Velvia
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Velvia is a name of an ISO 50 (though many rate it at 40), daylight-balanced color reversal film produced by the Japanese film company Fuji. It also has a abbreviation:RVP. Its remarkably vivid, lifelike colors under daylight, high contrast and incredible sharpness and clarity make it the film of choice for outdoor photographers; and it is considered by many who use it as the peak of perfection in color film. Many well-known nature photographers swear by it, including macro-master John Shaw and the late Galen Rowell.
In 2002 Fuji introduced Velvia 100F, which offers similarly bright colors, but it does have much lower contrast and the shadows can look a little muddy.
In February of 2005 Fuji announced Velvia 100 to replace Velvia 50. Velvia 100 is said to be as saturated as the old Velvia, although not as contrasty. The newer version also has finer grain (an RMS value of 8), and uses the color correction layers found in Provia 100F. Currently Velvia has the highest resolving power of any slide film. When shot with a quality lens, a 35mm Velvia slide will hold approximately 25 megapixels of image data.
Using Velvia for long exposures
The old Velvia 50 had issues with reciprocity law failure. Exposing the film for as little as 16 seconds would result in a heavily greenish cast. Anything over 4 seconds requires the use of blue filters, and anything over 32 seconds is "not recommended" by Fuji. The newer version of Velvia is much better in regards to longer exposures. Even at 8 minutes exposure time a 2.5B color compensation filter (CC0025) is sufficient to correct color shift. Velvia 100F also seems to be an excellent alternative to Fuji's Tungsten-balanced film 64T, as some photographers may be unsatisfied with its large grain and low resolving power.
External links
- Opanda DigitalFilm, an excellent utility for simulating a digital image as velvia effect (http://www.opanda.com/en/df/index.html)
- Fujifilm Professional Photography -> Products -> Film -> Fujichrome -> Velvia 50 and Velvia 100F (http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/proPhotoProductVelvia.jsp)