Comparing E6 Slide Films | E100, Provia 100F, And Velvia 50
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- Опубликовано: 20 ноя 2021
- With the scheduled obsolescence of Fujifilm Velvia 50 on the horizon I gathered three E6 process color reversal slide films to compare and photographed the same subjects three times so we can take a look at the way the three film emulsions render the scene.
B&H links for the three films (not affiliated):
Kodak E100 4x5:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
FujiFilm Provia 100F 4x5:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Kodak E100 Medium Format 120:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
FujiFilm Provia 100F Medium Format 120 Roll:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
Fujifilm Velvia 50 Medium Format 120 Roll:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...
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_Finally_ someone who knows how to do a proper, well-controlled comparison! Thank you for this, Chris. I've been looking for a comparison of these 3 film stocks for months and you nailed it. You've earned yourself a sub!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words! Always a pleasure to help!
I used to shoot Ektachrome 64 sheet film in the 1980s, and they would always give a recommended film speed, and colour correction filter pack with each box, normally only a slight adjustment of around CC 05 was necessary. Ektachrome was always known for having a blue cast back then!
Interesting! Good to know the new release is similar in that regard. I think I've started to just embrace the blues of E6 and try to use it as a creative tool. Recently I've been shooting more E100 and I've been pretty pleased with it!
Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison and to do it so thoroughly and objectively. I think I prefer the Provia overall.
Thanks for watching Jim! I think I agree. Provia seems like the more universal tool at the moment, and cheaper too!
Excellent comparison Chris. Thanks for posting this 👍
Thanks for watching Rene!
Nicely done. I do like the way you approached this test. Just real world use. It was great to see Kodak bring back Ektachrome, especially the 120. I was happy to read some of the initial reviews saying it resembled Elite chrome, as I enjoyed that film being that it was a bit warmer than the Ektachrome of old. But, I found E100 to lean on the cool side just as before. Fine with me, as long as they keep making it. I just found your channel, and I look forward to more videos with your new Bronica.
Thanks Charles! I definitely agree I'm just happy to see Kodak continuing to expand their film product lines. First E100, and now with the re-release of Kodak Gold it seems they intend to keep us going for a while anyway. Admittedly the Bronica has been a bit sidelined lately while I investigate a potential film back issue, but I'm hoping to get out with it again very soon!
Hi Chris, I just discovered you a few weeks ago. I like your videos, your style, and your humor. I enjoyed the film comparison. I am new to the E6 world, only shooting a few 120 rolls of Velvia 50 in my Mamiya RB67. I shoot mainly B&W and develop my own, or Ektar and send it off. I just acquired a 4x5 so will be more interested in the E6. Of the three, I think I liked the look of the Provia best. Again, enjoy your work. Keep it up.
Thanks Edward for the kind words! Congrats on jumping into 4x5. I agree about Provia, seems it's pretty versatile and a little cheaper as well so win-win!
Thank you for this video! I have been wondering about these films.
Thanks for watching Jay!
That VOICE though! You can read the phone book and I’d listen to it.
Haha, thanks Garrett. I've been told many times I've got a radio voice 😆
Great comparison! Personally I love the cool shadows of Velvia, but of course it can be a bit over the top sometimes.
Positive film colors are really sensitive to exposure too, so it might be the slightly darker exposure on the Velvia versions that exaggerated the differences.
That might also explain why I can't see a consistent difference between E100 and Provia; they seem to sort of switch character between the examples.
I hope you gain more followers, you really deserve it. Good luck! :-)
Thanks for the observations Martin, and for the kind words!
Great job with this video. The effort is much appreciated, especially as a Bronica shooter. Unfortunately, not making any money with photography these days I've shied away from the more expensive positive film. I did shoot a couple rolls of E100 last year (earlier this year?, it all seems a blur sometimes) and was happy with the results. Looking forward to your Zion results.
Thanks Frank! I hear you on the expense, part of me is going to be happy not paying through the nose importing Velvia 50 anymore. E100 is about as bad, but man they look soooo good on the light table, haha!
Just wanted to say thanks for the hard work
Thanks for watching Ken!
