Velvia (Actual Film and Filter) and Taste of Film

**UncleVanya** · 08-20-2016, 11:31 AM - **1 Like**

Dxo optics velvia emulation is much much less electric. These colors are oversaturated and cartoonish.

mcgregni · 08-20-2016, 12:11 PM

My favourite Negative film was Kodak Porta VC ('Vivid Colour') ....a nice balance of good skin tones with a little 'punch' in the primary colours.

DougieD · 08-20-2016, 12:38 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by butangmucat

So I was posting some of my digital images finished up with a Velvia 100 filter, and am getting mixed reviews.

Frankly, I think those pictures are gorgeous. I like to see pictures the way you like them, not some generic compromise that attempts to make everybody happy. If some people love them and some people hate them, that's better than nobody gives a damn either way. In my opinion, at least.

**BigMackCam** · 08-20-2016, 12:46 PM

I have limited film experience, however... I'm a little surprised no-one has mentioned Fujifilm Superia yet. It's pretty true-to-life in my view (though, as a result, not all that punchy). It's a nice, reasonably inexpensive film that's still available in a number of speeds...

stevebrot · 08-20-2016, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by CDW

Your images display fully, without any scrolling required, on my MacBook Pro and on my desktop Dell.

Depends on browser and forum settings Chrome will auto-scale page elements to fit the window. Some of the "skins" ("modern") use mark-up to scale to a maximum width while others ("classic" and "simple") don't. In all cases, the full number of bytes are sent to the requesting device. The images on the original post account for >10 MBytes download. It is possible the OP was unaware that Flickr provide the option to link to smaller versions and I will edit my note to include that information.

Steve

**Alex645** · 08-20-2016, 08:15 PM

Any slide film simulation is going to give you a higher contrast result with less dynamic range. Velvia color saturation was second only to Kodachrome. If you want to tone down the color saturation Iʻd agree with those that suggested Ektar. Any color negative will lower the contrast and saturation, and Ektar, for most applications, is the king.

**gofour3** · 08-20-2016, 10:17 PM

My current favourite slide film is Fuji Provia 100F, similar to Kodak E100G. Still not much of an Ektar fan, if I do shoot colour negative then CineStill 50 would be it.

Yep nothing will ever touch Kodachrome, best film ever made.

Phil.

leekil · 08-20-2016, 11:45 PM

The colors of your train photos look like postcards from the 60's. Not necessarily bad, if that's the way you like/want it.

If you are looking for a film recommendation, I like Portra. But it's a negative film, not a slide film.

Jonathan Mac · 08-21-2016, 12:49 AM

Those digital images don't look anything like Velvia to me. It's a film I've used very little (it's incredibly expensive these days) and in 120 format I got good results, in 135 format they were terrible, but that's due to my scanner not being able to get the colours right.

If you want the Velvia look then shoot Velvia, don't try to imitate it with digital. If you want a more subtle, realistic film for general use then try Portra 160 or Fuji Pro 160NS. The latter is my favourite film ever but unfortunately is only available in 120 format.

**BigMackCam** · 08-21-2016, 01:06 AM

Originally posted by DougieD

Frankly, I think those pictures are gorgeous. I like to see pictures the way you like them, not some generic compromise that attempts to make everybody happy. If some people love them and some people hate them, that's better than nobody gives a damn either way. In my opinion, at least.

Dougie, I'm with you on this. I actually like those photos a lot... I think with digital photography we can sometimes get a little preoccupied with reproducing colours accurately; I've certainly got caught up in that myself, using calibration tools and profiling to normalise colour reproduction in images from different cameras and lenses. But it seems to me that people were more adventurous with colour in the days before digital photography through the use of different films, and a lot of those film images have more character as a result.

butangmucat · 08-21-2016, 02:14 AM

Originally posted by Bewatek

At least their german site lists the Precisa 100 as a current product.

If you are interested in film simulations try DxO Film Pack 5. It has many fujifilm simulations including Velvia 50 and 100 and even Agfa Precisa 100.
I dont know about the Precisa but the Velvias look quite authentic as far as film simulations go.
Only downside is that its quite expensive.

Edit: They have a 30 day trial version, maybe it can help you find the look you want.

Originally posted by Bewatek

Only downside is that its quite expensive.

The complete DxO suit is a little bit more expensive than a copy of the student edition of PSe + PRe, and if they are a little bit cheaper, I might actually consider that instead of my Adobe CC student pack.

