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Leica M 50mm lens and Fuji Velvia 50


Joachim123

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I love Velvia, esp the iso 50 version (which I push to 100), though the 100 is ok too (btw I rarely see the big differences between the two versions of the 100 that Rockwell discusses).

 

Here are two shots with the 50 Summilux LTM.

 

Metro escalator, Arlanda, Sweden, 2011 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Arrow and tree, Uppsala, Sweden, 2011 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

Some say it is very green (and therefore useful for landscapes) but I find it gives good skin colours too.

 

cheers

Philip

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Velvia 50 is my favorite E6 film. To my eye, it has a better ability to record subtle colors than Velvia 100.

 

The maximum time exposure Fuji recommends for Velvia 50 is 32 seconds. This requires a +1EV exposure compensation and a 12.5M filter, according to Fuji.

 

Velvia 100 is a bird of a different feather. Fuji claims you can expose it up to eight minutes with +2/3EV and a 2.5M filter. Obviously the 100 has a loooooong exposure curve compared to the 50. The 100 is finer grained (RMS 8) where the ISO 50 Velvia is rated at RMS 9.

 

Ken Rockwell has a ton of information on the Fuji Velvia emulsions here:

Fuji Velvia 100F

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I'm having more luck with Velvia 50 (the new one) than Velvia 100DL. The 100DL always has a magenta cast that gives pink cloud edges, quite annoying to mess with extra green in the highlights and shadows with less in mid range. Velvia 50 doesn't need any changes on my scanner, same goes for Provia 100, or 400. When Velvia 100F first came out it also had a magenta cast, so I went to Velvia 100DL which was initially better but now is always a problem even with in date film. I messed up a trip to Iceland using out dated Velvia 100DL film, pink snow, but the old type velvia 50 was fine.

100DL has finer grain by 1rms granularity than 50, while the 50 has boosted contrast to keep it sharp at 80lp/mm. Provia 100 is more natural with less saturation and slightly less sharpness ( about 50lp/mm if I remember ).

 

Many people don't like Velvia 50 because of the slow speed and high contrast, which can be a problem during the middle of the day. It will also max out your scanners Dmax if you shoot during the middle of the day in lower lattitudes in summer (10am - 4pm) as you'll get deep shadow and full white. But shoot during outside these hours and you'll love the dark deep skies and vivid rocks etc.

 

After using Velvia or Provia you'll never use colour print film again. But you do need to get the exposure within about a 1/2 stop. A little underexposure seems to be fine (more saturated colours) but overexposure thins out the image, so do some bracketing to get the best choice of image.

 

Go for it you'll love it.

 

Regards, Lincoln

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This may not be much help to you, but I recently shot my first two rolls of Velvia 50 in a long time. M3, 50mm/f2 Summocron (collapsible) and a LeicaMeter MR-4. I hadn't shot Velvia since the older version, so it is new to me.

 

I shot both rolls on the streets of New Orleans last month, and am loving the results. To be fair, I, like Rockwell, am a fan of colors that "pop". I was worried about oversaturated skin tones after reading recent reviews, but I saw none. My M3, etc was recently CLA'd and calibrated, including the LeicaMeter, so the exposures should have been dead on. None were over-exposed, and only about 4 frames were slightly underexposed, but that is a matter of perception I guess. On those 4 frames, the unbelievable rich colors and DEEP blue skies makes me think about doing that on purpose in the future, depending on the subject and mood of the shot.

 

They were processed by Dwayne's Photo in Parson's KS, via the Fuji pre-paid mailers that I bought from B & H.

 

I also recently bought a new scanner (Plustek 7600i) but had issues with it, After that is resolved (and I learn how to properly use it), I will post some over in the photo forum of this website.

 

I can't attest to the technical attributes of the film like the gentlemen above, but to me is produces beautiful results. Nice contrast, uber-rich colors and great skin tones.

 

FWIW, I shot these during all times of the day, nothing ever got blown out.

 

Jeff

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I never use print film. Only slides. However, never having used Velvia 50 I thought that some input would be good. I plan on getting a few rolls and trying it myself. Usually, I use the Kodak 100g which is fantastic.

 

Silvano's is a local lab that does a wonderful job of all my E-6 processing so theres no need to send it to Dwaynes. However, should they stop processing film then off to Dwaynes I go. Thanks all.

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Here's one (not my own scan though). It's a smaller version, but I can email you a larger one if you like. First time to post a photo here, hope it works. Sure are restrictive on the file size !

 

Jeff

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  • 2 weeks later...

All the natural contrast and color slide films like Ektachrome 100, Fuji Asia, are gone.History.

 

Velvia 50 is higher than normal contrast with more saturated colors. This is what sells so that is what they make. It is very sharp film.

 

You can tame it by shooting at 25 and cutting first developer time and/or uncoated lenses.

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