Classic Film Review Blog – Fujifilm Fujichrome Velvia

When I was starting to shoot film seriously, I stuck mainly to negative colour stock but started experimenting with black & white, but slide film was something that I avoided. Slide film was for professional photographers or travel photographers who wanted to share their trips on a slide projector. My first experience with slide film was Fuji Sensia and I was hooked. So I decided to jump right into the iconic Fuji slide film, Velvia. The original Kodachrome killer, and yet I only started shooting the stock after it got discontinued, the first roll running through my camera in 2007.

Rolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) - Processing By: Silvano's

Film Specs
Type: Colour Reversal Film (E-6)
Film Base: Triacetate
Film Speed: ASA-50
Formats Available: 135, 120, 220, 4×5, 8×10, 13x18cm, Super8, 16mm
Discontinued: 2005

Nikon F90 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (CPOL) - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: The DarkroomNikon F90 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (CPOL) - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: The DarkroomNikon F90 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (CPOL) - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: The DarkroomNikon F90 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D (CPOL) - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: The Darkroom

Colour Rendition
There is a reason that the nickname for Velvia is Fujifilm Velveeta. The reason is that Velveeta is a cheese 'product' with an artificial orange colour and rich, creamy consistency. That is exactly what you get with the shades of Velvia, rich, creamy, and often unctuous as it tends to exaggerate colours. The high-contrast nature of the film will make the colours pop or reach out from the slide and punch you in the face. You'll notice this in all colours, but mainly in the reds and blues, followed by greens. While this works well for landscapes, you do have to watch for skin tones, although I did find that it wasn't too bad in the few times I've photographed people with Velvia. While many aren't too happy with the punchy colours, they can add drama to the images in the right situations.

Pentax 645 - SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Unicolor Rapid E6 KitPentax 645 - SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Unicolor Rapid E6 KitPentax 645 - SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Unicolor Rapid E6 KitPentax 645 - SMC Pentax A 645 35mm 1:3.5 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Unicolor Rapid E6 Kit

Image Quality
the one thing that you don't have to worry about is image quality. Velvia produces a delightfully sharp and fine-grained image that offers up a nearly grain-free image no matter if you're scanning or projecting. The one thing you will notice about the film is the contrast; this is probably the pinnacle of high-contrast for colour films, but don't let that stop you. Like any slide film, you need to be accurate with your exposure as there is a bit of latitude but nothing like what you get with colour negative or B&W films. If you are metering, especially portrait work, you'll want to meter the light falling on your subject, incident metering, and try and average as best you can between the shadows and highlights. In the shot of the ladies at Fort Michilimackinac, you'll note that I missed this and lost the one woman's face in the shadows of her hats. But when you do get that exposure nailed, you'll be treated to clean highlights, dark shadows, and excellent colour tones across the image.

Modified Anniversary Speed Graphic - Schneider-Kreuznack Angulon 1:6,8/90 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: Toronto Image WorksModified Anniversary Speed Graphic - Schneider-Kreuznack Angulon 1:6,8/90 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: Toronto Image WorksModified Anniversary Speed Graphic - Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: Boréalis Laboratoire PhotoModified Anniversary Speed Graphic - Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-64 - Processing By: Boréalis Laboratoire Photo

Scanning
While most slide films can be challenging to scan, and Velvia can be a bit of a challenge, but if you have correctly exposed film, the scanning is much easier. The one thing that I did notice with Velvia is that it tends to scan in with a basis towards magenta. I only found that when scanning with Epson software and the V700 scanner. It did a better job nailing the colour balance using the Nikon Coolscan V ED and Nikon Scanning software. Thankfully any colour shifts can be easily adjusted for in post-processing; even Adobe Photoshop's automatic adjustments are enough to fix any colour shifts. While you won't get as nice of a result with expired film, you can get the slides almost back to normal with a bit of time. There is some introduction of colour aberrations, but nothing that a bit of work in Photoshop won't fix.

Rolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fuji Velvia (RVP) @ ASA-50 - Processing By: Silvano's

Overall Impression
If Sensia introduced me to slide film, Velvia showed me exactly what slide film could do! However, a specific photograph and subject matter makes Velvia, so you get that Velvia punch. You want to shoot the stock in bright conditions with lots of hard light and plenty of copunch. You also have to remember Velvia filled in a gap in the slide film market; when it was released, the biggest player for professional photography and the slow film was Kodachrome 64, but Kodachrome required a specific and complex processing method. Velvia provided a similar experience but could be taken to any lab and have at the time a 1-2 hour turnaround time. And while the original has been discontinued for a decade and a half now, the new film stock is still hanging on (barely). But the big question is which version do I prefer, the Velvia or Velvia 50? I have to say, I prefer the original Velvia; I found it a bit more forgiving especially when I shot the film at ASA-64, and it has a far more punchy result. These days, the original Velvia can still be found, but it is starting to get on in age, so if you have any rolls left, now is the time to shoot them; you'll probably want to shoot these closer to ASA-25 have them developed normally. Because Velvia does not age well when poorly stored, and you'll get some serious colour shifts. But if you do get your hands on a cold stored roll or, if you're lucky, a box of 4×5, you're in for a real treat.

