I am now switching to take slide from my Leica and I need your recommendation on which slide film to use for landscape:

Fujichrome Velvia 50 Kodachrome 64 Ektachrome E100VS Fujichrome Provia 100

would it be:

first choice: Kodachrome 64 second choice: Fujichrome Velvia 50 thrid choice: Ektachrome E100VS fourth : Fujichrome Provia

or any other suggestion?

-- Phyllis (lam_6@hotmail.com), February 28, 2002

Answers

Phyllis,

Those are my choices in the same order.

-- David S Smith (dssmith3@rmci.net), February 28, 2002.

I'd swap Velvia for Kodachrome, mostly because it takes 2 weeks for K'chrome processing here in Denver vs. 2 hours for Velvia.

Velvia does a slightly better job of keeping dark greens green instead of gray or brown (e.g. evergreen trees) and its overall saturation helps colors punch through haze.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), February 28, 2002.

I do most landscape photography nowadays on Portra 160VC which is a color neg film; however when I am shooting reversal film, my choice for landscape photography would be EliteChrome 100 (color balance midway between E100S and E100SW) or Provia or Sensia 100. I would only use Velvia in overcast light, otherwise the contrast is a problem. Kodachrome 64 is an extremely high-contrast film as well, and the colors are pale and drab (to me anyway). If you contemplate much landscape photography with reversal film, you should really get familiar with graduated ND filters.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 28, 2002.

Thank you very much.

One more question, How does Velvia's storage life as compare to Kodakchrome?

-- Phyllis (lam_6@hotmail.com), March 01, 2002.

Phyllis,

Do you mean the storage life of unexposed film or are you asking about the archival properties of the processed slides?

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), March 01, 2002.

Graduated ND filters. Great stuff. Just that if Phyllis is using an M, I just don't see how it can be done, or did I miss something ?

-- Stephane Bosman (stephane.bosman@2ci.net), March 01, 2002.

When shooting landscapes, I generally use my 4x5. The film of choice is almost always Velvia, rated at ISO 40. Rating the film at 40 adds just enough exposure to slightly soften the contrast and reduce saturation levels, giving a more pleasing result. The best times of day to use Velvia are in the early AM (prior to about 9:00 or 10:00 AM) and late afternoon (after about 2:00 or 3:00 PM). The light is softer at these times and helps with the films aforementioned propensity towards contrast. During mid-day light, I prefer Provia (rated at ISO 100). I have also used Astia (also rated at 100) in special situations. Astia is a lower-contrast film that can help deliver a smooth image in harsh light. However it is so soft that many feel it genrates a somewhat flat image. Provia is also very good at very long exposure times (over 60 sec.).

Regardless of what film you ultimately decide on, I would suggest that you shoot a few rolls of each as a personal test. It is always best to know first-hand what the film will deliver. Lastly -- and I feel this is critical in lanscape photography -- if you are going to be shooting at an elevation higher than 1000 M, use an 81b warming filter to balance the light. If you are going to be over 2250 M, use an 81c; over 3500 M an 81ef.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 01, 2002.

I would use Fujichrome Provia 100, because it has the exact same fine granularity rating (RMS of 9) as does Velvia (which you really have to shoot at 40 ASA for most acceptable exposures, no the rated 50 ASA), and allows you to use a higher shutter speed/smaller aperature, if you are hand-holding the camera. Provia also renders colors a bit more vibrant than Kodachrome 64.

-- Steve Brantley (sbrantley@nccommerce.com), March 01, 2002.

I always have rated Velvia at EI 40, it still has more contrast than the ISO 100 films. With medium format(and large format must be even better)I found I could expose more for the highlights and capture significantly more shadow detail than with 35mm.

ND grads are a tricky thing with the M, and less flexible than with an SLR, but not impossible.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), March 01, 2002.

Niels H. S. Nielsen

I mean archival properties of the processed silde. I understand that Kodachrome has very long life. How about Fujichrome Velvia?

-- Phyllis (lam_6@hotmail.com), March 01, 2002.

>>>I understand that Kodachrome has very long life. How about Fujichrome Velvia?<<<

Hard to say for certain until Velvia's been around as long as Kodachrome. FWIW, my Kodachromes and Ektachromes from the 1970s are still in good shape while the Fujichromes from the same era have faded somewhat.

-- Douglas Herr (telyt@earthlink.net), March 01, 2002.

I've never understood these questions. The right film is the one that makes photos look how you want them to look, not how someone else wants them to look.

Or maybe I'm just an oddball who wants a lot of control over what things look like...

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), March 01, 2002.

Confirming what Douglas said above, itīs too early for conclusions on Velviaīs stability. My Velvias were shot in 90-94.

My Kodachromes are as old as 28 years old and look as if they were shot yesterday, though they have been projected dozens of times.

My Ektachromes and some Agfachromes from 1977-85 still look good, but my mouch younger Fujichromes 100 (1984-90) have faded and show colour shifts.

All my slides are stored at normal room temperatures and average humidity.

I still use Kodachrome 64, Elitechromes EB and ED and Ektachrome E100SW and EPN. It is purely a matter of taste.

-- George (gdgianni@aol.com), March 01, 2002.

Kodachrome 25. They stopped making the "Pro" version, so you'll have to buy several rolls of the same batch, and use one to determine the best EI.

-- WM (wmitch3400@aol.com), March 01, 2002.

I don't think there is a better finer grained, more contrastyt film than VELVIA!!

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), March 01, 2002.

Re: Archival Properties:

It depends if you project the slides or not.
For no projection and dark storage Kodachrome has the best archival properties. If you project the slides, Kodachrome is the absolute worst choice.
If you plan to project the slides it is better to to choose an E6 filmtype.
Fuji's E6 chrome film can take around twice the amount of projection before showing deterioration compared to Kodak's E6 products!
However, even when keept dark, E6 will deteriorate much faster than Kodachrome.
I was responsible for a photographic archive of an artmuseum for about 4 years, and although I did not conduct my own experiments, I did reasearch this subject quite a bit. If you have more questions, please let me know.

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), March 02, 2002.