Bulletins and Notes Archive

As one who has made a wonderful living shooting Velvia pushed one stop for more than a decade, I'd like to say that Fuji’s latest film, Provia F is a fine one--no pun intended. It is the 200 speed film that I've been dreaming of, and also pushes well two stops. Rated at its nominal ISO, 100, I use this film in bright sunlight when shooting more than two hours to three hours after sunrise or before sunset on clear days because it is far less contrasty than Velvia. I push it one stop (at EI 200) when I am in need of additional shutter speed, and two stops (rated at EI 320) when I am desperate for extra shutter speed.

Velvia still offers a vivid color palette, mind boggling color saturation, unequaled rendition of the earth tones, and incredible sharpness. And, as always, it performs beautifully in low light, especially with greens. But the speed of Provia F pushed one or two stops is addictive. And the slides are so grainless that the backgrounds look like satin. It is a much more neutral film than Velvia, handles contrast better, and has a somewhat wider exposure latitude. Most importantly to me, it is the only pushable 100 film that I've used in overcast conditions that does not render white skies (or water reflecting white skies) with a horrific magenta cast--see especially Ektachrome 100 SW and VS. And while film choice is a matter of taste, I cannot understand anyone liking VS over Velvia or Provia F in any conditions. Most, like myself, find VS terribly inconsistent. And E-200 is so dishwater-boring as to put me to sleep. Now that I'm utilizing the EF Canon 600mm f/4L Image Stabilizer lens with the EF 2X teleconverter quite a bit (and stacked multipliers to boot), Provia F is an even more attractive option.