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Classic Film Review Blog – Fujichrome Astia 100F

When it comes to slide film, Fuji Sensia introduced me to the medium, but it was Astia that made me love slide film. Sitting neatly in the worlds of Velvia 100 and Provia 100, Astia is often an overlooked member of the Fujichrome family, with more people going towards Velvia for rich saturated colours or Provia for a more natural tonality. But Astia was a happy medium between the two; you get a stronger contrast than Provia and more natural colours than Velvia. Astia quickly became my go-to slide film for trips and events where I wanted the magic of slide film with a bit more latitude in exposure.

Film Specs
Type: Colour Reversal (E-6), Slide Film
Film Base: Acetate
Film Speed: ASA-100
Formats Available: 135, Medium Format, Sheet Format

Intrepid - Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar-S 1:5.6/210 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: The DarkroomIntrepid - Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: The DarkroomIntrepid - Schneider-Kreuznach Symmar-S 1:5.6/210 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: The DarkroomIntrepid - Fuji Fujinon-W 1:5.6/125 -Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: The Darkroom

Colour Rendition
As I mentioned in my introduction, Astia is the happy medium between Provia and Velvia. It provides a natural colour palette that seems more in line with their colour negative films than slide film but do not think of the colour palette as soft. Astia produces some of the nicest colours I've seen in a slide film, and that's even comparing it to Kodak Ektachrome E100 (the new stuff). I think the power of Astia comes with the power it has to take on the nature of the colour of the scene it's shooting. Indoors in muted light, the colours become soft, almost pastel, while you get a higher saturation rate in the bright overhead light. And in the fall, you get amazing oranges and reds out the leaves. It even handles low light well, as seen by some of the interior shots from Montreal. Overall, it certainly is a winning film based on how the colour looks!

Nikon F3 - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sNikon F3 - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sNikon F3 - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sNikon F3 - AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano's

Image Quality
And the hits keep on coming when it comes to the overall image quality you get out of Asista. There is no question that Fuji had a real winner here. Probably the best part about Astia is that you get a bit more forgiveness in exposure latitude than Velvia (100 and 50). I personally find that the quality is amazing, and that's having shot all three formats that could get of Astia. It certainly lives up to having an F at the end of the name, meaning Fine-Grain, while completely non-existent with 4×5 and 120 even in 35mm, there is little to no visible grain. And that's going with digital scanning or projection of a 35mm slide. Asitia again hits a middle group; it has a bit more contrast and saturation in colour than Provia but far less than Velvia. In other words, your slides won't reach out and slap you around with saturated colour and deep contrast. And despite the fine grain, the images remain sharp, both in edge sharpness and tonal separation.

Rolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sRolleiflex 2.8F - Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano's

Scanning
One of the hardest parts of working with slide film these days is scanning; at least, that has been my experience. But here, Fuji again has a winner; I had zero trouble scanning Astia film. And even back in the days when I was working with a V500 and using everything on automatic, the Epson scan software had zero issues locking in the right colour balance. Once I started working a bit more manual with my scanning workflow, I was surprised that Astia leaned a bit into the cyan but was easily fixed in post-processing. The film did tend to cup, but back rolling or using a dedicated film scanner helped flatten the negatives. The scans have a bit of aberration, but the noise reduction filter cannot fix in post-processing.

Киев 88 - Биометар 2.8/80 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sКиев 88 - Биометар 2.8/80 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sКиев 88 - Биометар 2.8/80 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano'sКиев 88 - Биометар 2.8/80 - Fujichrome Astia 100F @ ASA-100 - Processing By: Silvano's

Overall Impression
As someone who does not shoot a lot of colour film, I find Astia a superb film stock to work with, and one that I wish still was around as I would probably shoot more slide film. Like Sensia, this was a great next step up in the slide film work for those who wanted to move beyond the 'consumer' films. While it never got the same cult following as Velvia, it certainly makes for a well-rounded slide film that worked well for projection and digitization. These days, with Fuji now down to only a pair of slide films, maybe it's time to bring back Astia to fill the void left with the (American) cancellation of Velvia 100.

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