I find it hard to believe that it is the film type that is affecting sharpness so consistently as seen in the series. It will be interesting to see what you find when you change holders for the films. Also would appear that there are instances where underexposing the E100 by 1/2 to 1 stop may have made quite a difference in saturation. Interesting was the blue tint in the E100 as from what I've read I thought they had corrected this trait from what we've seen the ektachrome line of the past. Definitely indicates the need for a warming filter. Have to say, it was a very interesting comparison and timely as I'm wondering about ordering some E100. That said, I think I'll wait until I see some of your future results. Great job, Chris.
Thanks Jim. Agreed, I'm fully expecting to find out I have a film back that is no good, E100 seems to have a good reputation for being sharp and it seems more likely that there's something up with the camera; it is pretty old after all. I'm hoping to shoot some more with it this week so we'll see how it goes.
i think you're the only youtuber i've ever seen use a bronica EC! this has been my secret weapon. one of the best 6x6 SLRs imo. the lenses are fantastic and it works great.
Agreed! I don’t shoot mine as much as I should, but every time I pick it up it inspires me to get out!
Nice work with the reviews. It should be clear to those loyal Fujifilm/chrome photographers that the new E100 is a worthy replacement when Fujifilm decides to abort production on the Provia 100F line. It’s frustrating and sad to see so many of their wonderful film stocks die. However, there is a lonely color reversal in 120 left to keep us shooting. On the Velvia 50, it gets some criticism for its color palate but I have never known anyone to use it for portraits. Although I rarely used it (50 asa) Velvia has largely been a landscape film and the deeper saturation has been welcomed. I use filters to adjust the colors and white balance based on my theme. I think Kodak Alaris should start thinking more about the future and try developing another CR film. Anyone who has purchased film recently can vouch that the availability has been on short supply for quite some time in both the color reversal and color negative world.
Thanks Mark! I agree, I think Provia 100F is still going to be my go-to when V50 dies but I’m definitely happy to have E100 in the back pocket. It really would be nice to see another film from Kodak, perhaps even a replacement to V50. I suppose time will tell and in the meantime I hope Fuji slows down and takes it easy on discontinuations for a while..
Thanks for making this comparison, I’ve recently picked up a pcp80 to project 6x6. Sometimes finding a few slides a bit dark to project when exposure should have been appropriate. Interestingly in your shots Provia seemed “brighter” and had a bit more light transmitting through it on the light table compared to the others at any given exposure which is in line with my experience so far. I’ll probably stick with it for projection for that reason
Thanks for watching Daniel! I find that really interesting; I've never tried to project slides, although I have noticed while scanning some of the E6 films that some seem to scan brighter than others.. I'll have to pay attention and see if Provia stands out that way.
Great video Chris! Yes, It's very sad that here in USA, LF format shooters left without any Velvia sheets. E100 and Provia 100F are pretty much identical emulsions, but Velvia is unique. Someone hates it, someone loves it, but after all Velvia became an iconic film for landscape photography. I shot a few 120 rolls of E100 and found its color reproduction is quite dull and your video just confirms it. However it's looks much better in high contrast situation where Velvia is not very good. Also seems like the E100 is easier to scan and do post-scanning adjustment. I believe that was Kodak idea - create E6 film optimized for scanning. Thanks god that we still have Velvia in 120.
Thanks Roman! Interesting that you found E100 to be dull.. I was thinking the same thing, haha. Kodak definitely seems to be focused on emulsions that scan well, and from the few images I've worked on in post processing it does seem to do pretty well so that makes sense.
My "You kids get off my lawn!" comment:
A "slide film" is a positive film destined for use in a slide projector - normally 35mm but I have owned a 6x6cm slide projector, too.
When a positive film is processed to be used as a slide, individual frames are cut then placed into a cardboard or glass mount. We used glass mounts for TV stations where the slides were used for commercials and had to endure rough handling.
Slides are always transparencies but not all transparencies are slides.
Therefore the 4x5" positives that you are discussing here really should be referred to as "transparencies".
End of old fart rant.
Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Haha thanks Terry. Unfortunately I recorded quite a bit of video where I might slip and still use the incorrect terminology, just because it was prior to you bringing that to my attention. I promise it'll get better so hang in there, I'm working on kicking that habit!
Great comparison video. I used to shoot velvia 50 at 32 ISO that's 2 and one third stops over mid grey for highlight with detail, for a more livelier look 😀
Thanks Andrew! I'll have to give that a try; I've had a few lately that might have benefitted from that 😣
Why not just do 50 iso and 2 stops over? Same effect really
thanks for the comparison.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for doing this Chris. That's a very good comparison. I'm thinking you shot the Velvia at 50 because it looks slightly under compared to the other two. The film seems more like 40 or even 32 ISO and if you shoot at those speeds it has slightly less saturation and color cast but that's probably a moot point considering the 4x5 situation. Personally I'm thinking I'll shoot Provia over E100 on 4x5 but I do want to test developing E100 with Cinestills Dynamic Chrome developer which can give it a warmer tone.
Thanks Jason! I totally forgot to mention in the video that I did shoot all of these at box speed, so that is correct. I do want to experiment with that however, I've unfortunately seen quite a bit of blue Velvia lately haha. Interesting about developers, makes sense that the chemicals can affect the color balance, I've just never played with developing. Hopefully soon though!
I think shooting Velvia at iso 40 is a better choice. The color cast of the Provia is a bit more greenish but easy to handle in editing. For me the beauty of the Velvia is that in certain conditions you get nice complementary colors like orange and blue and I think that's an artist choice thing. Thanks for sharing!
This video just showed up in my home page. Nice comparison. Velvia 50 is high-contrast, you can get a bit more detail in the shadows if shot at 40 ISO.
Thanks for the tip!
Great comparison, thank you Chris. I think in final editing you can tweak to your own taste. Besides the obvious saturation of Velvia 50, they are all much of a muchness.
Thanks for watching Craig!
Have you done further tests of the relative sharpness of the slide films? Recently I did shoot both E100 and Velvia 50, albeit with different cameras (both have given me very sharp results before). In this case E100 looked slightly sharper in the scans, so the opposite of what you mention here. The reason why I noticed was because one of the E100 images popped at me as one of the sharpest 35mm images I have ever shot. Not very scientific I know but I was just wondering what you have seen after making this video.
Great review. Kodak products were traditionally considered to have a "warm" palette, while Fuji products were generally viewed as having a "cool" palette. The new e100 changed that, and I agree it is at least as "cool" as Provia. It definitely is not the old Ektachrome.
Thanks Tim! I think I was definitely expecting a warmer palette for sure, that was quite a surprise to me. I'm pretty used to dealing with the cooler tones on the Fuji emulsions so it's not a big deal, but definitely not what I expected to see!
I get very sharp results with E100 which compare with my Velvia slides so I am confused with your results. I always use filters with slide films to get the level of warmth that I want so I have had good results with E100 and I find Velvia has mixed results with filters. I have stopped using Provia as I much prefer E100. For me I use E100 for most things and occasionally use Velvia 50. I have also found I get good saturation with E100 and some of my E100 slides fool people into thinking that it may be Velvia. I am curious how much development impacts your results versus what I am getting
Thanks Trevor! In an upcoming video I shoot some more E100 and I'm pretty happy with the results from that trip, so I think that experience may match yours a little better. Overall I've been feeling pretty positive about E100 myself and I'm looking forward to shooting more of it!
I found that I like the results of E100 better if I shoot it at iso 80.
Thanks Thomas, I think I'm going to give that a try as well. Seems that might help with the blues in the shadows
A really nice comparison, thank you for doing this and sharing here :) The video seems to (rightfully) focus mostly on colour rendition, but what I noticed throughout the series is that the Velvia shots seem to have more depth. Especially in the foliage with fall colours I think I see a lot more depth, while the others look flat, more digital. What do you think?
Thanks Martin! Agreed, Velvia does seem to have more depth to it, particularly on the light table where it almost looks 3D. I think it's because of the deeper blacks and the increased saturation, but that's a great observation!
@@ChrisDarnell Hi Chris, appreciate you took the time to reply to me, thanks!
