Fuji Velvia ISO50 and Filters

[Maiku]

I rarely shoot color because black and white is cheaper and more forgiving to incorrect exposures. However, yesterday I bought some Fuji Velvia 50 for the first time. I know exposures have to be accurate, so be being patient is one key to getting the most out the film. I am also interested in using filters to get best out of the film.

I will be shooting

1. Portraits of my kids, so what are the best filters to use for skin tones?
2. Cherry blossoms, so what the best filters for light pink and pink blossoms?
3. I may visiting Nikko`s temples and shrines. The temples have brilliant reds, greens and blues.

I am sorry if my questions are insipid, but my knowledge of the film and filter combos is limited to ZERO.

Thanks for any help.

 

[thegman]

Personally I don't think any filters are required, basically you've got a high contrast film with vibrant colours, I would imagine the temples and cherry blossoms will look great as-is. Your kids skin tones might not look quite right, but I don't think Velvia is anywhere near as bad for skin as some people say.

Just as an aside, I personally find C41 colour film more forgiving of exposure than B&W film I've tried. I find with Portra 400 just give it as much exposure as you like and it turns out OK.

 

[Jerevan]

An UV filter might be the only thing you need. If you are doing portraits indoors in the evening, then you might need to have a filter for the sort of light you have (tungsten or flourescent) but if you scan the film, you can always correct it in post-processing.

 

[Maiku]

Thanks. I will go without filters. Its seems best. If I do not like the results then perhaps investigate more about filters.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Velvia 50 is a lovely, lovely film, and one of my all-time favourites, but it's far from being the best for portraiture. It tends to make for a pink cast in caucasian faces. Resolution is excellent as is colour intensity but of the few remaining current transparency types Provia 100F or 400X would be better choices for portraiture. Astia would have been even better again, and you may be able to procure some, but is out of production.

I generally prefer positive for colour by far, however if buying film specifically for portraiture, Fuji Pro 160, Reala 100 if you can find it, or even Pro 400H are likely to give better skin tones. Many will recommend one of the Portras. I'm in the minority, here, but do not care for them much, personally although I've seen some fine images captured on it, I was unimpressed with my results. If you must use Velvia and want to correct skin tones in camera you will need to reduce a red cast. I'm no expert on filtration so will let others suggest specific filters. For your other applications I would run with the film as it is.

You say you've purchased Velvia for the first time. I'm not sure if that means you have not shot much (or any) transparency before? If not, be aware that you will want to expose for the highlights. Velvia 50 has a small tolerance for overexposure but nothing at all like a colour negative or B&W. You will want to get exposures bang on or ideally no more than half a stop overexposed, in general, for acceptable results. Underexposure is no guarantee of good results either as Velvia 50 is a very dense film with high contrast and significant underexposure will make extracting usable shadow detail very challenging.

It's possible to meter Velvia successfully using reflective in-camera (spot, centre-weighted; matrix etc.) and achieve great exposures this way. But arguably the simplest route to achieve the accuracy required to expose Velvia well, is with a reliable hand held meter capable of incident metering. This is my preference for most film types including transparency, (although I will occasionally take reflective readings, spot readings, or even use a grey card rarely). Hope this assists.
Regards,
Brett

 

[whitecat]

I would use a uv if shooting in open sky. In more subdued light just shoot away!

 

[Mystyler]

I'm going to parrot Sarcophilus Harrisii here a bit: if you're taking some photos of your kids in the shade the skin tones should turn out fine however the sun will make their skin go pinky as outlined above. I ran out of Astia 100F recently while taking some family photos and had to use a roll of Velvia 50 and unfortunately the skin tones were way off. I tried to correct in post and they were useable, but just not as good. I am not so great at that kind of thing as I'm still learning.

Velvia 100 (not Velvia 100F) does skin tones better while still looking a fair bit "like Velvia". Provia 100F is good and I love Provia 400X (I think the most versatile colour film still available) but if you can find any Astia 100F snap it up. That stuff is positively amazing and my last 19 rolls are going to be used only on special occasions. I can agree that Fuji Pro 400H and Kodak Portra 160 are great for skin tones but they are negative film (nothing wrong with that, mind!) and I hate to say it but Portra can look "dull" sometimes. It has a very distinctive look which can be amazing with the right subjects but other times you might be let down. I did only use the NC version of the film, however, not the VC or the newer stuff.

Aside from having a UV filter on when I go out shooting during the day I have never really used filters a whole lot with Velvia, my experience is limited to 80A, 81A and ND graduated filters occasionally. Usually the film itself is enough for eye-popping colours but sometimes the 81A gives sunsets extra kick or can enhance green leaves or grass. For blues and greens, a polarizer is a good choice, but I've not used one with Velvia. I should give it a try.

Regardless of what you do, enjoy the Velvia. It has a reputaion on the internet for being impossible to expose. I don't think this is deserved but it is challenging to expose well. If you get it right though there is nothing else quite like it.

 

[anjoca76]

Excellent advice here already. I think people sometimes make the exposure aspect of slide film more intimidating than it needs to be. The general rule with slide film is to expose for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they may. But if you plan on scanning your slides, don't overdo this--most scanners have a tough time getting detail out of dark shadows. Projected, or on a light table, they will look wonderful, though!

Velvia 50 works best in low-contrast settings, as it is already a high-contrast film. So avoid harsh midday light. Yes, this is true of most all film, but especially so for Velvia 50. The golden hours (morning and dusk) are ideal, as is shade.

Provia tends to go blue on my a little, so I use a warming filter. But with Velvia, I usually don't use a filter. It's "warm" enough to begin with, not to mention it's already slow at 50, and adding a filter almost guarantees the need for a tripod in all but full sun--at least for me.

 

[KevinS]

Velvia is my favorite film. I guess I just like the bright colors and sharpness, and I shot hundreds and hundreds of rolls during the time I did assignments for magazines. For filtration I follow the advice of John Shaw in a book on nature photography. He suggested always carrying two filters; a warming filter and a polarizer. On overcast or rainy days I find a warming filter very important. For times when the sky is blue and part of the picture, I use a polarizer. Being able to bring the brightness of the sky down even a tiny bit is very helpful to me, and is how I shoot most often. For much of the day I use a "warming polarizer" that combines a polarizer with an 81A warming filter. At dawn and dusk the warming effect is too much, so I use a regular polarizer. As noted above, when conditions are harsh (like on clear, cool days with low humidity) the contrast is already too great and any polarization will push things beyond the film's ability to record. No filter and careful exposure is the best one can do at that time.

 

[Pirate]

Here are a couple "around town" shots of Velvia 50 with a UV and polarizer. Shot with a Nikon F3P and 50mm f/1.8 lens:

 

[raid]

I have extensively used Fujichrome films for about twenty years. Velia is less suitable for family portraits due to th high contrast. I would not use any filters.

 

[sepiareverb]

An 81A might help with the portraits, but not with a sky. Keep the subjects in nice soft light with Velvia.

 

[raid]

The slide film will require extra care with scanning and printing.