it so much.

If someone wants to share their love story with Velvia, I'd love to hear it.

Not all professional photographers love Velvia. Mainly, landscape photographers really like it because of its saturated rendition of colours and its very fine grain. IMHO, Velvia is totally unsuitable for portraits. Velvia is not without its limitations though: it is slow (ISO 50) but that is not so much a problem when you use a tripod for landscapes and the dynamic range is very limited. I like using Velvia for landscapes but prefer Provia for a more natural look. Velvia's saturation can be too much at times. I find Velvia works better under somewhat overcast conditions.

 

[Alex_B]

I agree Velvia is not the best for portraits, unless you want the Disney look

Velvia gives a wildlife or landscape shot on a grey day still some colour, which can be beneficial. I also found it to work nicely in very harsh light in the desert. You have to be careful with the contrast though, you might easily get very black shadows if you do not master your exposure.

These days Velvia does not only come as 50, but also as 100 and 100F ... I personally actually prefer the 100 versions. Their grain is as fine if not finer than the 50.

My favourite is Velvia 100 F. IMHO it just gives better colour accuracy without losing anything in the saturation.

These are a couple of images I took with Velvia 100 F in harsh light mostly, scanned then with a Nikon 5000:
http://www.photoscapes.eu/egypt06/

 

[Steph]

These days Velvia does not only come as 50, but also as 100 and 100F ...

Agreed. However, I think most people think about Velvia 50 when they talk about this film. I have never tried the 100 and 100F versions so cannot comment.

 

[Alex_B]

Agreed. However, I think most people think about Velvia 50 when they talk about this film. I have never tried the 100 and 100F versions so cannot comment.

I did a comparison once shooting the same scenes on a bright blue-sky day using both 50 and 100 F. The characteristics appeared so similar, that the 100 F can be seen as a 50, just a bit faster. I could not see any advantage in either of them (except the speed). After scanning, the grain of the 100 F seemed a tad finer and easier to be removed completely with NeatImage. But again, both were very close.

 

[christopher walrath]

I shoot black and white color negative film. I haven't shot velvia reversal film in nearly ten years. I remember being very satisfied with saturation in reds. Blues were vibrant. 'Course, memory fades. Been a while.