A fun experiment one day could be to shoot a scene with Provia and Velvia and include a Macbeth chart in each of the shots. You could then grade the Velvia to be similar to the Provia and perhaps still retain that nice sense of depth. There might actually be a LUT out there which already does Velvia -> Provia. I'm curious to see if such a process would make the image look more flat. Just thinking out loud, I don't expect you to do any of this ;)
this is the best comparision of film rolls I've seen on this site...
was the provia or velvia expired?
I have a 35mm roll of provia 100f that expired in 2016 and wasn't well stored (not in a fridge lol)
at what ISO should I shoot it? like how many stops should I overexpose?
thanks in advance
Thanks Maxi! All three of these rolls were pretty well within their expiration dates, unfortunately I'm not the best to give advice on shooting expired rolls as I've never attempted it to be honest. I wish I could give a recommendation but anything I suggest would be a total guess 😕
really good knowledge shared here! I am curious what scanner you use as well.
Thanks Doug! These were scanned with an Epson Perfection V850 flatbed scanner
@@ChrisDarnell Thanks for the information. Starting to make my way back to film and large format and this has always been a curiosity point for me.
Nice comparison. Velvia 100 has been my go-to for 4x5. While I still have a little I can home process, I'm sad to see it go... and even sadder that I won't have fresh velvia 50 to substitute for it. Kodak is supposed to introduce 2 new films and I really hope its another slide film, because so far I've not found a use for E100. I'd rather shoot Ektar. Looking at your E100 photos, I think maybe I underexposed mine because they came out much more blue.
Thanks Bryce! I'm pretty bummed about Velvia 100 as well, I never got a chance to shoot it before it bit the dust. Interesting to hear about new Kodak films.. I hope that is the case!
@@ChrisDarnell Yeah there was an interview with Kodak where they said they were working on a release of a previously discontinued film and a brand new film sometime in 2020... I think they will miss the 2020 timeframe. They also missed their timeline for E100, so that's not a surprise.
I hope they will re-introduce E100VS, that somehow fill up the vacuum created by absence of Velvia. And I will miss Velvia 100 also. This is a great E6 film especially for long exposure.
Cool video mate. I've recently tried expired Provia 100.. What a failure! I'll make a video of it.. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for watching! I've never seen how expired Provia comes out, I'm interested to see that!
@@ChrisDarnell i made a video about it.. the film seems to have been in really bad condition and the film exposed the same way!
Here in Oz we have, I think, 3 places that process large format E6 and 1 maybe 2 that stock the chemistry. It is frustrating to shoot colour let alone reversal.
I think I'm going to have to go all in and shoot 3 wet plates with filters and be done. At least they can't stop that 😏
Thats unfortunate 😕 I fear that with enough time it'll be hard to find E6 processing just about anywhere, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can!
Where did you get your light board ? I'm having a hard time finding a nice one
This one is a cheapo from Amazon, apparently it's not available anymore but there are others that are similar to it. The color accuracy is terrible, it's too blue but I work around it. The Kaiser Slimlite models are better, but they've been too expensive for me to justify upgrading just yet 😣
I was wondering if you ever did retry e100 vs provia to see if the e100 is still less sharp?
Hi Philip, I never did run another side-by-side test (thanks for the reminder, I still might do that), although I have shot E100 a handful more times in other situations and never noticed any further issues with achieving sharp images. My leading theory is that I have a defective film back on the 6x6, although I need to do more tests to prove that out.
Wish I would have know abut the veliva 100 ban. I have two rolls that need developed and 3 unused ones.
Yeah it's a shame, but if it were me I might send them in anyway and see what happens..
Hi All, seems late to respond, but I wonder if it wouldn't be a better idea to match all three films exposure value to draw a better definition.
Thanks Robert, maybe I'm misunderstanding but the Velvia roll was exposed an additional stop longer than the other two to try to do just that, although I suppose it's still not the most controlled test.
Great video! Fujichrome films are way sharper and also render colors better than E100 in my opinion.
Thank you! I have to say I think I agree, now if we can only convince FujiFilm to keep making it!
