Would Velvia F be a good substitute for Astia F?

[Thingy]

Now that production of Astia F sheet film is about to cease, can anyone tell me if buying Velvia 100F would be a good substitute, or perhaps the less exciting Provia F?

I am interested as I am thinking of placing an order with Badger for their last remaining stocks of QL film and am wondering whether to order some Astia F or opt for Velvia 100F instead, given that it will continue to be available as sheet film.

I also notice Badger are selling Pro 160C QL film.... could this be the negative equivalent of Velvia 50?

[craigmagee]

From using it back in the day Pro 160c isn't really a Velvia in neg form!
Its a version of 160s with more contrast, color reproduction is much the same .
Maybe bit more punch due to the higher contrast but I always found it pretty negligible!
It is a nice film though if you want a contrasty look..

Kodak 160vc is more saturated, little sharper than the fuji films as well, warmer overall colors.


I'd have thought Provia F would have been the closest to Astia F, to be honest I never got round to trying any of the Velvias other than 50 or the Astia F, but i always thought it went
Astia - Provia - Velvia in terms of saturation and boldness!

Oh and I forgot to add Fuji killed 160c a few months back so whatever is out there is the last of it!

[Thingy]

From using it back in the day Pro 160c isn't really a Velvia in neg form!
Its a version of 160s with more contrast, color reproduction is much the same .
Maybe bit more punch due to the higher contrast but I always found it pretty negligible!
It is a nice film though if you want a contrasty look..

Kodak 160vc is more saturated, little sharper than the fuji films as well, warmer overall colors.


I'd have thought Provia F would have been the closest to Astia F, to be honest I never got round to trying any of the Velvias other than 50 or the Astia F, but i always thought it went
Astia - Provia - Velvia in terms of saturation and boldness!

Oh and I forgot to add Fuji killed 160c a few months back so whatever is out there is the last of it!

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[craigmagee]

Sorry ha...
I could be wrong though, I was told that in Calumet
Japan exposures do have it in both QL and normal sheet, it's called Fuji pro 160 NC over there, so maybe its just killed from europe/states.
A quick look on Yodobashi's site and its still listed... appears to be discounted and only available in 4x5 and 120.. hmmm
If you want a neg like Astia though stick with 160s or portra 160nc
If you want a saturated neg film go for kodak 160vc, it is quite nice, warm but nice.

[dave_whatever]

Now that production of Astia F sheet film is about to cease, can anyone tell me if buying Velvia 100F would be a good substitute, or perhaps the less exciting Provia F?

I would say it really depends what you're going to use it for. I've not used velvia 100f in sheet form but have shot a fair bit of 120. Its basically a bit less saturated than normal velvia 50 or 100 (whilst still being very saturated compared to everything else) and with more believable flesh tones. I use it for general travel/climbing shots on medium format, for which its pretty good, and i needn't be afraid of the odd portrait with it either.

You could look at kodak e100g too.

[Thingy]

My interest is for macro photographs of bark, lichens, moss, grasses and flowers via my Schneider 120mm Macro lens, which casts a very slight bluish tint, but too small to be corrected with a cc filter; and for flowers using the Cooke PS945.... unless the price rises again before RW get their next batch delivered....

[Charles Twist]

I personally really like V100F for flowers and vegetation, but it's nowhere near as wide a dynamic range as Astia, so you'd have to choose between the bright flowers and the dark background. V100F is a more punchy Provia in many ways - saturation vs dynamic range, I suppose. V100 is good too if you need to bring the reds out, but then you are leaving the realm of verisimilitude - beware if you use warm-up filters. V50 is a nuisance with long exposures because of the reciprocity failure, which make vegetation and wind a bad mix.
If you decide to order some V100F in sheet format and you've got a cheap supply, I'd love to buy some more.
Best regards,
Charles

[Thingy]

Charles

You can buy Velvia100F 5x4 sheet film in boxes of 10 for just over £18 direct from Fuji below.

http://www.fujilab.co.uk/catalog/velvia ... p-100.html

It looks like need to experiment. I must admit to liking Velvia's satuated colours. I have 30 sheets of AstiaF 5x4 in my freezer and will probably buy another 20 sheets and some more 120 roll film. I have ample stocks of Pro160S too. I tried out Velvia100 in Longyearbyen and it's rendition of the cotton grass was really nice. I also got some nice shots of flowers on the Arctic tundra at Ny Aalesund.

Thanks to everyone for all your advice.

Steve.

[Patrick Dixon]

£16 inc p&p:- http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product ... s_id=78648

[uniB]

Velvia 100F would be a good substitute for Astia F in that it will fit in the film holder the same, that's pretty much where the similarities end! The closest transparency film to Astia I've found is Kodak E100G but it's less saturated than Astia (!) and has a blue cast. Provia is closer saturation wise than V100F but it has a blue tint to Astias red tint in the shadows.

[dave_whatever]

The closest transparency film to Astia I've found is Kodak E100G but it's less saturated than Astia (!) and has a blue cast.

Its a shame kodak ditched E100GX, I quite liked the one roll I had of this, it was basically a warmer version of G.

[Patrick Dixon]

This is a shot I did on E100VS the other day

It's under cloudy winter daylight and the background is actually a magnolia painted wall!

[uniB]

Wow, that's quite a colour cast!

This is a shot I did on E100VS the other day

It's under cloudy winter daylight and the background is actually a magnolia painted wall!

[dave_whatever]

I've used a fair bit of e100vs in 120 form and never seen owt like that in terms of colour cast in overcast light. That shot almost looks like it was shot in blue sky shade.

[Patrick Dixon]

The windows are low-e glass - not sure if that makes any difference.

The film is also 09/2006, but has been kept in a fridge.