TaoMaas · 08-21-2016, 06:51 AM

Velvia's colors were always a little more punchy than other films, but that's why I loved it. I think that Velvia filter you used is a wee bit too harsh in terms of trying to emulate the look of Velvia.

stevebrot · 08-21-2016, 07:51 AM

Originally posted by TaoMaas

Velvia's colors were always a little more punchy than other films, but that's why I loved it. I think that Velvia filter you used is a wee bit too harsh in terms of trying to emulate the look of Velvia.

Agreed...Velvia is punchy (much more so than contemporary Kodachromes), but smooth. The emulation photos in the original post are a caricature of the Velvia look. The cool part is that Velvia is still available as one of the few films that Fuji has not discontinued. It is pricey, but probably worth the experience just to say one has done so. The OP should give it a try.

Steve

butangmucat · 08-21-2016, 07:53 AM

Originally posted by stevebrot

Agreed...Velvia is punchy (much more so than contemporary Kodachromes), but smooth. The emulation photos in the original post are a caricature of the Velvia look. The cool part is that Velvia is still available as one of the few films that Fuji has not discontinued. It is pricey, but probably worth the experience just to say one has done so. The OP should give it a try.

Steve

It will be a few weeks before I can get to the U.S. and get my hands on a (new) old Sears (Chinon) SLR and test out my Super-Tak with Velvia.

Pentaxis · 08-21-2016, 08:31 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by butangmucat

Is that a matter of personal taste or is Velvia really not that realistic?

I am sorry: as a long time film photographer I have to be critical here. However, I am only responding because you invited opinions and responses. I intend no offence.

The colours in the images you posted are, in my opinion......lurid, unrealistic, lacking subtlety, frankly, horrible. Sorry again but sometimes one has to speak directly.

I confess that the only digital photos I take are on a ten year old point and shoot camera. I don't use any after exposure processing and I loathe the overuse of High Dynamic Range that I witness being used by numerous digital photographers.

These facts so might explain my opinions and perhaps dated attitudes

When I want more "quality", more "authenticity", more "elegance", I use my Pentax film camera, loaded with any of the universally acknowledged higher quality colour or black and white film. (Fujicolor, Ilford, Kodak, etc.).

08-20-2016, 01:39 PM	#20
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by CDW Your images display fully, without any scrolling required, on my MacBook Pro and on my desktop Dell. Depends on browser and forum settings Chrome will auto-scale page elements to fit the window. Some of the "skins" ("modern") use mark-up to scale to a maximum width while others ("classic" and "simple") don't. In all cases, the full number of bytes are sent to the requesting device. The images on the original post account for >10 MBytes download. It is possible the OP was unaware that Flickr provide the option to link to smaller versions and I will edit my note to include that information. Steve Last edited by stevebrot; 08-20-2016 at 01:50 PM.

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08-20-2016, 11:31 AM - 1 Like	#16
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,407	Dxo optics velvia emulation is much much less electric. These colors are oversaturated and cartoonish.

08-20-2016, 12:11 PM	#17
mcgregni Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Surrey, England Posts: 2,603	My favourite Negative film was Kodak Porta VC ('Vivid Colour') ....a nice balance of good skin tones with a little 'punch' in the primary colours.

08-20-2016, 12:38 PM - 1 Like	#18
DougieD Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Southwestern Ontario Posts: 88	Originally posted by butangmucat So I was posting some of my digital images finished up with a Velvia 100 filter, and am getting mixed reviews. Frankly, I think those pictures are gorgeous. I like to see pictures the way you like them, not some generic compromise that attempts to make everybody happy. If some people love them and some people hate them, that's better than nobody gives a damn either way. In my opinion, at least.

08-20-2016, 12:46 PM	#19
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,674	I have limited film experience, however... I'm a little surprised no-one has mentioned Fujifilm Superia yet. It's pretty true-to-life in my view (though, as a result, not all that punchy). It's a nice, reasonably inexpensive film that's still available in a number of speeds...

08-20-2016, 08:15 PM	#21
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	Any slide film simulation is going to give you a higher contrast result with less dynamic range. Velvia color saturation was second only to Kodachrome. If you want to tone down the color saturation Iʻd agree with those that suggested Ektar. Any color negative will lower the contrast and saturation, and Ektar, for most applications, is the king.

08-20-2016, 10:17 PM	#22
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,091	My current favourite slide film is Fuji Provia 100F, similar to Kodak E100G. Still not much of an Ektar fan, if I do shoot colour negative then CineStill 50 would be it. Yep nothing will ever touch Kodachrome, best film ever made. Phil.