@@ChrisDarnell I fear the precious Velvia50 is Fuji's next victim :(
Chris, a couple questions, if you don't mind.
I have a project coming up where an artist would like some 4x5" transparencies of his 5x8 foot stained glass installation. His goal is for a company to make a 4x7 foot enlargement on a translucent Fuji stock. The Fuji print will then be installed into a case with LED backlights which will be hung near a stairwell in his home.
I guess Fuji has pulled their E-6 film from the market. Am I wrong? Does anyone have stock?
Who processes your E-6 transparencies?
Where can I get a super high resolution scan?
If the artist balks at the costs of 4x5, I could use 120 film. If I do, then I have the same questions.
Thank you.
Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Hey Terry, hope you’re well!
Unfortunately it does seem like FujiFilm is struggling to keep their E6 films in production, I haven’t seen any available through my usual channels in a while. I try to buy from my local camera store when I can, but they’ve been out for a long time, and so has B&H photo. I haven’t heard of any official discontinuation notices, just that they’ve had raw material shortages, so hopefully they’ll become available again at some point. I’ve been shooting through my freezer stockpile of Provia and Velvia for a while now, but that’ll run out before long.
That being said, if Kodak is acceptable I’ve found their re-released E100 to be a pretty similar replacement, and it seems like the availability on that is better.
For developing I’ve been sending mine off to North Coast Photographic Services in Carlsbad CA, they’ve always done really good work for me.
Hope that helps, with any luck the film stock shortages will improve before long…
Chris, thank you. What about optical scans? Whatever film I use will be blown up to 4x7 feet and be viewed closely.
Thanks.
@@AtlantaTerry Whoops, forgot that! So far I’ve been just using my Epson flatbed scanner, but for an enlargement of that size you’d probably want to do one better and look for a drum scanning service. I haven’t ordered one myself yet, but I know Ben Horne sends his to Michael Strickland. Another option is Alex Burke, both of them offer scanning services on their websites.
I've been shooting Velvia since the first day it was available for sale decades ago. In spite of it's cost, I'll continue to buy it until it's no longer available. E100 doesn't impress me. Provia is too middle of the road. It doesn't render color the way color FEELS. That's why I'm am sold on Velvia. It FEELS accurate to my impression of colors in the landscape, not necessarily their literal reality.
Not sure I could have described it any better; I totally agree about the feel of the colors and I too keep buying it whenever I can. We'll see how long it lasts in 120 format, hopefully quite a while but in sheet formats I'm going to have to say goodbye to it eventually once my stockpile runs out 😕
@@ChrisDarnell Yes, for a large format shooter, you must be heartbroken by the course of events with Fujichrome films. Velvia 50 and Provia were such exemplary films particularly in large format. I shoot 6x17 and there just isn't anything to compare with a Velvia transparency on a lightbox. I'm older and have about 50 rolls of 120 left (I used to shoot 220). Now it's about at the limit of what I can afford without resorting to a severe alteration in my food consumption. Oh well, life goes in seasons, an ebb and flow to everything. To complain is to fight against the tide.
The lack of sharpness in the E100 shots is disturbing. At the resolution you scanned the film should easily be able to outresolve. Assuming nominal resolution you would have a 31 cycles/mm image, but no part of the film was tack sharp in any of these images. The datasheet states a spec of ≈80cycles/mm, more than double what you scanned at. That fact along with the low high-frequency contrast makes me believe that the only possibility here is that the film was not being held in the plane of focus. It's not possible that the film has a resolution of less than 31cycles/mm that's absurdly bad and you would be able to detect the grain in the scan.
Thanks Steven for the great breakdown, that’s far more technical than my own analysis but I came to the same conclusion; I’m pretty sure one of my film backs has something going on although a visual comparison revealed nothing obvious. I’m planning to verify under controlled conditions indoors and I’ll probably just chuck the bad back in the trash. In other news I have a fresh box of E100 in 4x5 that I’m hoping to expose soon..
Hi, anyone know abou future of fuji provia 100f. Could you give me contact to write headq. Of fujifilm
I wrote some letters but nothing answers. Im intersted in provia future will be plan in proces by fuji or not. Thanks