08-20-2016, 11:45 PM	#23
leekil Pentaxian Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 2,003	The colors of your train photos look like postcards from the 60's. Not necessarily bad, if that's the way you like/want it. If you are looking for a film recommendation, I like Portra. But it's a negative film, not a slide film.

08-21-2016, 12:49 AM	#24
Jonathan Mac Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 10,897	Those digital images don't look anything like Velvia to me. It's a film I've used very little (it's incredibly expensive these days) and in 120 format I got good results, in 135 format they were terrible, but that's due to my scanner not being able to get the colours right. If you want the Velvia look then shoot Velvia, don't try to imitate it with digital. If you want a more subtle, realistic film for general use then try Portra 160 or Fuji Pro 160NS. The latter is my favourite film ever but unfortunately is only available in 120 format.

08-21-2016, 01:06 AM	#25
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,674	Originally posted by DougieD Frankly, I think those pictures are gorgeous. I like to see pictures the way you like them, not some generic compromise that attempts to make everybody happy. If some people love them and some people hate them, that's better than nobody gives a damn either way. In my opinion, at least. Dougie, I'm with you on this. I actually like those photos a lot... I think with digital photography we can sometimes get a little preoccupied with reproducing colours accurately; I've certainly got caught up in that myself, using calibration tools and profiling to normalise colour reproduction in images from different cameras and lenses. But it seems to me that people were more adventurous with colour in the days before digital photography through the use of different films, and a lot of those film images have more character as a result.

08-21-2016, 02:14 AM	#26
butangmucat Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 709 Original Poster	Originally posted by Bewatek At least their german site lists the Precisa 100 as a current product. If you are interested in film simulations try DxO Film Pack 5. It has many fujifilm simulations including Velvia 50 and 100 and even Agfa Precisa 100. I dont know about the Precisa but the Velvias look quite authentic as far as film simulations go. Only downside is that its quite expensive. Edit: They have a 30 day trial version, maybe it can help you find the look you want. Originally posted by Bewatek Only downside is that its quite expensive. The complete DxO suit is a little bit more expensive than a copy of the student edition of PSe + PRe, and if they are a little bit cheaper, I might actually consider that instead of my Adobe CC student pack.

08-21-2016, 06:51 AM	#27
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	Velvia's colors were always a little more punchy than other films, but that's why I loved it. I think that Velvia filter you used is a wee bit too harsh in terms of trying to emulate the look of Velvia.

08-21-2016, 07:51 AM	#28
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by TaoMaas Velvia's colors were always a little more punchy than other films, but that's why I loved it. I think that Velvia filter you used is a wee bit too harsh in terms of trying to emulate the look of Velvia. Agreed...Velvia is punchy (much more so than contemporary Kodachromes), but smooth. The emulation photos in the original post are a caricature of the Velvia look. The cool part is that Velvia is still available as one of the few films that Fuji has not discontinued. It is pricey, but probably worth the experience just to say one has done so. The OP should give it a try. Steve

08-21-2016, 07:53 AM	#29
butangmucat Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 709 Original Poster	Originally posted by stevebrot Agreed...Velvia is punchy (much more so than contemporary Kodachromes), but smooth. The emulation photos in the original post are a caricature of the Velvia look. The cool part is that Velvia is still available as one of the few films that Fuji has not discontinued. It is pricey, but probably worth the experience just to say one has done so. The OP should give it a try. Steve It will be a few weeks before I can get to the U.S. and get my hands on a (new) old Sears (Chinon) SLR and test out my Super-Tak with Velvia.

08-21-2016, 08:31 AM - 1 Like	#30
Pentaxis Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 195	Originally posted by butangmucat Is that a matter of personal taste or is Velvia really not that realistic? I am sorry: as a long time film photographer I have to be critical here. However, I am only responding because you invited opinions and responses. I intend no offence. The colours in the images you posted are, in my opinion......lurid, unrealistic, lacking subtlety, frankly, horrible. Sorry again but sometimes one has to speak directly. I confess that the only digital photos I take are on a ten year old point and shoot camera. I don't use any after exposure processing and I loathe the overuse of High Dynamic Range that I witness being used by numerous digital photographers. These facts so might explain my opinions and perhaps dated attitudes When I want more "quality", more "authenticity", more "elegance", I use my Pentax film camera, loaded with any of the universally acknowledged higher quality colour or black and white film. (Fujicolor, Ilford, Kodak, etc.).